Anyone walking or driving recently by the intersection of East Broad Way\/Milltown Road and Lovettsville Road would have noticed earth-moving equipment contouring the land in preparation for our new community park.\u00a0 We will have ballfields, trails, and other modern amenities. \u00a0This new addition to our town encompasses land that was farmed for over 200 years and contains nine historic buildings in various stages of neglect, and the remains of at least three.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loudoun County, with substantial aid from the Town of Lovettsville, purchased 90 acres in 2004 for the creation of a park, but our story starts over 200 years ago with Christian Gottlieb Ruse, who was born in 1745 and moved to Lovettsville and was farming by 1769.\u00a0 He leased land, as was the practice at the time, then purchased 185 acres in 1803.<\/p>\n Ruse enslaved at least one person during his lifetime.\u00a0 The 1820 Federal Census listed him as enslaving one female between the ages of 14 and 26.\u00a0 Christian died in October 1821 and is buried in the New Jerusalem Church Cemetery next to his wife, Catherine, who died in 1802.\u00a0 In his will, Christian bequeathed \u201cnegro girl Mary\u201d to his son Henry for the length of Henry\u2019s life.<\/p>\n Henry was a farmer, raising cattle, hogs, and milk cows and growing wheat, potatoes, and corn. \u00a0One enslaved girl was recorded in the 1840 Census for Henry Ruse.\u00a0 She was under the age of 10 and probably worked in a domestic capacity.\u00a0 In the 1860 Slave Schedule, a man over the age of 50 was recorded.\u00a0 Henry hired him out to Jacob Virts.\u00a0 That census also recorded the number of slave dwellings on a property, and Henry was listed with one slave dwelling on his farm.<\/p>\n In 1852, the Loudoun and Berlin Turnpike Company laid out a route for its roadbed and assessed $150 in compensation to Ruse for cutting a 40′ wide swath through his land.[3]<\/a> As can be seen in the 1860 map above, the road divided many farms and later would become a boundary as farmers like the Ruses divided their land into smaller parcels.<\/p>\n Henry died in 1868 and was buried in the New Jerusalem Church Cemetery, and the farm descended to his wife Sarah, daughter Susan, and two sons, Emanuel and Joseph.\u00a0 Emanuel inherited 60 acres on the northeast portion of the farm, and there were no buildings on it.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 His sister Susan inherited the 54-acre home farm on the southeast.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Joseph inherited 56 acres that spanned the Berlin Turnpike.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 The cluster of historic buildings on today\u2019s park site are on the land that Emanuel inherited, indicating they were constructed or moved there after 1868.<\/p>\n Emanuel also owned a house and lot in the town of Lovettsville.[7]<\/a>\u00a0 He was a carpenter and had a shop there.\u00a0 By the 1880s, this house was his main dwelling, and his daughter S. Anne and her husband Winfield S. Seitz lived on the 60-acre property Emanuel had inherited from his father.\u00a0 In 1885, Seitz constructed a bank barn made of timber on a stone foundation. It was approximately 33′ wide x 44’long, and it had a slate roof.<\/p>\n The parcels owned by Emanuel and Susan were eventually purchased by the Smiths[8]<\/a> and brought back together in 1905 when H.M. and Bertie Cooper purchased them.[9]<\/a> The 112-acre tract was purchased by Owen Reed in 1933,[10]<\/a> and it is from a portion of this parcel that today\u2019s 90-acre park is being developed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Ruse\/Reed Historic Buildings<\/strong><\/p>\n The southern section of the park, where most of the earth contouring has been taking place, is slated for active recreation, such as ball fields.\u00a0 The northern section is designated for passive recreation, such as walking trails and community garden beds.\u00a0 This is the area that contains the historic buildings from the Ruse and Reed eras.<\/p>\n The cluster of domestic and agricultural buildings includes a farmhouse, summer kitchen, spring house, a meat house, chicken house, machine shed, animal shed, and dairy barn, and the remains of an icehouse, silage pit, and a stone bank barn that was vandalized and burned in the 1980s.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n The dilapidated farmhouse that we see today along the walking path between the community center and elementary school was built in at least two stages.\u00a0 The original section of the house is two stories, measures 27′ x 18′, and is built of logs.\u00a0 It is a sizable structure for that method of construction.