In This Issue

By Heidi Baumstark

Thanks to a local woman who listened to her heart, the tiny village of Atoka has been on the road to preservation since the 1990s. Over two decades ago Linda Newton was bitten by the history bug while on a Piedmont tour led by Loudoun County historian and map maker Eugene Scheel. And one of the tour stops was at the Caleb Rector House in Atoka, one of 23 villages in Fauquier County.

Fast-forward nine years and Newton found herself purchasing the circa 1801 Caleb Rector House built of stone. Soon after, with some dedicated neighbors, The Atoka Preservation Society (TAPS) was formed and more property was acquired in the tiny village.

If not for Newton, Atoka, on the National Register of Historic Places, could have fallen victim to short-sighted commercialism.

Today, many of the voices echoing throughout Atoka are those of several non-profits —seven, to be exact, with a neighborhood market to catch all the local gossip.

The little village was originally known as Rector’s Crossroads, named after the Johannes Rector family, German immigrants from the mid-1700s. But to avoid confusion with nearby Rectortown, the village name was changed to Atoka in 1892 after Captain Atoka, a Choctaw Chieftain who led his people to Oklahoma; the name was selected from a list provided by the post office.

The roll-call of non-profits includes TAPS, Mosby Heritage Area Association (MHAA), both housed in the Caleb Rector House. Across from the house is another historic structure, the Captain Angus P. Brown House named after a South Carolina Confederate cavalry officer wounded at Rector’s Crossroads, which now serves as home to three non-profits:  Upperville Colt and Horse Show (UCHS), Goose Creek Association (GCA), and the Land Trust of Virginia (LTV). Steps away is Middleburg Montessori, another non-profit that includes a second non-profit called the Friends of Montessori School of Middleburg created specifically for scholarship fundraising.

In the center of it all is the recently renovated Atoka Market, which has been serving locals since 1892. The market, originally called Rector’s General Merchandise, was built by Asa Rector and housed the village post office. (Atoka’s mailing address is now Marshall.)

Mosby Heritage Area Association

Formed in 1995, MHAA is appropriately headquartered in the TAPS-owned Caleb Rector House since it was in the parlor of this house that Mosby officially formed Company A of the 43rd Battalion of the Virginia Cavalry, commonly known as “Mosby’s Rangers.”

MHAA’s mission is “preservation through education,” explains Childs Burden of Middleburg who is the organization’s president and chair. “Linda [Newton] has done heroic efforts in saving Atoka,” Burden says. “The Mosby Heritage area is so well-preserved; people from the Civil War and even colonial times, could recognize the area today.”

Richard Gillespie, director of education, and Judy Reynolds, executive director, spend the bulk of their efforts in developing education initiatives. Gillespie travels to local schools speaking to students to spark interest in the history right in their backyards.

The association has also produced educational brochures on topics ranging from Quaker sites in rural Loudoun County and driving tours on John S. Mosby Highway (Route 50) to several scavenger hunts in Loudoun, Fauquier, Clarke, and western Prince William.

Held four times a year at Atoka and other historic sites is the “Cavaliers, Courage and Coffee” program, which is a lantern-lit “progressive play” where the audience moves from one vignette/venue to another, Reynolds explains. Then there’s “Scout Along the Turnpike” where participants visit three sites along Route 50 with interpreters at each stop to tell the story.

After visiting sites, more interest is tapped. Voices continue to speak with questions like: “What happened here? Who lived in this house? What kind of work did they do?” Those are exactly the questions the MHAA encourages. For more information, visit www.mosbyheritagearea.org or call 540-687-6681.

Upperville Colt and Horse Show

UCHS is one of three non-profits that share the Captain Angus P. Brown House or “little white house” just west of Atoka Market. America’s oldest horse show held its first event in June 1853 organized by Loudoun native Colonel Richard Henry Dulany (1820-1906) of Welbourne. He founded the Piedmont Hunt in 1840, which is one of the nation’s oldest foxhunting organizations. During the Civil War he suffered several wounds but continued to serve until the war’s end and rose to the rank of colonel.

