One of the great saves in northern Virginia was the land where the Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts lies today near Tysons. In 1966, Catherine Filene Shouse (1896-1994), who advanced women’s rights and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work promoting the arts, donated her land there. Every year the popular venue, located about a dozen miles west of Washington, attracts scores of concerts and shows. Wolf Trap is the only national park dedicated to presenting the performing arts.
What many may not know is that a house that was built in the 1840s stands less than half a mile away (1442 Towlston Road).
This is the story of Spring Glade. There’s no one website for it so we cobbled together the following.
Beth Mitchell’s map of Fairfax County in 1760 shows this land in the northern part of the county lying toward the southern end of Wolf Trap Run. Bryan, Eighth Lord Fairfax (1736-1802), owned the land and enslaved ten persons. A life long friend and fox hunting companion of George Washington, he married Elizabeth Cary (1738-1788) and lived at Towlston Grange (1213 Towlston Road, Great Falls). The enlarged and modernized dwelling lies about a mile north of Spring Glade.
About three miles to the south stands the crossing of two of the earliest roads (the start of today’s Tysons) in the county. The road running from the foothill farms to Alexandria is today’s Route 7/Leesburg Pike. The road running east to west is Route 123/Chain Bridge Road. An historical marker west of the intersection notes the county courthouse stood there from 1742 to 1752.
For almost two hundred years this area remained rural until growth west of Washington began to reach closer and closer to this part of the county. In 1962, cars zipped past to and from Dulles Airport, which opened that year. Around that time, some consideration was given to re-zoning the land where Spring Glade and Wolf Trap stand to industrial use.
A 2014 article we found on Spring Glade was written by Gregg McDonald (“Preserving Tysons Corner’s history.” Southern Maryland News). He describes the dwelling as a log, stone and horsehair-plaster farmhouse with two massive stone chimneys. The original portion was four rooms. Additions include modern amenities while keeping the character of the original structure. The oak tree there is believed to be 200 to 250 years old.
Living there was Gene Bacher, who today serves as President of the Friends of Colvin Run Mill. He was quoted as saying, “With so much coming that is new, we should not forget the past.”
Spring Glade’s early history is fuzzy. The county map for 1860 shows Thomas S. Cooksey owning 294 acres there. The Slavery Inventory Database shows Thomas S. Cooksey as an enslaver. The Census for 1850 shows Thomas S. Cooksey, farmer, age 51, living with Sarah, age 57, and two children, Fanny, age 17 and Isabella, 16.
The Alexandria Gazette (1858) wrote a brief obituary for Sarah Adams Cooksey, the “widow of the late Thomas S. Cooksey.” He (1798-1857) had passed away in October, 1857 “at his residence near Andrew Chapel."
Thomas and Sarah (Sallie) were laid to rest at the Andrew Chapel Cemetery, which is located less than a half a mile away on Route 7. It dates to 1854 and lies on the grounds of the site of the original Andrew Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. Their gravestone lies just steps from The Saint Athanasius Traditional Catholic Church, which was built on the site of the original Andrew Chapel.
Harl Jeffery (“Shouse Village,” McLean Citizens Association, 2007) touches on Spring Glade briefly, telling us a family named Johnson might have lived there in the early 1900s. After that, tenants rented the house.
After sitting there quietly for all those years, Spring Glade emerged in the newspapers in 1941 when it was purchased by Lisle A. Smith. A native of Indiana and a graduate of Columbia Law School, he served as Special Assistant in three administrations and counsel for the Department of Agriculture. Smith retired in 1941. He named the home Spring Glade. A brook runs southward to Wolf Trap Creek.
In July, 1942, Smith married Mrs. Neitah King. Born in Washington, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Perkins of Washington and Winchester. Neitah attended the Fort Loudoun Seminary in Winchester.
After their wedding and a honeymoon, Lisle and Neitah settled down at their house. In those days before the Shouse Village neighborhood was built, the only road in from Leesburg Pike was Trap Road. Towlston Road was laid out when the suburban homes were built in 1969.
In the 1940s, more and more cars were seen on the road to Leesburg and Alexandria (Route 7), but at that time, all around Spring Glade was still mostly farm land. The Smith’s neighbors to the west were the Bowmans, who owned Sunset Hills, a 4,000-acre dairy farm whose site is Reston. They operated a whiskey distillery and had started the Fairfax Hunt in 1930. It grew in popularity with fox hunters, guests, and spectators.
In October, 1949, The Washington Post wrote:
The Fairfax Hunt opened the season with a gala meeting at Spring Glade, country home of Mr and Mrs Lisle Smith. About 300 guests came from Washington, Maryland, and Virginia.
The following October, Marie McNair of the Post wrote:
For a number of years it’s been the custom of the Smiths to start the first hunt off from Spring Glade. Each year they invite several hundred guests, friends from Washington and Virginia, to view the take off, always a thrill-packed sight, from their green rolling hills.
Lisle Smith rode with the club and for a period of time served as its President. At the start of some of the hunts at Spring Glade, the riders were given a traditional drink in a “stirrup cup.” Upon their return, the growling tummies were fed ham biscuits and coffee.
Writing for the Fairfax Standard (January, 1950), Nike Anderson wrote a piece titled: “Home of Mr and Mrs Smith Steeped in History, Hospitality, Fairfax’s Favorite Hostess.”