\u00a0 The 12′ x 16′ addition is wood frame with Victorian features such as fish scale shingles and high gabled roofline.\u00a0 It was probably built by the Ruses or Smiths in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n An archaeological study was done in 2009, predominantly on the southern section of the parcel that was slated for extensive land disturbance during the park\u2019s construction.\u00a0 The archaeologists identified evidence of at least one building in this area near an old black walnut tree.\u00a0 Portions of two stone and brick foundations were uncovered with \u201ca wide scatter of historic materials over approximately an acre.\u201d[12]<\/a><\/p>\n A 12′ x 16′ two-story timber frame building, noted in documents as the summer kitchen, contains a large stone fireplace for cooking and has a second floor accessed by a winder staircase.<\/p>\n The springhouse is located to the northwest of the farmhouse along a small stream.\u00a0 Made of rough sawn lumber, it retains the inlet for the stream water to cool the foods that were once stored inside.<\/p>\n From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, dairy farms were prominent in Loudoun County. The growing demand for milk and butter in Washington D.C., coupled with nearby railroad transportation, led to a shift in grain and livestock farming to dairying.\u00a0 The large dairy barn was built in 1952 by the Reed family.\u00a0 The main level still contains evidence of the milking parlor and calf birthing room.\u00a0 The second floor was used for storing hay and grain and was accessed through a large exterior door.\u00a0 The numerous windows in the structure were designed not just for light but to provide ventilation and healthy air flow.<\/p>\n The large bank barn that Seitz constructed in 1885 remained until the 1980s, when it was vandalized and destroyed by fire. The remains of the stone foundation are still evident amidst the cluster of buildings.<\/p>\n Was one of these buildings the slave dwelling?<\/strong><\/p>\n The short answer is, \u201cprobably not.\u201d\u00a0 The summer kitchen has the architectural style of a living and working space for one or two enslaved people or family.\u00a0 It was close to the main house; it has a fireplace for cooking and heat; and it has a second story that could have been used for sleeping.\u00a0 However, the historic record indicates none of the buildings at the current park site were there before 1868.\u00a0 It is mortise and tenon construction but contains wire nails, which did not come into widespread use until the late 1800s.\u00a0 Could it have been moved there from the earlier Ruse homestead?<\/p>\n A more likely location of the original slave dwelling is on the southern section of the property where the stone and brick foundations were found during the archaeological study.\u00a0 More research and analysis are needed at both locations to try and learn more.\u00a0 In fact, County Archaeologist Michael Clem noted that the southern location had enough artifacts and features to make it \u201cpotentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for its potential to reveal valuable information concerning the lifeways of early Lovettsville settlers.\u201d<\/p>\n What Comes Next?<\/strong><\/p>\n When the County acquired the property 16 years ago, a committee of local residents and park staff met regularly to plan for the park\u2019s features.\u00a0 The County intended to restore the historic buildings and use them, among other things, for interpreting farm life and farming on a rural Lovettsville property.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n Years went by before funds were allocated to start construction of the park.\u00a0 A chain link fence was installed around the historic buildings, but it did not prevent vandals from entering.\u00a0 Graffiti and damage are everywhere.\u00a0 Lack of funds and maintenance have caused the buildings to fall into disrepair.<\/p>\n The County\u2019s current plans are to demolish the farmhouse and dairy barn, but leave the foundations so they can be used for interpretation.\u00a0 The County will salvage some logs from the earliest part of the house.\u00a0 The concrete pad of the dairy barn is projected to hold a picnic pavilion. Local citizens have asked the County to professionally document the farmhouse and two outbuildings, with the goals of identifying construction dates and techniques, and to learn more about the evolution of the farm from possibly pre-Civil War to 1950s dairying.<\/p>\n The archaeological site by the old black walnut tree has not been disturbed, and citizens have asked that more analysis be done.\u00a0 One goal should be studying this area and the farmstead site to see if the former slave dwelling can be located.