CALENDAR
25 JANUARY
Old School Capital Campaign kickoff. 3 p.m., Old School Classroom Building, 40222 Fairfax Street, Waterford.
15 MARCH
Waterford Concert Series: Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists, Washington Opera. 4 p.m., Raspberry Plain, Leesburg.
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Birders site many species at farm
On Sunday December 28, eight devoted birders met
at 7 a.m. on the Phillips Farm to participate in the National Audubon
Society's Annual Christmas Bird Count. Begun in 1879, the count is held all
over the nation for the purpose of adding to our knowledge of the dynamic
nature of bird populations. A total of 29 species were observed,
including a barred owl, ruby-crowned kinglet, Eastern bluebird, belted
kingfisher, and cedar waxwing. The count was organized by the
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, the Waterford Foundation's partner in
responsible stewardship of the Phillips Farm. Those interested
in more birding opportunities can visit the Conservancy's website at www.loundounwildlife.org.
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Concert series
mailing sent
On Tuesday members of the Concert Committee assembled at the Corner Store (see photo below) and mailed the 2009 Concert Series brochure. Series subscribers (for $100) receive tickets at a 20% discount for the five-concert series, as well as an invitation to a reception with performers. Children under 12 are admitted free. Visit the Concert Series page on the Foundation's website for a listing of performers and dates. The first concert of rising opera singers from the Washington National Opera is March 15.
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Work at Old Mill
to commence
Cochran's Stone Masonry will be beginning work at the Old Mill shortly, to
provide outside access to the basement of the building (there is none at present). The work will involve building a stairway and constructing a door at the rear of the structure, behind the stone patio.
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Loudoun Ranger grave rededicated
Last November 15 Waterford
residents attended a rededication of the stone memorial to Lieutenant Luther W.
Slater. Slater was a founding member of the Loudoun Rangers, formed in 1862 by
disaffected Virginians who fought for the Union during the Civil War. Composed
of citizens of German, Quaker, or Scots-Irish descent recruited from the Waterford and
Lovettsville areas, the Rangers served as scouts for Federal forces.
Slater served
under Captain Samuel Means, a Waterford miller
who had been  forced to flee into Maryland in July of 1861 because of his
pro-Union sympathies. Means's property was confiscated by the Confederates. In
1862 Means accepted a
commission as a Union Army captain, with authority to raise a company of
cavalry-which became the Loudoun Rangers. (See more about Samuel Means house in Waterford here.)
As scouts the
Rangers fought few engagements and none of a decisive nature. Perhaps
their sharpest encounter happened in and around the old Baptist
Church at Waterford in August 1862. Lieutenant Slater
was badly wounded during that skirmish, but survived to serve for 42 years in the federal government, administering pension benefits for veterans, their
widows and children.
For more about the skirmish at the church,
where the fight really was brother against brother, click here.
Slater is buried in the Union Cemetery
in Lovettsville.
The rededication ceremony at Union Cemetery.
[Photo courtesy of Ann Belland, current owner of the Samuel Means house in Waterford]
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BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Kathleen Hughes
President
Susan Sutter
Vice-President
Bonnie Getty
Secretary
Ernie Smith
Treasurer
Directors
David Bednarik
Charlotte Gollobin Melanie L. Herman Hans Hommels
DeSoto Jordan, Jr.
Stephanie Kenyon
Lori Kimball
Walter A. Music
Phil Paschall
Patti Psaris
Nick Ratcliffe
Sherry Satin
Tom Simmons
Miriam Westervelt
Staff
Nancy Doane
Executive
Director
Margaret Good
Assistant
Director, Properties & Land Use Programs
Ann Goode
Manager,
Development Programs
Fran Holmbraker
Fair
Chair
Mary Kenesson
Fair
Assistant
Martha Polkey
Executive
Assistant
info@waterfordfoundation.org
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Happy 2009!
Dear
Friends of Waterford:
It
is my pleasure to tell you that Monday night the county's Board of Supervisors
unanimously approved our plans for rebuilding the Waterford Old School
auditorium.