The UCHS has evolved into a week-long international event with many vendors selling their wares and plenty of food choices. Tommy Lee Jones, of Casanova, has been the show manager for nearly 30 years. “Its purpose is to promote amateur equine sports and Olympic-style jumping,” Jones explains. “We have from 1,000 to 1,400 horses and 4,000 to 5,000 people who support those horses. About 10,000 to 15,000 people attend, including spectators,” Jones says. “People come from all over the world. It’s like building a small city,” he added.

Board member Elizabeth Tayloe Courts, a direct descendant of Colonel Dulany, says, “I think my great-great-grandfather would be delighted to know that the show continues and that his great, great, great, grandchildren, nieces and nephews wouldn’t miss it year after year. I’m sure he would be surprised that it has grown to the extent that it has, since when he started it, it was a one-day show.”

This year, the 159th horse how is scheduled for June 4-10. Contact 540-687-5740 or www.upperville.com.

Goose Creek Association

GCA was formed in 1970 to protect and preserve the natural resources, open space, historic heritage, and rural quality of life within the Goose Creek watershed. Empowered by over 600 members from Loudoun and Fauquier counties, the association’s active board is entrusted with monitoring stream quality, proposed developments, zoning changes, legislation, and taking action through educational opportunities to either preclude or promote actions affecting Goose Creek.

As one of the tributaries to the Potomac River, Goose Creek is not only a designated State Scenic River but is also a major water source providing drinking water to the city of Fairfax and half of suburban Loudoun County.

Among other environmental and preservation efforts, the non-profit supports the designation of historic districts such as Cromwell’s Run and Little River Historic Districts in Fauquier and the Beaver Dam Creek Historic Roadways District in Loudoun.

Andrea Rosse is GCA executive administrator and VASOS (Virginia Save Our Streams) regional coordinator/trainer. “GCA first started with a group of local citizens concerned about sewage being dumped into its waters,” says Rosse, who oversees 21 certified volunteer stream monitors to test the waters every spring and fall. Information is gathered which is reported to regulating agencies. The organization holds monthly meetings and sponsors a major fundraiser each April. “We have a broad base of faithful donors and our board members are extremely involved,” says Butter Strother, board chairman.

A unique historic landmark stretching over these flowing waters is the Goose Creek Bridge off Route 50, a short distance northwest of Atoka. This stone structure was built between 1801 and 1803 as part of the old Ashby Gap Turnpike (current-day Route 50); its four arches gracefully hover over Goose Creek. It was witness to the June 21, 1863 Battle of Upperville, a prelude to Gettysburg. The bridge is the longest remaining stone turnpike bridge in Virginia.

GCA’s website is www.goosecreekassn.org. For more information email goosecreek@erols.com or call 540-687-3073.

Land Trust of Virginia

The third non-profit in the “little white house” is LTV, a nationally accredited organization that protects priceless natural and historic resources throughout the Commonwealth. A handful of concerned citizens started the organization in the mid-1990s when development around the region began to build.

The non-profit specializes in working directly with private land owners “to design easements that protect open space, forests, water quality, bio-diversity and historic values while ensuring that farming, forestry and other compatible uses can continue,” the mission statement reads.

Don Owen, LTV executive director, points out that when “private landowners place conservation easements on their properties—which voluntarily limit development—it allows the land to remain open for forestry, farming, and other suitable uses.”

As of February 2012, LTV holds and stewards almost 120 easements translating into 12,000 acres of private land mostly in the Piedmont.

Annually, the non-profit holds garden parties hosted by various farm and estate owners. Three awards are presented to local landowners to honor and recognize their contributions to preservation. In 2011, the garden party was held amid the historic structures and picture-perfect setting at Rosemont, a Loudoun plantation dating to the 1800s. 

LTV’s “Landowner of the Year” award went to Dr. George and Nichola Bazaco for their Windham property, also known as the home of Doukenie Winery located north of Hillsboro. Ginny Friend was awarded LTV’s “Steward of the Year” for her property near Waterford; she was one of the first Virginia landowners to place property in easement with LTV. LTV’s “Conservationist of the Year” award was presented to Magalen “Maggie” O. Bryant for all of her contributions to the organization as well as so many other contributions in preserving the landscape of western Loudoun and northern Fauquier counties.

