Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 04/17/1973
NRHP Listing Date 06/02/1973
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement
NRHP Reference Number 73002033
Farmer’s Delight was part of an 18th-century tract for which George Washington and Lord Fairfax once served as trustees. The Loudoun County estate boasts a mansion patterned after Tidewater Georgian plantation houses. One of the county’s oldest brick dwellings, it was built ca. 1791 for Joseph Lane who served in the General Assembly and was a lieutenant colonel in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1793. The Flemish-bond brickwork is highlighted by a belt course and gauged brick jack arches. The interior preserves Federal woodwork typical of the region. From 1856 until 1919 Farmer’s Delight was owned by the Leith family. It later was acquired by horseman Henry J. Frost, Jr., who added the wings. In 1948 the Farmer’s Delight estate was purchased by George C. McGhee, former ambassador to Turkey and Germany, who developed an extensive garden and arboretum here designed by landscape architects Boris Timchenko of Washington and Meade Palmer of Warrenton.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: June 27, 2022
