Collection M 0125 VC 0084 AV 015

Selma Plantation Real Estate Records 1902 - 2016

Table of Contents

User Information Historical Sketch Scope and Content Note Container List

Processed by Laura Christiansen November 2016 Research by Jack Craig

Thomas Balch Library 208 W. Market Street Leesburg, VA 20176 USER INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION: .5 cubic feet

COLLECTION DATES: 1902 -2016, bulk 1996-1999

PROVENANCE: Long & Foster Realty, Leesburg, VA

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection open for research

USE RESTRICTIONS: No physical characteristics affect use of this material.

REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from Thomas Balch Library.

CITE AS: Selma Plantation Real Estate Records, 1902-2016 (M 0125), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

ALTERNATE FORMATS: Digital access copy of VHS Tape: A Tour of Historic Selma Plantation is available.

OTHER FINDING AIDS: None

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: Electronic equipment required to view digitized video content.

RELATED HOLDINGS: Lewis/Edwards Architectural Surveys of Loudoun County 1972 – 1983 (M 022); Historical Postcards, 1900-2008 (VC 0004), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA; Audrey Windsor Bergner Research Collection, ca. 1900 - 2007 (VC 0014)

ACCESSION NUMBERS: 2016.0021

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HISTORICAL SKETCH

Selma, also known as “Selma Plantation” or “Selma Farm” was once part of the Raspberry Plain tract owned by (1733-1785). Between 1800 and 1810 his grandson (1787-1819) constructed a home on a portion of the property, naming it “Selma”. Active in politics, Mason was a leader of the Loudoun County Democratic-Republican Party. In 1815 he was elected to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by William B. Giles resignation but failed to retain the seat in an 1816 re-election bid. On 6 February 1819, Mason was killed in a duel over political differences with his cousin, McCarty (1795-1852). Mason’s widow Charlotte Elizabeth Taylor (fl. 1800-1846) and son Stevens Thomson Mason (1819-1848) lived at Selma until financial difficulties led them to sell the property to William Beverly (1829-1879).

In 1896, Selma was damaged by a fire, which destroyed much of the original house. Following the fire, the property was purchased by Elijah B.White (1864- 1926), son of Colonel Elijah Viers White (1832-1907) and Sarah Elizabeth Gott White (1836–1893). Elijah B. White was president of the People’s National Bank and owner of White’s Ferry. White began reconstruction of Selma, incorporating remains of the original structure into a new, more modern mansion. He commissioned Noland & Baskervill, a Richmond Architectural firm, to design the new house and Leesburg’s Norris Brothers to build it. Work was completed in 1902. In October 1911 Hazelle Pancoast White (1888 - 1920), Elijah B. White’s eldest daughter, married Joel Chandler Harris (1888-1964), son of the noted author at Selma. The White family continued to occupy the home and to farm the property until Elijah B.White’s youngest daughter Jane Elizabeth White (1893- 1970) passed away.

Ben and Ruth Epperson purchased Selma in the early 1970s and lived in the house, also renting it for weddings and special events. In 1996 they listed the property with Long & Foster Realty. The property was sold to Peter J. ter Maaten, CEO of HSO Business Systems in 1999 with the intention of transforming the house into the US headquarters of the Dutch software consulting firm. In 2002, 162 acres of the property was sold to Edgemoore Homes, which began construction of a neighborhood called Selma Estates. Selma Limited Liability Corp., owned by ter Maaten, continued to own Selma and a conservancy lot of 50 acres, although the property was unoccupied after 2000. In 2008, Edgemoore Homes declared bankruptcy and Stanley Martin Homes purchased and completed the development. In 2007, suffering from a lack of maintenance and upkeep, Selma was nominated as one of ’s most endangered historic properties, and a “Save Selma” group was formed by local preservationists. In March 2016, Loudoun County native Sharon D. Virts and Scott F. Miller purchased Selma and began extensive restoration and renovations of the property.

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SOURCES: Ancestry Library Edition, Thomas Balch Library, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/ (Accessed 27 November 2016).

“History Was Made at Selma,” Loudoun Times Mirror, 22 October 1959.

Lewis/Edwards Architectural Surveys of Loudoun County 1972 – 1983 (M 022), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA

Morton, Margaret. “Saving Selma: Historic Manor Poised for Rebirth After Purchase,” Loudoun Now. 17 March 2016.

“Selma: A Loudoun Mansion House,” Loudoun Times Mirror, 16 November 1961.

Selma Plantation Real Estate Records (M 0125), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

“Selma Property of E.B. White,” Loudoun Times Mirror, June 1922.

United States Congress. "Armistead Thomson Mason. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/ (accessed 27 November 2016).

“Wedding of Hazelle Pancoast White and Joel Chandler Harris at Selma Farm,” The Times Dispatch, 15 Oct 1911.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of material created or compiled by Long & Foster Realty between 1996 and 2016 before, during, and after their representation of Selma as real estate brokers. Research and reference materials gathered by Long & Foster include histories, photocopies of 1902 architectural renderings of the house, as well as newspaper and magazine clippings reporting the sale. Materials documenting the extent and condition of the property in 1996 include a 1994 appraisal, surveyor’s maps and an environmental assessment. Promotional materials include flyers, brochures and Long & Foster’s Extraordinary Properties, a promotional magazine. Rental agreements are included for wedding and special event rentals of Selma in 2000. Photographs, slides, and video tours commissioned by Long & Foster provide room by room documentation of Selma as well as external views of outbuildings and other features of the property.

