We are taking a six-part look at some of the area north of Upperville.
In Part One we looked at the first mile or so of Trappe Road. In Part Two, we looked at Ayrshire. Today we head to Llangollen, about a mile up the road from Ayrshire.
Part Four: Windsor Farm
Part Five: Cleremont
Part Six: Trappe
Like its neighbor Ayrshire, Llangollen stands tall in the pantheon of grand historic mansions in horse and hunt country. Its 12,500 square feet is kingly in size, and who else has the base of the mountains in the back yard, as well as a world class set of polo facilities in the front yard?
The driveway here spans 4,000 feet from the road. Normally, such a distant, combined with terrain and trees, would make the house invisible. But here the house, with 17 fireplaces and a rich history can be seen from the road.
What can’t be seen is the massive, 24-stall horseshoe-shaped stable behind the house. Also on the grounds is a 5/8 mile training track, three polo fields, a polo arena, a training barn with indoor track, a diary barn, ice house, and tenant houses. It all adds up to a current value of about $26.5M, perhaps the highest figure in horse and hunt country.
Llangollen is certainly extravagant, but it can take us back to the early days of Middleburg. We are blessed to have the recent nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places.
The first part of the house, a small patent house, dates to c. 1795. Lt. Col. Leven Powell (1737-1810) acquired and expanded the house and farm land. Another Federal-style expansion came in 1830 and a final one took place in the early 20th-century into a Colonial Revival-style house.
In 1787, Powell etched his way into history by subdividing 50 acres of his land halfway from Winchester to Alexandria, and creating half-acre lots. Thus was born the town of Middleburg. He gave the town a Federal flavor, naming streets such as Washington, Madison, and Constitution.
Rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Powell served in the American Revolution under General George Washington and held public office in the US House of Representatives. Founders Online tells us in 1787, Washington experimented with planting buckwheat after Powell sent him 50 bushels and a letter of advisement.
Lesser known is that part of Powell’s story took place in Alexandria. Ethelyn Cox (Historic Alexandria, Street by Street) tells us he owned the commodious and attractive clapboard house at 200 Duke Street.
The NRHP form gives us terrific info on Powell. He tapped into the merchant trade in Alexandria that was prosperous during the seaport’s Golden Age. Colonel Powell’s son, Cuthbert Powell (1775-1849) inherited the Llangollen property in 1810. He later expanded the house. Cuthbert Powell was born and practiced law in Alexandria, as well as serving as mayor. Cox shows him living at 229 S. Pitt.
Also a merchant, Cuthbert owned a store at the southeast corner of Fairfax and Queen. In their “A Seaport Saga,” Smith and Miller have a photo of the building and tell us it was one of the city’s early buildings. The brick and stone structure was demolished in 1915.
Founders Online notes Powell served as a director of the Alexandria Library Company and officer of the Sun Fire Company in 1803. His political career included councilman (1806), mayor (1808), State Senator (1815-1819), House of Delegates (1828-1829), Virginia Congressman (1841). Cuthbert married Catherine Simms, the daughter of Col. Charles Simms, a close friend and pall-bearer of George Washington.
Powell split his time between his Alexandria townhouse and Llangollen. He continued to expand his Llangollen acres, dotted with tenant farmers.
Cuthbert moved permanently from Alexandria to Llangollen around 1830. The number of ships sailing on the Potomac had been reduced during what might be seen as its “Wilted Age.” Cuthbert’s oldest son, Charles Leven Powell (1804-1896), also split time in Alexandria and in Loudoun County. Some of Cuthbert’s other children were born in Alexandria. His brother Burr (1768-1839) Powell was an early esteemed citizen of Middleburg.
Cuthbert passed away in 1849, and was laid to rest at Llangollen. The Cuthbert Powell Cemetery, near the house, is a contributing site.
George S. Ayre enters the picture after the Civil. He owned the house and lands between the end of the Civil War and the late 1800s. As the nomination form points out, economic hardship continued in the 1880s with workers seeking employment in more urban areas.
Towards the end of his life, Ayre retreated to his other home, Snowden, in Fauquier County. Eugene Scheel wrote about it in The Washington Post (November 15, 2003). The dwelling burned down in 1913. Scheel saw the ruins in the 1970s, located 1.5 miles south of Paris and in State Meadows Park.