The quality of hospitality of Spring Glade is genuine and flawless, and like a magic talisman, it seems to draw people from everywhere. Four hundred may turn up to witness the opening of the Fairfax Hunt, but twice that number will drop in during the year for grass roots entertainment, a visit, a drink, or a simple and excellent dinner.
In another article, Anderson provided a peek inside:
…the delightful little dining room with its original Adam mantel and chairs…
The Washington Evening Star, (Society News, January 16, 1950) detailed a fete at Spring Glade for Miss Drucie Snyder, daughter of the Secretary of Treasury, and her fiancé, Major John Snyder. On the table was home-cured ham, spare ribs with southern fried apples, and apple dumplings.
In June 1952, the Post’s Dorothy McCardle told her readers a story about Russell Stuart, who was a Fairfax Hunt member. Riding up one day to Spring Glade, he was surprised to see a half dozen black limousines outside the house.
Turns out it was President Truman, who, along with First Lady Bess, enjoyed visiting the Smiths and their fried chicken dinners.
The guest book (Fairfax Library, Virginia Room) shows Truman signing the book in January 1950 and May 1951. The First Lady penned her name five times from 1945 to 1951. Their only child, Margaret, visited in May, 1947. The President wrote, “A wonderful day.” Bess wrote, “Always the best time ever.”
From the mid-40s to the mid-50s, hundreds of visitors made their way to Spring Glade. The guest book shows visitors from not only Washington and the area and other states, but also countries such as Morocco, China, Australia, Scotland, Chile and Buenos Aires.
It was steady business for the Society scribes and one of the busiest Kitty B. Pozer. Daughter of Dr. Kate Waller Barrett and a columnist for the Post for almost 25 years, she visited Spring Glade three dozen times. Pozer lived in the city of Fairfax at what is known as the Ratcliffe-Allison-Pozer House. In 1823, her mother acquired the home, saving it from demolition. In 1972, Kitty, married to Mr. Charles Pozer, donated the house and its historical contents to the City of Fairfax. The museum was restored by the city and Historic Fairfax City, Inc., and interprets the community’s 19th-century lifestyle.
Socialites in Washington did not have to go far to find a good party in the nation’s capital. So what was so special about Spring Glade, a place 28 miles roundtrip from the capital?
In her syndicated column, Dorothy McCardle helped answer the question. She sat down with Neitah in March, 1950.
Before moving to Spring Glade, Lisle and Neitah had lived in an apartment in Washington where they did a lot of formal entertaining. Neitah learned to dislike parties where she couldn’t sit down. So when they moved to Spring Glade, she made sure there was seating in the living room and dining room.
She also told McCardle:
“Protocol is out the window no matter who comes to dinner. We just want everyone to relax and be comfortable and happy.”
In 1959, Ruth Montgomery touched on “The Secrets of Washington,” (New York Journal-American, December 10, 1959).
“The Smiths’ success as party-givers can be emulated by any hosts who combine the three ingredients they invariably supply: personal warmth, excellent home-cooked food, and stimulating guests.”
The last entry in the guest book for Spring Glade came in 1959. Lisle passed away in 1966 and was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery. Neitah moved to the city of Fairfax and took her last breath in 1979. She, too, was interred at Arlington Cemetery.
In 1966, Randolph “Randy” Rouse bought Spring Glade from the Smiths. Rouse was a member of the Fairfax Hunt and would go on to fame as a horseman in and around Middleburg. Preservationists tried to save the house in Arlington (the Febrey-Lothrop House at 6407 Wilson Blvd) where he had lived with TV actress Audrey Meadows (Alice, The Honeymooners) before their divorce, but it was demolished in 2021. The couple visited Spring Glade on November 22, 1956. Audrey wrote - “Stuffed again.”
Rouse sold Spring Glade to the Yeonas Real Estate Company. They developed the land around it into a suburban neighborhood. Opened in 1969, the set of 260 homes was named Shouse Village, in honor of Catherine Filine Shoushe, who donated the land for Wolf Trap. The first performance at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center took place in June, 1971.
Gene Bacher and his family lived at Spring Glade from 1976 to 2018. He shared with me the work they did.
“We put several additions on (sun porch and master bedroom/garage) while adding the sun porch. We had our contractor disassemble the log shed and reconstruct it (slightly smaller) on a concrete platform (it was rotting from the ground up).”
In 1999, The Washington Post (Linda Perlstein) featured Shouse Village in their “Where We Live” series. Perlstein pointed out that Catherine had asked for the “village atmosphere,” a place where community could meet. A resident said it felt like an oasis in the middle of a built-up area.” Residents have access to trails which circle around the man-made lake. Street names pay homage to performers.
The Bachers sold Spring Glade in 2018 to Rod and Lani Rhines. Sadly, Rod Rhines died in December, 2018 due to injuries sustained in an auto accident. He served as a Navy SEAL from 1990-1995. Lani continued to restore and upgrade the house. The oak tree stands beside it, also a sentinel to the past.
There seems to be two types of developments these days. One is where anything and everything old is swept away and the new is built. The other is where consideration is given to keeping some part of the old and building the new around it.
Over by Wolf Trap, the latter took place, and that’s music to our ears…
Recent Comments