Mighty Midget Kitchen - Leesburg

The Mighty Midget Kitchen is a Leesburg landmark, originally crafted in 1946 from the metal fuselage of a WWII B-29 bomber. Relocated about a block from its former location, it now serves German food as part of a restaurant and entertainment complex called Hamburg Döner on Harrison Street, directly across from Tuscarora Mill.

There were seven of these metal structures made in the late 1940s by a company in Glendale, California. Most were used as food stands, but at least one served as a newsstand. This is believed to be the only one of the set of structures left.

For nearly 50 years The Mighty Midget was popular as a hamburger, hot dog and fries outlet. The Mighty Midget closed in 1994 and was moved from the juncture of Loudoun and Market Streets to location a block away in 1996, when it resumed operation as a restaurant. In 2001 a new tenant arrived: B’z BBQ. Its ribs and pulled pork were cooked on a BBQ smoker in back of the building. Proprietor Brian DeVaux offered ribs only on Fridays and Saturdays, but his pulled pork was available every day. B’z BBQ closed in December, 2007.

In late March, 2008, the Mighty Midget reopened as “Hamburg Döner,” where it sits on a deck outside the restaurant proper. Since 2006 Hamburg Döner had operated out of a food truck at Leesburg’s Virginia Village Shopping Center, and the vacant Mighty Midget Kitchen tempted owners Nicole Marschall and Timo Winkel to make a permanent home for their popular food offerings. Today they welcome the public by keeping alive the local tradition of the Mighty Midget, for which the locals retain a heavy streak of nostalgia. Hamburg Döner serves the German take on the Turkish döner sandwich, which is made with hot meat atop salad covered in sauce, served on toasted flatbread; this is the most popular sandwich served in Germany today. Other selections include German bratwurst and schnitzel. The restaurant also offers German beers, some indoor seating and outdoor seating at German biergarten tables, relocated directly from Germany.

On March 28, 2009, they celebrated their one year anniversary at the Mighty Midget Kitchen at 202-A Harrison Street. That day was also the first day of operation under their new name – Döner Bistro.

Open from 11:00 a.m.; closed Mondays.
Live music Fri/Sat from 7 pm. 703-779-7880
www.hamburg-doener.com

James Monroe's Oak Hill

In 1794 James Monroe, our fifth president, purchased the 4,400 acres of land on which Oak Hill was located from Colonel Charles Carter. The Carter family owned Oatlands (main house c. 1800), a neighboring Loudoun County estate now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. James Monroe and his wife Elizabeth visited and stayed at Oak Hill often before taking up residence there after Monroe’s retirement from his term of presidency from 1817-1825.

On the property was an older stone estate manager’s house containing six rooms. It was used as a residence by Monroe's brother, Andrew, in the period of 1808 through 1817, when Andrew managed the farm. James Monroe and his wife Elizabeth stayed in the manager’s house when visiting the farm in earlier years and while arranging for construction of the larger manor house, built of brick with a large Greek-styled portico, in 1822. The house was planned by Irishman James Hoban, architect of the White House, incorporating many architectural drawings and design suggestions made by Thomas Jefferson, a close friend of the Monroes. The builder was William Benton.

This mid-1800s etching of Oak Hill contains several erroneous architectural details. The portico was distinguished by five 9-ft. diameter, 30-ft. tall, stuccoed brick columns -- not six. The arcaded pediment supporting the portico thus contained four arches, not five. The width to height ratio is also distorted.

During his retirement years at Oak Hill, Monroe served as chairman of the Virginia Constitutional Convention, as a local magistrate in Loudoun County, and as a member of the Board of Visitors for the newly-organized University of Virginia. John Quincy Adams (who succeeded Monroe as President) and General Lafayette both visited Monroe at Oak Hill. Life-long friends Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were frequent visitors, as well.

Monroe's wife died at Oak Hill in 1830. After her death, Monroe moved to New York to live with his youngest daughter. He wrote to James Madison on April 11, 1831, stating: “It is very distressing to me to sell my property in Loudoun, for besides parting with all I have in the State (of Virginia), I indulged a hope that, if I could retain it, I might be able occasionally to visit it, and meet my friends there.” Monroe died in New York City on July 4 of that year.

Monroe, born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, was a student at the College of William and Mary, but dropped out to serve in the Revolutionary War, in which he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. From 1780-82, he studied law under Thomas Jefferson, although he never completed a higher education degree. Immediately thereafter Monroe served as a member of the Continental Congress, then went on to complete a distinguished career as a public servant. In 1790, he became a U.S. Senator from Virginia. Four years later he became Minister to France. From 1799-1802 Monroe served as the Governor of Virginia. In 1803 he assisted US Minister Robert Livingston in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase. From 1803-1807, Monroe was Minister to Great Britain. In 1811 he was appointed by President Madison to Secretary of State and then Secretary of War (posts held simultaneously).

The area of Monroe's greatest success, however, was in foreign affairs. This was the era in which much of South America achieved independence from Spain. Monroe wanted to insure that no European regime interfered with this independence process. He issued the Monroe Doctrine, which warned European states not to become involved in the affairs of the Western hemisphere. Monroe crafted this important historical document while in residence at Oak Hill.


Today the Oak Hill estate is in private hands, since 1948 the residence of Thomas DeLashmutt and his wife, Gayle, who on occasion graciously welcome the public to the house and extensive gardens for special events. Gayle DeLashmutt is president of the Mosby Heritage Area Association. www.mosbyheritagearea.org

The house, located nine miles south of Leesburg (near Aldie), contains furniture that once belonged to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Dolley Madison. Two ornately carved Italian marble mantelpieces were presented to the Monroes by the Marquis de Lafayette, in gratitude for saving Mme. Lafayette from the guillotine during the French Revolution in 1795 (Monroe was then serving as Minister to France). Civil War soldiers chipped off some of the carvings, to take as souvenirs (the house was used by both armies during the Civil War). Some of the slate floor stones were brought from the White House after the fire of the War of 1812; other floor stones contain dinosaur footprints found on the estate.

