The Fairfax County Park Authority is now accepting applications from prospective resident curators for the rehabilitation and long-term maintenance of the Ash Grove and Lahey Lost Valley properties. The submission period will remain open until 30 days after an initial application is received. The Park Authority will issue an announcement once the first application is received to announce the closing date for applications.
Ash Grove is one of the few standing 18th-century Virginia houses, built by the Fairfax family. The house is a stately Federal style, 2.5 story, center hall house. A serious fire in 1960 could have doomed its legacy, but fortunately, many of the architectural features had been removed from the house for restoration work, including original doors, windows and much of the interior woodwork. Architectural drawings and photographs captured in the 1930s by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) were instrumental in restoring the home after fire damage. Some of the wood floors still bear charring marks from the fire.
The Lahey Lost Valley House is a mid-18th-century brick hall-parlor house with a 1940s brick addition. The house is located on land that was granted to William Gunnell in 1730. Members of the Gunnell family were leaders in Fairfax County throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The family continued to own the property through the 1930s. In 1940, the house and 45 acres were sold to Richard and Carlotta Lahey. The Laheys moved a wood-framed kitchen addition off the brick house and used it as a freestanding building for an artist studio. In its place, the Laheys constructed a two-story brick addition.
The Resident Curator Program offers long-term lease agreements to qualified tenants in beautiful public park settings. The curator leases are without charge in exchange for a financial commitment and approved rehabilitation of the Park Authority’s underutilized historic properties.
Complete application forms and additional information about the properties are available at the Resident Curator Program website.
For more information, contact Stephanie Langton, Resident Curator Program manager, at 703-324-8791 or by email at stephanie.langton@fairfaxcounty.gov.