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CONTAINER LIST

M 0125

Box 1

Folder 1 Histories of Selma Folder 2 Noland & Baskervill Architectural Plans, 1902 [photocopies] Folder 3 Property Appraisal, 23 August 1994 Folder 4 Environmental Assessment, 1996 Folder 5 Surveyors Maps, 1995, n.d. Folder 6 King & Cornwall, Inc. Promotional Packet, n.d. Folder 7 Armfield, Miller & Associates, Inc. Real Estate Promotional Materials, 1993, 1995, n.d. Folder 8 Long & Foster Realtors Promotional Materials, 1997 Folder 9 Long & Fosters Extraordinary Properties, 1996, v. 10, issue 3 and 1997, v. 11 issue 2 Folder 10 Long & Foster Rental Agreements, 2000 Folder 11 Clippings, 1996, 2002, 2016

VC 0084

Folder 12 Photographs 14 August 1997 vc_0084_0001 Index print, photos from 14 August 1997 vc_0084_0002 “Selma, Attic Room, center front east view” vc_0084_0003 “Selma, 3rd Floor Office” vc_0084_0004 “Selma, 3rd Floor Nursery” vc_0084_0005 “Selma, view downstairs from 3rd floor” vc_0084_0006 “View down stairs from 3rd floor” vc_0084_0007 “Selma, Main Level Private family room / kitchen” vc_0084_0008 “Carriage House / garage” vc_0084_0009 “Selma, view of North side of house with porch” vc_0084_0010 “View of rear of house” vc_0084_0011 “1st Barn, South of Main House” vc_0084_0012 “Selma, Smoke House” vc_0084_0013 “Second Barn” vc_0084_0014 “Tenant House #1” vc_0084_0015 “Tenant House #2” vc_0084_0016 “Tenant House #3” vc_0084_0017 “Eastern View from Along Drive” vc_0084_0018 “View of Main House from Barn #1” vc_0084_0019 “Selma, Daughter’s House” vc_0084_0020 “View of Selma from drive”

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vc_0084_0021 “Gate on drive and beginning of property” vc_0084_0022 [View of Selma from drive]

Folder 12, continued vc_0084_0023 “View east from front 1/3 of driveway” vc_0084_0024 “Selma, Front Gate at Rt. 15” Folder 13 Photographs October 1999 vc_0084_0025 [Selma, exterior view] vc_0084_0026 [Selma, exterior view] vc_0084_0027 [Selma, exterior view] vc_0084_0028 [Selma, front entrance] vc_0084_0029 [Selma, exterior view, from pool] vc_0084_0030 [Selma, exterior view, panorama] vc_0084_0031 [Selma, exterior view, panorama] vc_0084_0032 [Selma, exterior view, panorama] vc_0084_0033 [Selma, exterior view, panorama] vc_0084_0034 “Secluded Country Estate” [Selma, exterior view, panorama] vc_0084_0035 [Selma, view of drive]

Folder 14 Photographs, n.d. vc_0084_0036 [Selma, aerial view] vc_0084_0037 [Selma and barn aerial view] vc_0084_0038 [Selma, interior, stairwell] vc_0084_0039 [Selma, front entrance] vc_0084_0040 [Stone Lion statue] vc_0084_0041 [Selma, interior, bedroom] vc_0084_0042 [Selma, interior, stairs] vc_0084_0043 [Selma, interior, stairwell] vc_0084_0044 [Selma, interior, stairwell] vc_0084_0045 [Selma, interior] vc_0084_0046 [Selma, interior, stairwell] vc_0084_0047 [Selma, interior, dining room] vc_0084_0048 [Selma, exterior view] vc_0084_0049 [Selma, interior] vc_0084_0050 [Selma, interior, fireplace] vc_0084_0051 [Selma, interior, stairwell] vc_0084_0052 [Selma, interior, fireplace] vc_0084_0053 [Selma, interior, stairwell] vc_0084_0054 [Selma, interior, dining room] vc_0084_0055 [Selma, interior] vc_0084_0056 [Selma, interior] vc_0084_0057 [Selma, interior, dining room] vc_0084_0058 [Barn] vc_0084_0059 [Tenant House]

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vc_0084_0060 [Tenant House] vc_0084_0061 [Tenant House] vc_0084_0062 “Selma, Entry Hall” vc_0084_0063 “Selma, View from Front Entry, faces east”

Folder 14, continued vc_0084_0064 “Selma, Dining room” vc_0084_0065 “Selma, Living Room (Drawing Room)” vc_0084_0066 “Selma, Billiard Room” vc_0084_0067 “Selma, Back Study / Den” vc_0084_0068 “Selma, side porch facing SE” vc_0084_0069 “Caterer’s Kitchen” vc_0084_0070 “Selma, Caterer’s Kitchen” vc_0084_0071 “Selma, the Grand Stairway” vc_0084_0072 “Selma, Hall on south side of foyer” vc_0084_0073 “Selma, Brides Bedroom, 2nd floor” vc_0084_0074 “Selma, Miss Piggy Room” vc_0084_0075 “Guest Room” vc_0084_0076 “Guest Bath” vc_0084_0077 “2nd Floor Landing, facing south” vc_0084_0078 “Groom’s Bedroom” vc_0084_0079 “Sleeping Porch, west view” vc_0084_0080 “Selma, North hall, 2nd floor” vc_0084_0081 “Selma, Center Bedroom” vc_0084_0082 “3rd floor N. bedroom” vc_0084_0083 “3rd floor N.E. Bedroom” vc_0084_0084 [Selma, exterior view with pool] Folder 15 Slides vc_0084_0085 [Selma, exterior view], slide vc_0084_0086 [Selma, interior], slide

AV 015

Item 1 A Tour of Historic Selma Plantation [VHS Tape], Impact Video Company, n.d. Item 2 Historic Selma Plantation [DVD], Yesvideo, Inc., 2014

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