Stonewall Stopped Here
Antebellum Estate Sits on 11 Acres, And You'd Have to Buy All of Them

By Patricia Kime
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, June 28, 2008

While cruising along Route 7 in western Fairfax County, it's easy to overlook Holly Knoll, a house built in 1858 that's the namesake for two neighboring subdivisions. Its brick facade peeks from behind giant sycamore, oak and holly trees, and its long gravel driveway trails forlornly through overgrown fields.

For sale for the first time in about 50 years, the once-grand home is one of five antebellum houses on the market in Fairfax County. But it's probably the only one where Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson knocked on the door.

"Sept. 3 -- Jackson's Army comes to Dranesville and we take Maj. Hart and [2nd Lt. Joshua] Lipman," 28-year-old Kate Carper wrote in her journal in 1862. Carper lived in the house, once known as Bloomfield II, most of her life, according to Cordelia Sansone, a local historian who documented the house's past in a self-published book, "Journey to Bloomfield."

"The story goes that the occupants of the house offered their home to General Jackson, but he preferred to stay in the fields with his troops," said Dan Shaner, the house's co-owner.

Brushes with history aside -- which included Yankees and Confederates crisscrossing the property on the same day in 1863 -- the property appears to be a developer's dream, offering 11 acres on Route 7 at the juncture of the Algonkian and Fairfax County parkways. But one glitch may keep the old estate intact: right-of-way restrictions imposed by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Under Fairfax County zoning, the property could be developed as a residential neighborhood with up to 11 houses. But the only entry to the property is the nearly hidden bluestone drive, which protrudes from the exit ramp that leads from Route 7 to the parkways. And VDOT won't allow the current -- or future -- property owners to expand the driveway.

"We don't want that volume of traffic going onto the main roadway," VDOT spokesman Mike Salmon said.

According to Salmon, the state would allow access from two adjacent side roads, but the Holly Knoll II Homeowners Association, which owns much of the green space between those roads and the property, would have to grant right-of-way across the community-owned land. And it's not budging, either.

"[The land] can't be conveyed. The board doesn't have the authority to do it," said Lou Kriso, the association president. "It's common property which is to be held for the benefit of everybody."

So, Holly Knoll is being marketed as a single-family house for $2.99 million.

"We believe this property should be preserved. . . . Just think what you can do with 11 acres. If you want to have horses, or you want to do gardening. Some people like elbow room. And this elbow room is not way out in the country," said listing agent Guy Gravett of Farms & Acreage in Oakton.

Holly Knoll sits at the heart of the Dranesville Tavern Historic Overlay District, a county-designated region that protects a once-popular roadside inn and the site of an early Civil War skirmish.

The five-bedroom house is being sold "as is," and a walk-through reveals peeling paint, plaster and a circa-1960s kitchen badly in need of updating. But the 6,000-square-foot house also boasts soaring ceilings, six-over-six sash windows, seven fireplaces (including one in the vintage kitchen), original mantels and floors, numerous porches, and a grand sycamore allée along the drive.

"I'm selling something that's different, and if you are in that market, this is an opportunity," Gravett said.

Until four years ago, Holly Knoll was owned by Mildred Hand, who moved into it in 1953. According to Hand's son Shaner, the stately, three-story house was a joy in which to live: Shaner's mother and her husband, Frank Hand, threw lavish parties and always had company. Shaner kept a horse, worked at the dairy farm behind the property and attended Herndon High School.

"We hosted a graduation party for my high school class, and you know, I've attended reunions, and people often tell me they don't remember a whole lot from back then, but they remember the party at Holly Knoll," Shaner said.

When Mildred Hand died in 2004, Shaner and his brother, Darby Hand, debated what to do with the property. Shaner, a lawyer in the real estate title business, considered developing the property. But after exploring their options, the brothers decided to sell, Shaner said.

"If I had my druthers, I'd just love to see a family in here," Shaner said.

A scan of Holly Knoll's real estate property assessments is a mini-lesson in the now-vanished boom market. In 2000, the home and its acreage were assessed at $853,340; by 2008, the county had assessed the property at $4.3 million. Taxes are $37,996 -- a little steep for the average shopper.

"Yes, we might have buyers come to us and start saying they don't like this or they don't like that. Well, then, they may not be the right buyer. Someone needs to get on the property and decide 'Hey, this is for me,' and I'm pretty sure that buyer is out there," Gravett said.

Because Holly Knoll is a large historic property at Fairfax County's western edge, future owners might be able to apply for a conservation easement and receive state tax credits, Gravett said. Both he and Shaner say the property is the "gateway to Fairfax County," and, when paired with Dranesville Tavern across the road, should be preserved.

"I love this house. I love this property. I'm sure someone out there will love it, too," Shaner said.

House Gossip is an occasional look at interesting places owned by interesting people. To let us know about houses worth covering, e-mail us atrealestate@washpost.com.