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Main Street 4
Virtual Walking Tour
The Griffith/Gover House
This house
is the remaining structure of several that once occupied
this lot. Between 1796 and 1803, Richard Griffith erected
a storehouse. Jesse Gover (1791-1842) took over the house
and business in 1819. His son Samuel (1824-1907) served as
storekeeper and postmaster here from 1862 to 1882, though
he was absent in the north for much of the war. Early in
the 20th century, the James family operated a store and boarding
house on the site, with a goldfish pond and swimming pool
in the rear. The millrace behind the house, enlarged for
canoeing, once formed a small island. A dance pavilion and
a large masonry megaphone remain. But a small dwelling and
the Gover's frame storehouse along the street to the left
of the remaining building were demolished early in the 20th
century. |
Camelot School
Patrick McGavack,
a prosperous local weaver after whom Patrick Street is named,
erected this V-notched log house sometime prior to his death in 1826. He rented
out the house, preferring to remain at his farm Catalpa Grove west of town.
This dwelling passed through three owners before Leroy Chamberlin purchased
it in 1938. Nephew Edward Chamberlin and Kathryn his wife ran a school here
known as Camelot School during World War II. |
Wisteria Cottage
This small brick
house was probably constructed early in the 19th century.
During much of its history, it belonged to the Gover family,
prominent Quakers. They sold the house to Gover descendant
Wellman Chamberlin in the 1930s or 1940s. For half a century
it was the home of Mary Elizabeth Wallace (1919-1999), the
last member of Waterford's once-thriving black community. |
The Bank House
The first bank in Loudoun County, the short-lived Loudoun
Company, held meetings in the cellar of this dwelling beginning
around 1815, hence the name Bank House. Another local business,
the Loudoun Mutual Fire Insurance Company, established in
1849, also used this house as offices. This building shows
a very high level of craftsmanship. Notice the precise mortar
joints between the bricks and the elegant architrave under
the eaves. The lovely door surround was hand carved in the
mid-20th century by Wellman Chamberlin, who removed an earlier
porch. |
William Irish Shop
The construction
date of this house is unknown but, like many in Waterford,
it once served as a store. William Irish (1844-1882), a Quaker
from New York, conducted a watchmaking and jewelry business
here after the Civil War until a typhoid epidemic cut short
his life. The Chamberlins renovated and added onto this home
around 1970. Photos antedating the renovation depict a two-story
facade with a shed roof instead of a gable. A porch ran along the southeast
wall. |
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