North facade:

South facade:

The property, designated as both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark, fronts onto the James Monroe and James Madison Highway (Rt. 15), formerly known as the Old Carolina Road, a Native American route linking present-day North Carolina and Pennsylvania via central Virginia. The 175-mile section from Gettysburg/PA to Charlottesville/VA features Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, James Madison's Montpelier, James Monroe's Oak Hill and Ash Lawn-Highland, Theodore Roosevelt's Pine Knot cabin, and Dwight Eisenhower's farm.

Trivia:
A) Two U.S. Navy ships have been named "USS Oak Hill" after the estate (Moroe served as Secretary of War).
B) William Benton, who was the builder of both Woodburn and Oak Hill estate houses, defied Virginia State Law by teaching all 19 of his slaves to read and write.

Woodburn Estate: Loudoun County

Woodburn Estate (3 miles SW of Leesburg on Rt. 704, off Rt. 15)

This 240-acre Loudoun County estate contains a fine 13-room brick Federal farmhouse and an important collection of ancillary structures. The property was patented in the mid-18th century by George Nixson (born 1730 in Enniskillen, Ireland), who put up the oldest buildings, including the 1777 log “patent” house. In colonial times, construction of a 16-by-20-foot cabin was a requirement for obtaining a “patent” (title to the property).

Nixson also built the stone and frame gristmill in 1777 and the stone miller’s house in 1787. Nixson’s son George had the main brick house built by William Benton around 1820 (aside: two years later Benton also built the Oak Hill estate house for President James Monroe, six miles farther south). The unusually large scale of the house, including its extensive rear wing, earned it the name “Dr. Nixson’s Folly.” The main house is distinguished by magnificent brick work laid in Flemish and American 5-course bond, as well as interior features such as molded plaster cornices and fine mantels. Contemporary with the house is the springhouse and an impressive elaborate brick barn with an arcaded ground level and brick lattice vents. The barn is considered the largest and finest of its type in existence (in the 1970s I had a friend who rented the miller’s house, so I was able to see this remarkable barn up close; it was unusual for such architectural detail and costly construction materials to be lavished on a barn).

A small village grew near the estate house, but by the year 1900 the village of Woodburn boasted only 15 residents.

Thomas Hawkins Clagett, a physician, owned Woodburn during the years of the Civil War. He was successful in warding off a Union soldier burning raid in 1864 that resulted in tremendous destruction of property in Loudoun County. Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan was ordered to carry out a “Burning Raid” to root out John Mosby and his Rangers. Sheridan burned barns, mills and many other structures suspected of harboring John Mosby and his supporters. Clagett sent several of his slaves to inform Sheridan that Mosby was lying in wait to ambush them, and Sheridan’s troops thus passed Woodburn by – it was all a successful ruse to spare Clagett’s property.

Owners of the Woodburn estate in modern times were the ballet superstar Rudolph Nureyev and Hugh Peal, Esq., who was successful in getting the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 (main house and six ancillary buildings: log patent house, stable, mill, smokehouse, barn and miller’s house). A notorious time for the estate was when it was leased to political extremist Lyndon LaRouche (1985). The house remains in private hands and cannot be visited, although it is clearly visible from the bend on Rt. 704.

Bush Tabernacle - Purcellville

In 1903 noted Loudoun County builder Arch Simpson and his crew designed and constructed the wooden building which is now the Purcellville Roller Rink. Originally, the building was called “The Tabernacle” and built as an auditorium for the Prohibition and Evangelical Association for Loudoun County's annual "Bush Meeting," held each summer from the Centennial year (1876) right up until 1931, when the Great Depression ended its run. The Bush Tabernacle remained the largest structure in Loudoun County until the construction of Dulles Airport in 1962. It could hold up to 3,000 people and cost $2,500 to build.

The Bush Meeting grounds were located on a tract known as Dillon's Woods, and thousands made the trek to Purcellville to attend the ten day session of temperance meetings, which soon expanded to include musical entertainment and spirited speeches, of both a religious and political nature. In most ways these annual gatherings mirrored the Chautauqua movement that began in New York State. An educational, social and cultural phenomenon, this movement brought to rural America the best speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers and specialists of the day.

The most famous speaker to attend one of Purcellville's Bush Meetings was Democratic presidential nominee and then Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, who repeated his famous “Cross of Gold” speech here in 1913.

The Bush Meeting acquired its name from the initial meeting place, held under a brush arbor (bush meeting) near Lincoln, Virginia. In 1877, the meeting moved to the Tabernacle's permanent location, then known as Dillon's Woods. Dorms, tents and concessions lined the grounds. By the 1890s the Bush Meeting lasted over a week and was held in an 80 by 120-foot oval tent, destroyed in 1903 by a freak tornado that struck during one of the meetings. The new permanent Tabernacle building was completed in time for the next summer's gathering. A map from 1908, the year Purcellville was incorporated as a town, shows the Tabernacle structure abutting a clutch of Bush Meeting cottages and a boarding house (town population at the time was 350).

Following the Depression, the tabernacle would become a skating rink (1939) that also served as a venue for wrestling matches and concerts by country singers, such as local favorite Patsy Cline. In 1955 this structure hosted Loudoun County’s first 4-H Fair. Because it is some distance from the town’s commercial area along Rt. 7, this building survived the two disastrous fires of 1914 (a week apart) that destroyed most of Purcellville’s early architectural heritage (there was no fire brigade until 1923).

The Bush Tabernacle serves today as the Purcellville Roller Rink.