Logs of the original colonial-era cabin and its unusual angled fireplace stand open to daylight after more than a century and a half. Photo by Michael McMorrow.
Last week an old house on Minor’s Hill was felled for new development. The farm on which it stood was long-gone, a fact confirmed by standing at the corner of Nottingham and Virginia streets in McLean and turning slowly in a circle to see nothing but well-established homes. No formal archaeological analyses were performed, but a historic preservation consultant to Fairfax County indicated the original log dwelling could have been raised in the 1770s. Several major additions and modifications to the building over the years make accurate dating difficult. Longstanding neighborhood lore held that the old house was a military headquarters during the Civil War — or, as many close-by residents would have said in their day, the War of Northern Aggression. The county consultant tended to agree based on photographs found in the Library of Congress. Demolition of the structure was a surprise to some living in the immediate area. Roadside conversations conducted over the roar of a bulldozer and falling masonry suggested a revived interest in historical events “right next door.”