<\/p>\n The Lovettsville Historical Society would like to hear your comments about the proposed plans for the historic buildings, as well as information or remembrances about the Ruse, Smith, and Reed families; the historic buildings; the Reed dairy business; and\/or the land that is becoming our Community Park.\u00a0 Please contact the Lovettsville Historical Society at info@lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lori Hinterleiter Kimball is a historical researcher whose projects cover various topics in Loudoun\u2019s history. She is a member of the Lovettsville Historical Society; has served on the boards of several non-profits; is a member of the Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library; and serves on the County\u2019s Heritage Commission. Lori was previously the Director of Programming and Education at Oatlands, and is now the Executive Director at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum in Sterling.<\/em><\/p>\n Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Loudoun County Will Book N:360 and Deed Book 3Q:173.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Local historian Wynne Saffer mapped properties in Loudoun County as of 1860. He overlayed the parcel boundaries on modern USGS maps.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Loudoun County Deed Book 5F:229.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Loudoun County Chancery Cause 1908-015 (formerly M4770). This lawsuit, started in 1895, was to determine the expenses incurred for constructing the 1885 bank barn. A witness in the cause testified that no buildings existed on Emanuel Ruse\u2019s 60 acres when he inherited the land.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Loudoun County Deed Book 7G:52.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Loudoun County Deed Book 6I:19.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Loudoun County Deed Books 5O:374 and 5V:53.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Loudoun County Deed Books 6S:432 and 7L:349.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Loudoun County Deed Book 9M:468.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Loudoun County Deed Book 10M:477.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Most of the information about the buildings is from Tom Bullock\u2019s valuable reports \u201cLovettsville Park: Village and Patent Farm Concepts, Circa 1765 to 1900\u201d and \u201cLovettsville Park: Deed and Title Search\u201d, both circa 2006 and available at the Lovettsville Historical Society and Museum. Tom\u2019s thorough research provided a baseline for the construction and condition of the buildings, and his platting of the property as it changed owners was a very helpful visual (and saved the author a lot of time).<\/p>\n [12]<\/a> A Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the Lovettsville Park Property, Loudoun County, Virginia<\/em> by Michael Clem, Loudoun County Archaeologist, Department of Building and Development. November 2009.<\/p>\n [13]<\/a> https:\/\/www.loudoun.gov\/DocumentCenter\/View\/30419\/Item-07–SPEX-2007-0004—CMPT-2008-0006—Lovett?bidId=<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Lori Hinterleiter Kimball Anyone walking or driving recently by the intersection of East Broad Way\/Milltown Road and Lovettsville Road would have noticed earth-moving equipment contouring the land in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4113"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4137,"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113\/revisions\/4137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Meat](\"http:\/\/www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Ruse-Reed-big-tree-2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a>Christian also gave his son Henry a 2\/3 interest in the 185-acre farm, and Henry eventually bought his brother Frederick\u2019s 1\/3 interest.[1]<\/a> The map at the left shows the property boundaries as of 1860 for the Ruse farm.[2]<\/a> It was bounded on the east by present day Broad Way\/Milltown Road and extended diagonally southwest across today\u2019s Berlin Turnpike at its intersections with Lutheran Church Road and South Loudoun Street. The elementary school was eventually built on a portion of the former Ruse farm.<\/p>\n<\/a>The Reeds continued to farm the property and transitioned to dairy farming, as did much of Loudoun County during the late 1800s through mid-1900s.\u00a0 In 1952, the Reeds constructed a large dairy barn (pictured at right) and adjacent milking parlor.<\/p>\n<\/a>The 8′ x 12′ meat house (at right)\u00a0 is of log construction and, according to a Reed family member, was moved from the southern part of the property to its current location.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>