Thank
you to the county staff and public officials who made this possible and to Mike Banzhaf of Reed Smith, LP, for providing the
Foundation, pro bono, the professional services of Annie Goode to serve as our
representative throughout the special exception process. Her contributions
have been invaluable in shepherding our application through the multiple tiers
of the regulatory process! Now
we are ready to "Raise the Roof" of the new auditorium and officially launch
our fundraising campaign. Already
generous donors have given $400,000 (including the Cabell Foundation matching
grant)--so we are one-quarter of the way to the $1.6 million we need to build
it.
The
Foundation's Board is committed to rebuilding the Old School auditorium,
despite the bad economy; but we are being realistic and plan to raise at least
$800,000 in new funds this year before we begin construction.
We
invite you to join us in launching the fundraising efforts with a celebration
of what has been completed--the renovation of the Old School classroom
building--at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 25.
Come see the beautiful interior of the Old School, enjoy refreshments,
music, and the joy of seeing the Old School live again!
I
look forward to seeing you all there!
President |
74 more acres placed under easement at village edge
The remaining 74-acre section of the original Phillips Farm parcel
was placed under conservation easement by its owner, further
protecting the viewshed and character of the National Historic
Landmark District of Waterford. On December 16, the easement
was recorded in Loudoun County.
The easement provides for protection of historic field patterns
and hedgerows, mature trees and forests, and a 100-foot riparian
buffer along both sides of Catoctin Creek. The parcel can be divided
into three lots, and protects existing historic structures.
The Foundation thanks the Land Trust of Virginia for its substantial
work to accomplish this task. We also thank David Dobson, Historic
Fields, LLC, and his attorney David Moyes, for recognizing the
historical significance of this property and ensuring its protection
for future generations.
After the Foundation purchased the 144-acre Phillips Farm in 2003,
protecting the remaining ridgeline of the 74 acres was deemed critical
to the protection of our designation as a National Historic Landmark
District.
This is truly an extraordinary gift.
The parcel (outlined in red here) substantially adds
to the eased land around Waterford village.
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Phillips Farm trail project advances
This spring, as part of the educational outreach on the
historic Phillips Farm, an interpretive trail on the Phillips Farm will open,
and visitors will walk the marked trail to learn of the history of this
property and enjoy the natural beauty of the farm.
The Phillips Farm Committee sought a design for the trail
markers that would have minimal impact on the property, yet provide the
important educational history of the farm. They then sought and gained approvals
for the design from the easement holder (Virginia Outdoors Foundation) and the Loudoun County
Historic District Review Committee.
In the photo below, in the basement of the John Wesley Community Church, committee member Rob Hale paints the numbers
he hand-carved in the posts that will be set along the trail, under the
watchful eyes of son Andrew. A brochure is in preparation that will detail the
natural and cultural history on the property, with the numbered posts
corresponding to points of interest.
The committee will set the posts in time for Earth Day,
April 19.
This project was completed thanks to a generous grant from
the Peter M. Howard Memorial Fund through the Piedmont Community Foundation and
the volunteer efforts of Rob Hale, John Souders, and Committee Chair Mimi
Westervelt.
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Century-old oak on farm
receives a free trim
 On December 15, Bartlett Tree Experts of
Marshall, Virginia, spent the day cleaning up "Old John," the huge, elderly
white oak near the dam on the Phillips Farm. It was long overdue for the
trimming out old deadwood and removing a large branch that partially broke
off recently. This branch threatened the health of the tree, and required
immediate removal. Skip McDonough of Bartlett
counted 107 rings on the trimmed branch, meaning the tree may be older than we
have thought. The Virginia Department of Forestry is trying to assess the age
for us.
Each year, Bartlett Tree Experts generously
donates time and expertise to a local nonprofit. This year, the Waterford
Foundation was the fortunate recipient of this gift, thanks to the efforts of
Ben Rose, an arborist with Bartlett's.
Ross Pontier was the official climber who went high into the limbs of the tree
to remove dead and damaged wood.
We are very grateful to Bartlett's Tree Experts for helping us with
stewardship of the Phillips Farm. --Margaret
Good
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P.O. Box 142 Waterford, VA 20197 540-882-3018
www.WaterfordFoundation.org
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