Washington Evening Star Photo & Article: Tobacco Inspectors' Office

Publication

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The Weems-Botts Museum

Now a dilapidated chicken coop, the old office of the tobacco inspector is one of the last three Colonial structures remaining in Dumfries. It once was the center of the community's booming tobacco trade. Henry Clay Speake, 90, who well remembers when "the Northerners and the Southerners had quite a scrimmage hereabouts. He leans on the monument marking the site of the old courthouse where George Washington once attended sessions. Citizens met here in 1774 to approve Revolutionary measures.

Now a dilapidated chicken coop, the old office of the tobacco inspector is one of the last three Colonial structures remaining in Dumfries. It once was the center of the community's booming tobacco trade. Henry Clay Speake, 90, who well remembers when "the Northerners and the Southerners had quite a scrimmage hereabouts. He leans on the monument marking the site of the old courthouse where George Washington once attended sessions. Citizens met here in 1774 to approve Revolutionary measures.

Name/Title

Washington Evening Star Photo & Article: Tobacco Inspectors' Office

Secondary Title

"Worried Owners Seek to Save Historic Building in Dumfries"

Cataloged By

Adam Kitchen

Publication Details

Date Published

Oct 25, 1948

Transcription

Transcription

Worried Owners Seek to Save Historic Building in Dumfries By John M. Kauffmann Star Staff Correspondent Dumfries, Va., Oct. 25th - A tiny frame building that it one of Northern Virginia's most historic relics is sagging its way to ruin. The old Office of the Tobacco Inspector at Dumfries was the heart of the once-booming tobacco port when it was a leading American city two centuries ago. History passed its door. Gen. Braddock marched by on his fatal French and Indian War expedition. Light Horse Harry Lee came there to meet Dumfries' Minute Men, Virginia's first. George Washington and George Mason were familiar visitors, and Lafayette, too, stopped by. Now half-hidden behind its owners' white bungalow, the 25-by-12 foot structure is rotting away. Vines choke its huge chimney, which was studied by Williamsburg architects, and the pull at the wood block facade that is similar to Mount Vernon's. Mount Vernon Architect Walter Macomber feels there may be a tie-in between the two facades built about the same time. Perhaps Washington suggested his architectural design to a Dumfries builder before trying it out himself. The owners of the old office, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert Brawner, look back at their yard relic in distress and find themselves in a quandary about what to do with a collapsing white elephant. They revere it not only for the historic but for family associations. Mr. Brawner's mother was born in the office, long used as a residence. "We don't know what to do about it," Mrs. Brawner said. "we can't rebuild it; we don't have that kind of money. A Washington man wanted to buy it and rebuild it as his home, but our friends in Dumfries and Manassas don't want us to let it be moved away. We're on the fence about letting it go. "But it would be nice to have it restored, and we certainly wouldn't mind people coming here to see it."

Transcriber

Abbigail Alm

Created By

[email protected]

Create Date

August 22, 2024

Updated By

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Update Date

October 10, 2024