NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT 

About Foundation Properties  

and Easements

The Waterford Foundation has completed the process of revising two easements on its historic properties, an initiative that the Board of Directors began during its November 2007 retreat. The Foundation owns 14 properties totaling 195 acres.   

Long-time residents of the village noted then that the Foundation's mission is to preserve and protect the historic properties in the National Historic Landmark, and historically, execution of that mission has included purchase, restoration, easement, and reselling of properties over the decades. This remains the Foundation priority: not to collect properties, not to be an easement holder, but to ensure that the properties and landscapes that make up the Waterford National Historic Landmark are protected and preserved.

Amending easements on the Foundation's historic properties was a priority set at the 2007 retreat--with a primary concern of preventing demolition (subsequent to a private property owner's demolition of the historic home on Janney Street that served as the residence of  longtime Second Street School teacher, Lizzy Simms).  

Board director Phil Paschall noted that nothing in our easements prohibited demolition.  As announced last year, the easement for the Chair Factory, held by Virginia Department of Historic Resources, was the first to be updated and recorded. That easement contains a provision preventing demolition, as does the recently recorded Tin Shop amended easement. 

Updating and clarifying the language in the easements has been another priority.  Some original easements contain conflicting language.  For example, the old Chair Factory easement permitted hanging of a sign--but prohibited changing the appearance of the building, which caused confusion for painter  Antonia Walker, who leases space in the building. This conflict has been eliminated in the amended easement.    

Current interpretation of Virginia Department of Historic Resources language in the easements is stricter than the Foundation members who wrote them probably intended.  For instance, the Water Street Meadow easement prohibited structures, but we assume that no one at the Foundation realized that a well would be considered a structure.  There are wells on Water Street Meadow.  It was only in the past year that we realized that the wells had been drilled in violation of the easement, and no new wells can be permitted. This issue has been of overwhelming importance to villagers with property abutting the Meadow, who contend with low-yielding wells. 

The Foundation hopes to solve some of these important issues by amending our easements.  The Waterford Foundation is committed to preservation within the landmark and preservation of the properties we own.

--Bonnie Getty 

Old School Auditorium

construction to begin this summer  

  

The Waterford Foundation announced at its April Annual Meeting that construction will begin in July on the new Waterford Old School auditorium.

 

"It has been a long four years of fundraising and planning," said Bonnie Getty, president of the Waterford Foundation, "but I am thrilled to announce that last night the Board of Directors voted unanimously to move forward with the rebuilding of the Old School auditorium."  

 

After the January 25, 2007, fire that destroyed the 1928 auditorium of Waterford's Old School and heavily damaged the 1910 classroom building, the Waterford Foundation Board voted to rebuild, in a way that is "respectful of its history and its place in the community."

 

Fundraising; insurance negotiations; planning; and community,

A rendering of the Old School with auditorium addition from Quinn-Evans Architects.

state, and local approvals led to the restoration and reopening of the 1910 classroom building on January 25, 2009, two years after the fire and at a cost of $518,500.

 

Meanwhile, as the Old School auditorium went through its own design development and review, the Foundation launched the Raise the Roof of the Old School capital campaign to raise additional funds needed to build it. Generous donations and pledges, grants, corporate donations, and funding support from the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors have brought the capital campaign to a level where the Foundation can confidently begin construction of the auditorium. Total costs for construction will be about $1,860,000.    

 

"Taking this step will involve risks and challenges," said Getty. "But we have already met many challenges with the design, the approval process, and fundraising in a tough economy. With the cash in the Old School account, pledges, grants, and funds from the sale of one of our historic buildings, we will have funding of approximately $1.485 million when we break ground. To cover the additional $375,000 in costs, we will use additional fundraising and a small loan. The more money we raise, the less we will need to borrow." 

WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING 

June preservation events highlight Loudoun history  

 Next month two special events will provide unique glimpses into area history--and help fund preservation efforts of worthy organizations.

The Loudoun Preservation Society will host 19th-Century Base Ball Day on Sunday, June 12, at Oatlands, south of Leesburg. This unique, family-friendly event will feature three teams from the Mid Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League, playing a  double-header, using rules and customs of the 1860s. Gloves and helmets are not worn and catching gear is not used. Uniforms and equipment are authentic replicas of the mid-1860s.  The game will be played on the Oatlands property's rolling fields--also as it would have been (no bleachers or stadiums then).   

Proceeds from the event ($20 per car and $50 per bus) will support The Loudoun Preservation Society's grant program.  For more information visit the Society's website. 

The following Sunday, the Land Trust of Virginia (LTV), a nationally

accredited nonprofit land trust that protects open space and natural and historic resources in Virginia, will host its thirteenth annual "Garden Party to Save Virginia's Countryside" at historic Rosemont near Waterford in Loudoun County, from 4 to 7 p.m.

Rosemont [photo by Schuyler Richardson]