Sharpe Stable Complex

Here follows a newspaper article about the stables from the Connection Newspaper in 2017:

TRANSFORMING WOODLAWN:
By By Michael K. BohnThursday, December 7, 2017

The Woodlawn barn complex in its current configuration. At right is the historic Otis Mason House, which the Federal Highway Administration moved from its nearby original site. At the far left is the historic “bank barn,” so named because of its location on the sloping bank of the hill. That allows simple access to both the upper and lower levels. The smaller structure in the middle is the corn crib, with the dairy between it and the house. The new Route 1 bypass is in the background.

This 2013 aerial imagery shows the barn complex before the rerouting of Route 1. The large indoor riding facility/stable was razed during the highway relocation. The former Woodlawn Baptist Church is now the Pillar Church of Woodlawn. The former site of the Otis Mason House is also noted. The driveway between the complex and the former Route 1 segment is a remnant of a 350-year-old overland route once called the Potomac Path. The U.S. Army paved part of it with concrete during World War I.

The roadway has seen a change in activity on the grounds of the National Trust’s Woodlawn. The expanded fruit and vegetable production in the former Woodlawn Stables pasture that Arcadia Farm began in the spring of 2016, however, is only the tip of the iceberg lettuce when it comes to new initiatives at Woodlawn.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has operated Woodlawn since 1951, has developed a proposal to transform parts of the 126-acre Woodlawn property into a “shared-use” facility. Key to this is the fusion of historic preservation activities and buildings with compatible commercial activities.

“We want to further engage the public regarding the history of the Woodlawn area and find a way to serve the surrounding community,” said Katherine Malone-France, the Trust’s vice president for historic sites. “And the way we think we can best do that is by using an operating model in which there is a combination of nonprofit uses that are paired with mission-oriented, income-generating uses.”

Fairfax County:
This 2013 aerial imagery shows the barn complex before the rerouting of Route 1. The large indoor riding facility/stable was razed during the highway relocation. The former Woodlawn Baptist Church is now the Pillar Church of Woodlawn. The former site of the Otis Mason House is also noted. The driveway between the complex and the former Route 1 segment is a remnant of a 350-year-old overland route once called the Potomac Path. The U.S. Army paved part of it with concrete during World War I.

SHARED USE:
The National Trust is in the process of preparing an application for a Fairfax County special exception permit that will authorize additional activity on the Woodlawn grounds.

At the core of the proposal is the designation of a cultural center, one with initiatives to support a sustainable program of public engagement. Using the site’s unique history, the center would provide the community with a nexus of history, culture, food, “agri-tourism” and sustainable agriculture. However, in the words of Malone-France, “Woodlawn will remain a public historic site. But it will embrace its complex history while representing best practices in historic preservation and public interpretation.”

Since many details have yet to be finalized, Malone-France pointed to a National Trust property in Monterey, Calif., that the Trust is using as a model for the Woodlawn project. The historic Cooper-Molera site in the city’s Old Monterey sector consists of old barns, two adobe homes built by the Cooper and Diaz families, a museum, corner store, warehouse and other buildings. The houses date to the 1827, with other structures added through the early 20th century.

Construction is ongoing to adaptively reuse several of the historic structures as a restaurant, a café/bakery and an event center that will host weddings and concerts. The buildings are connected by gardens and public spaces, and new small commercial kitchens are under construction. The museum in the oldest adobe residence will be refurbished and be integrated with the commercial activities.

The National Trust’s website for Cooper-Molera describes the origin of the undertaking. “After extensive engagement with local stakeholders, the National Trust developed a concept designed to bring new life to Cooper-Molera: a ‘shared use’ model for the property that includes an active program of historic interpretation by the National Trust centered in the Cooper and Diaz Adobes, along with compatible commercial uses appropriate to the historic setting.”

The Trust is pursuing three goals at the Monterey site: Create distinct businesses, enable the commercial and nonprofit entities to manage the site collaboratively and apply new revenue streams to support preservation activities.

At Woodlawn, the Trust will mimic the Cooper-Molera development process by employing the former Woodlawn Stables barns and the relocated historic Otis Mason house. The Federal Highway Administration moved the house from its original site during the realignment of Route 1 through the property. This cluster of buildings will serve as the center of the shared-use program and their history goes back to the mid-1800s.

