Supervisor Sally Kurtz (far left) joins Waterford Foundation Steering Committee members Kathleen Hughes, Hans Hommels, Susan Sutter, Walter Music, John Scott of Scott-Long Construction, Executive Director Nancy Doane, and President Bonnie Getty as they dig the first shovels of earth to begin construction of the new Waterford Old School Auditorium.  (Photo: Schuyler Richardson)

Waterford Old School Construction Begins  

(WATERFORD, VA., July 1, 2011) With hard hats and gold shovels donated by Scott-Long Construction, Inc., residents and visitors joined Waterford Foundation Board and staff, Loudoun County Supervisors, Boy Scout Troop 969, Hamilton Fire Station 605, Quinn/Evans Architects and Scott-Long Construction staff for the groundbreaking of the Old School Auditorium.

The old auditorium was destroyed by fire in January 2007 when fire companies from many Loudoun County and Maryland jurisdictions battled to extinguish the three-alarm blaze and save the more historic classroom portion of the wooden structure. The auditorium was a total loss.

The Old School, constructed in 1910 as one of Loudoun County's earliest public schools, sits on five acres at the northeastern entry point to the Waterford National Historic Landmark. The Waterford Foundation purchased the property from the Loudoun County School Board in 1966.

The destroyed auditorium was built in 1928. Plays and music, town meetings, political debates, celebrations, the Waterford Fair and Waterford Concert Series, educational  and cultural programs, are among the many community events that have taken place in the  auditorium and classrooms over the past 40 years--and will, once again, when the new auditorium opens its doors in late spring 2012.

To be constructed on the east side of the Old School, the new auditorium will meet modern building and safety requirements, including a sprinkler system, handicapped access, bathrooms, and parking; and have a larger stage, a basement, new catering kitchen, light-filled atrium, and a stone terrace. Seating capacity will be about 275. Donations from individuals, foundations, and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, plus proceeds from insurance, state tax credits, and the sale of another historic building represent about 80 percent of construction costs, but the Foundation must raise an additional $350,000 to complete the construction.

The Waterford Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, endeavors to preserve the historic buildings and the open spaces of the National Historic Landmark District of Waterford, Virginia; and through education, to increase the public's knowledge of life and work in an early American rural community.