Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/16/1979
NRHP Listing Date 12/28/1979
NRHP Reference Number 79003050
Carlheim is a large Victorian country house (now within the boundaries of the incorporated town of Leesburg) dating from the 1870s, a period when few important dwellings were erected in Virginia because of the economic deprivation resulting from the Civil War. The thirty-two-room stone house, combining the Italian Villa style with the Second Empire mode, was designed by Henry C. Dudley of New York for Charles R. Paxton, a Pennsylvania industrialist. The interior is well appointed with stone mantels, plasterwork ceiling medallions, and a grand staircase. To assure comfort, the Loudoun County house was equipped with central heating, hot and cold running water, and carbide gas lighting. The mansard roof atop the tower was destroyed by lightning in recent years. Among the outbuildings is a peacock house. Known currently as the Paxton Child Development Center, the property is now a preschool and day-care center.
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: April 19, 2021