Two Quaker families from New Jersey, Troth and Gillingham, bought Woodlawn Mansion and 2,030 acres of land in 1846, largely for the timber. As lumber merchants, they supplied materials to Philadelphia shipyards for new ship construction. In 1850, John and Rachel Mason — not related to George Mason of Gunston Hall — bought the property from the remaining owners, the Troths. After the Civil War, the Masons sold about 63 acres to one of their sons, Otis T. Mason, a scientist at the U.S. National Museum (later Smithsonian) in the District.

According to historian Susan Hellman, a former acting director of Woodlawn and the current manager of Alexandria’s Carlyle House, evidence points to a post-1873 date for the Mason house construction, not the 1854 date that others have suggested for the first section of the home. The house used to stand immediately south of the Woodlawn Stables compound.

The stables complex dates to 1913 when a previous Woodlawn owner, Elizabeth Sharpe, built the historic “bank barn,” dairy shed, corncrib, stables and associated structures. Woodlawn Stables used the buildings, along with newer structures, until the re-routing of Route 1 forced the business to relocate to Jeffersonton, Va.

“We want to engage the local population by creating a place that local people want to visit,” Malone-France said recently. “We want to meet the community’s needs by providing fresh fruit and vegetables. Also, it will be a great place to eat and enjoy the bounty of Virginia’s agriculture and learn about the property’s rich agricultural history. The project will not only be connected with the history of this place, but also preserve Woodlawn’s open space in a densely developed corridor.”

Malone-France also said that commercial partners have yet to be identified, but activities will be similar to the Cooper-Molera site — restaurants, fresh-food market and gathering places. There will be no change to the operations of the Woodlawn mansion or the Pope-Leighey House.


And another article written by local author Mike Salmon in 2018:

Woodlawn Stables Site Eyed for Partial Development
Plans are in the works to preserve while highlighting the area for adaptive reuse.

The barn and surrounding structures of the former Woodlawn Stables is poised to be redeveloped, leaving the character and history intact while the existing structures at the Woodlawn Stables will be reused, introducing a commercial element that will be in tune with the atmosphere of the surrounding area.

According to Katherine Malone-France, the senior vice president for Historic Sites at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the rustic appearance of the buildings will be part of a reuse plan. “We propose to adaptively reuse these buildings for businesses that interpret the agricultural history of the property and Virginia, which could include a farmer’s market, retail space/tasting room for products grown or made in Virginia, local garden center, or florist,” she said.

It was a move that was bound to happen with the growth of the Richmond Highway area, the advent of “Embark,” a transportation project that is emerging to improve the corridor. According to Fairfax County, “Embark Richmond Highway is a multi-faceted project promoting revitalization along a 7.5-mile segment of the Richmond Highway Corridor.” Woodlawn is listed as one of the areas of concentration where the project will emphasize “a tourism and neighborhood hub,” said Marianne Gardner, the director of the Fairfax County Planning Division in a Embark video the county produced.

At the stables site, “We are also proposing to add one new building to the barn complex that would contain a nanobrewery and café,” added Malone-France. A café could mean a place like Starbucks, which to some, is a coming to age sign, but if tastefully done, could be a boon to a downtrodden section of the highway.

“At the National Trust, we believe that putting these buildings back into active use and making them available to the public to experience and learn about their rich history is the best way to preserve them,” said Malone-France. They are currently working with the Fairfax County Architectural Review Board to refine the plan. A townhouse community has been proposed for a spot just north of the stables, which some see as positive growth for that area.

“The entire Woodlawn property has been owned by the National Trust since 1952. A portion of the property was rented by the stables that operated there,” Malone-France said in a statement.

Supervisor Dan Storck (D-Mount Vernon) is happy with the National Historic Trust plans, and looks at it as a positive step for the “cultural corridor” of Woodlawn that contains the stables, the Frank-Lloyd Wright house, the grist mill and coming-soon, the new Army Museum. “Their plans are very complimentary to the long term plans we have for the Richmond Highway - Mount Vernon Memorial Highway - Jeff Todd intersection,” Storck said.

The former Woodlawn Stables is officially known as the Sharpe Barn complex, a facility built in the early 20th century, during the ownership of the property by Elizabeth Sharpe, that is historic and significant as one of the last remaining examples of a barn complex of its type in Fairfax County, according to Malone-France.

Sharpe was a coal heiress who owned the Woodlawn Plantation from 1905 to 1925. When it was dismantled with the Richmond Highway widening and relocation project, many of the horses were moved to Claddagh Farm in historic Jeffersonton, Va. and others to a stable on Gunston Road. The road widening and relocation project was administered by the Federal Highway Administration Eastern Lands Division, a Federal Highways document, DHR# 029-0056, dated July 2006, the stables and land parcel was not designated as a National Historic Landmark.