In 1911, Harry Toulmin, a native of Alabama who lived in Washington, acquired Llangollen. He likely added the Colonel Revival front porch and lived there until selling it in 1922.
The wealthy Northerners kept coming to horse and hunt country in the first half of the 20th century. In some cases they acquired older mansions, put big money into modernizing and expanding them, started fox hunts in front of them, and held social gatherings inside them. Some also became breeders of thoroughbred horses.
One of the most celebrated arrivals came in 1930 when millionaire John “Jock” Jay Whitney and his wife Liz made for splashy newcomers. Coming from silver spoons in Maine and New York, Whitney was an Oxford-educated financier and newspaper publisher. He was described as being “as close to royalty as American racing ever had.” Llangollen was his wedding gift to Liz, whose mother, Elizabeth Altemus Eastman, blazed trails in Philadelphia as a leader. Liz was a fearless rider who competed in shows and raised thoroughbreds. The couple updated and added on to the mansion and built a large horseshoe shaped stable.
On November 17, 1931, the Whitney’s hosted a day like no other in these parts. The event was a set of four steeplechase races that drew a star field of thoroughbreds and 20,000 spectators. By way of comparison, at the time, Leesburg’s population was 1,600 and Alexandria had 24,000. One reporter quipped, “Where they stayed, I’ll never know.”
The lucky ones stayed in the mansion. Social celebrities came from Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Kentucky. Among the Washington guests were the Secretary of the Navy. Perhaps some guests showed off a new automobile while other traded stories about the long distance from Washington and the condition of the roads.
The newspapers from Richmond to New York splashed full page ink with large photos.
The Evening Star: Aristocratic Days in Old Dominion Revived by Races.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch: The eyes of the sporting world will turn Tuesday to Llangollen.
The Washington Post: Sporting people came from all parts of the United States.
The New York Daily News: With the 35,000 Society Bluebloods at Jock Whitney’s Hunt Meet.
The Staunton Daily News Leader: The races will hark to the golden era of the turf when the Virginia four-miler held sway.
The New York Daily News: Said to be the largest private racing event held in Virginia since the Civil War.
A select number of guests stayed for a formal dinner and dance. Liz presented the Llangollen Cup and prize money of $5,000.
The winners were:
Word of Honor, Llangollen Open Steeplechase Cup (Three miles, won by two lengths), 6:20.
Stone Dale, Piedmont Gold Steeplechase Cup (Three Miles over Aiken type fences), 6:48.
Thornback (Owned by Elizabeth), Ayrshire Cup, four miles over timber), 9:31.
Bachelor’s Drake, Blue Ribbon Chase, 5:26.
Before divorcing in 1939 (he married a Roosevelt), John and Liz ruled the roost of hosting A-list hunt breakfasts and balls in these parts, as well as holding their polo and thoroughbred racing events. Their guests included Bing Crosby, the heavyweight boxing champ Gene Tunny, Jockey of the Year Eddie Arcaro, a Vice President, ambassadors, a Count, and a Prince. The "Smart Set" now had a Virginia playground.
While John left and chased dreams elsewhere, Liz stayed. Helping to usher in what might be seen as the area’s golden age of thoroughbred farms, she became good friends with Paul and Bunny Mellon. Like Paul at Rokeby, Isabelle Dodge Sloane at Brookmeade (now Lazy Lane), and Taylor Hardin at Newstead, Liz earned esteem as a premier thoroughbred owner. She added a 5/8 training track and training barn.
Liz cared deeply for Llangollen. Delores Phillips (“Self-Sufficient Llangollen Covers 3,300 Valley Acres,” Evening Star, November 25, 1956) told her readers she had a collection of antique furniture, paintings, and china that outdistanced most museums. Among her household items were a four-poster bed that belonged to Robert "King" Carter, a Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington and many of horses. Her dogs were Great Danes, poodles, retrievers, and terriers. Her Diary Plant sold milk to northern Virginia and Washington.
Liz called Llangollen home until her passing in 1988. As noted by Drew Beard ("Virginia Hunt Country Landmark," The Land Report, August 30, 2024), the mansion and facilities fell into a state of disrepair. In 1989, Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries, acquired and restored it.
In 2008, the Brennan family acquired and updated Llangollen, and established a world class polo facility.
The estate is currently up for sale ($26.5M). All eyes await, because out here, you’re not just an owner, a resident, and a neighbor. Most importantly, you are a steward...
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