For some folks who live in the Washington region, Reston is a set of buildings they whiz past on the Dulles Access Road, a signpost reminding them the airport is just five minutes away. Perhaps you know its name comes from the initials of Robert E. Simon (1914-2015), the town founder. Bonus points for knowing the Wiehle Metro Station and Wiehle Avenue get their name from Dr. Carl A. Wiehle (1847-1901) whose grand plan for a community of 800 homes never came to fruition.
A forgotten figure in Reston history is A. Smith Bowman (1868-1952). The distinguished historian Dr. John Walter Wayland (“The Bowmans, A Pioneering Family in Virginia, Kentucky, and the Northwest Territory”) gives us a glimpse into his early life. Bowman was born not too far from Lexington, at the family estate of Bellevue.
His great-grandfather was Colonel Abraham Bowman (1749-1837), who along with brothers Issac, John, and Joseph, served as officers in the American Revolution and were among the earliest settlers of Kentucky. They were born and raised at Fort Bowman (Harmony Hall) near Strasburg, Virginia. Thus, A. Smith Bowman’s arrival in Fairfax County in 1927 drew a family circle back to its northern Virginia roots.
Before coming to Virginia, A. Smith Bowman pushed a frontier himself. After buying a fleet of buses in Indianapolis (People's Motor Coach Company) and demonstrating their appeal in the face of opposition, he sold them for a handsome profit.
In 1927, A. Smith Bowman joined what would become an impressive list of other wealthy and ambitious individuals who had and would come from other parts of the country to this part of northern Virginia. Many of them delved into the world of horse and hunt country. Bowman acquired 4,000 acres of rural land about 20 miles west of Washington and where Reston lies today.
In the 1890s, Dr. Carl “Max” Wiehle, son of a German Reformed minister from Philadelphia, had dreamed of building a planned community east of Herndon and north of the railroad tracks. A lake was dug and some streets and about a handful of homes and buildings were put up along what became today’s American Dream Way.
Photo by Author: Historical Marker, W&OD Trail in Reston
But Wiehle’s dream was about a half-century too soon. In 1961, Robert E. Simon, a product of Manhattan, turned the green acres into a planned community whose population has surpassed 60,000.
In 1952, the Washington Evening Star published a photo taken in the 1890s. It shows and identifies seven of the buildings that made up the beginnings of the town of Wiehle.
“All gone now,” the modern day observer might say.
Actually, one building in the photo did survive, the former town hall and church. Bowman used this building (1875 Old Reston Avenue) for part of his new distillery. The two-story brick building was constructed in 1892 with a stone foundation. The steeple for what had been the Wiehle Methodist Episcopal Church was removed in 1937. One of three survivors of the Wiehle era, the structure has sat abandoned for over 25 years.
Photo by Author: Former City Hall/Church/Distillery
Bowman acquired the land in 1927 from a Dr. Hugh Hutchinson (1870-1924) of Herndon. Hutchinson had changed the name of the post office from Wiehle to Sunset Hills. Taking advantage of the railway service, Hutchinson cut timber and sold diary products. Fairfax County was on its way to having the largest number of dairy farms -- more than 200 in the 1950s -- in the state.
Bowman’s distillery operation began in 1934 after the repeal of Prohibition. His brands included Virginia Gentleman and Fairfax County. The bottles were stored in the former town hall building. His distillery plant was located nearby.
about a thousand feet to the east. Its site lies steps north of the W&OD trail and near where it intersects with American Dream Way. Satellite aerials show it torn down in the late 1980s.
Photo by Author, Reston Museum
Until they sold their property in 1960, the Bowman’s ran the only legal whiskey distillery in Virginia. With business booming, Bowman had acquired 3,000 more acres in 1947 for a total spread of 7,200 acres, the largest farm in the county. The family raised beef and diary cattle and then corn for their bourbon distillery. Tall oak trees were turned into barrels.
Every day scores of cars run eastward along Bowman Towne Drive in Reston, then turning left or right onto Reston Parkway. Across the street on Bowman Green Drive lies an oak tree and a 150-feet-wide patch of green grass, an oasis of sorts in this face-paced world. Set back from the road is something even more rare, a large former home with a lovely white fanlight and four wooden columns rising to a second floor gable.
Photo by Author, Former Bowman House
Built in 1941 when all to the east was their farm land and little else, this was the stately home of the Bowman family. In the Wayland book, one sees a photo of Bellevue. The four tall columns and gable front are similar to the former Bowman house that has served as office space at 11718 Bowman Green Dr.
A. Smith Bowman also rekindled his love affair with fox hunting. In 1928 he founded the Fairfax Hunt Club. The Masters of Foxhounds Association of America approved their application. On November 13, 1929, club members set out for the first time from where the Bowmans lived before 1941. It was the impressive former mansion home of Dr. Wiehle across the street from the distillery. Barbara Glakas ("Early Reston History") tells us it has 25 rooms. Today the building holds the offices of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association at 1850 Old Reston Avenue.
Photo by Author: Former Wiehle Mansion.
Responding to the cry of Tally Ho! were nine Masters of Foxhunts from other hunt clubs, and a total of 100 riders. The Bowmans hosted the traditional hunt breakfast and became a vital part of the Fairfax Hunt.
In 1951, they donated ten acres of land that became the home of the hunt. A clubhouse was built using a log house taken from Vienna. Standing vacant and serving as a rare remnant of fox hunting in Fairfax County, it is located at 1321 Lake Fairfax Drive, private property adjacent to Lake Fairfax Park. Like the former town hall building, this one's future is uncertain.
Photo by Author: Former Fairfax Hunt Clubhouse
A. Smith Bowman had two sons. Bowman Jr. (1906–1981) earned a degree in architecture at Harvard and was in charge of sales. His obituary would note he “maintained an older way of life in this part of the county and then helped speed it into the past.”
Edmund DeLong Bowman (1911-1989) earned his degree at Princeton and ran the farm and distillery. After his father passed away, he became President of the company, and Chairman after his brother's passing. He later moved to The Plains. Like their father, the brothers participated in fox hunting, served as a Master of Foxhounds of the Fairfax Hunt, and hosted socials and hunt breakfasts.
In 1960, the brothers sold the house and farm to Lefcourt Realty Corporation. Bowman Jr. served as president of the Historical Society of Fairfax County and wrote, “A History of Sunset Hills Farm” in the Yearbook for 1958.
By the middle of the century, the dairy farms in Fairfax County were fast disappearing. A kid waiting to see W&OD railroad activity waited longer and longer, but with Dulles Airport coming on board (1962), the fascination turned to the skies. The area was on the cusp of more and more growth. The population would leap from 98,000 in 1950 to 275,000 in 1960 and reached 455,000 in 1970.
Foreseeing the future was Robert E. Simon. He put the former Bowman house to good use. Reston magazine (“Bob Simon Slept Here,” Fall 2011, Carol Nahorniak) pointed out that Simon “entertained and wooed prospective investors in the dignified white mansion.” The house later served as Reston’s main meeting place until the Lake Anne Community Hall was completed. A wing was added and renovations made in 1984. As noted, the historic house became the Bowman House Office Building at 11718 Bowman Green Drive.
Photo by Author: Former Bowman House.
After his brother’s passing in 1981, Delong ran the company. He moved to The Plains, and commuted to the distillery.
In 1987, the operation moved to Fredericksburg where it continues sell bourbon whiskey. Their website pays homage to the Bowman family. So does, too, the former town hall/distillery building and their former home in Reston.
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