Voluntary easements offer significant tax benefits to property owners. LTV accepts tax-deductible monetary gifts and gifts of land and securities. For more information, call 540-687-8441 or visit www.landtrustva.org.

Montessori School of Middleburg

A bit west on Rectors Lane is Middleburg Montessori School that has been educating students for over 30 years. Since 2003, it has been owned and operated by BethAnn Slater of Upperville. A separate non-profit, Friends of Montessori School of Middleburg, was created as a fundraising arm to help children attend the school and is run by parents.

“I always knew I wanted to run a Montessori school,” says Slater, who holds a master’s in education. At the age of three in 1968, Slater’s mother enrolled her in the Georgetown Montessori School in Washington, D.C.

Middleburg Montessori is a fully AMI-accredited (Association Montessori International) primary school, which holds true to the most authentic vision and philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori, a physician who developed the method in Italy in 1904. “It’s about getting adults out of the way and letting the child take the lead. It’s child-based following human development and is very respectful of the child. A student can soar because learning is in a self-driven, self-motivated environment,” Slater explains.

More and more people are looking for a different educational experience. “It allows the child’s spirit to flow; it’s spiritual, therapeutic,” Slater says. “Students are learning together, eating together, playing together—a real sense of community. They learn the graces and courtesies of a beautiful life, creating a desire to become life-long learners. Slater added, “It’s life—it’s real life!”

Middleburg Montessori’s phone and website are 540-687-5210 and www.middleburgmontessori.com.

Atoka Market

The hub of the village, Atoka Market, underwent a complete remodeling in 2010 serving locals and the non-profits that surround it by providing daily hot meals and their famous homemade chili. Evelyn Williams of Aldie is one of the cooks at the market and recalls memories of Atoka from long ago. “

BY GREG HUDDLESTON

Everyone knows Piedmont people love their pets – their dogs, cats, and horses. But in some instances, pet ownership takes a different direction. Consider, for instance, neighbors who shared their home with Smutchie, a White’s Tree Frog, a species native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Why, you dog and cat owners may ask, would anyone want a frog as a pet? What possible companionship, you may wonder, could anyone get from a frog? Can you pet a frog?

Originally purchased because their son had been reading and studying about poison dart frogs from the rainforest, our neighbors welcomed Smutchie into their home as an extension of this interest. Smutchie started out in a glass tank like any other pet store frog, but that didn’t last long. He escaped one day from the tank that was kept in the kitchen.  After a frantic search, the owners (they prefer that I not use their names) found him in the downstairs guest bathroom sink drain, a dark and damp environment that suited him better than the tank. “Frogs are nocturnal, so he came out of his tank at night and moved to the sink bowl,” says his owner.  He was returned to his tank in the kitchen and a heavy rock was placed on the screened top. The next day he was in the bathroom drain again with a bruised nose.

This kept happening – Smutchie had a strong will and a mind of his own – so his caregivers relented and turned the sink over to him. “A guest once came to spend the night and was alarmed by the “Caution – Frog in Sink” sign, so we removed Smutchie in his tank to an upstairs bathroom and shut the door,” I’m told. Smutchie, however, would have none of this. He crawled downstairs on the walls at night and was once again in the downstairs bathroom drain the next morning!

White’s Tree Frogs, like Smutchie, are typically about four inches long and according to most sources can be expected to live about 16 years in captivity. Their coloration can range from blue-green to light green or brown depending on humidity levels and temperatures. Being tree frogs, they love to climb. This species of frog is widely preferred as a “pet” because it has a calm nature, is resistant to disease, and requires minimal care; and this: the White’s Tree Frog is sometimes described as having a “funny” appearance and often sports a pleasant grin. Keeping Smutchie well-fed was easy – he enjoyed about 20 crickets a week purchased as needed from the pet store. But pet frogs aren’t known to be picky eaters; if it moves and is small enough, it’s dinner.

So what, exactly, are the rewards of frog ownership? On the practical side, frogs are great pets for people with allergies to pet dander or feathers. It is also reported that Smutchie was a “happy” member of the family and always looked so cute, smiling and soaking in his water dish; he would sit in different spots in the bathroom at night, “posing and smiling.” As an added benefit, when it rained, Smutchie, an accurate barometer, would venture out of the bathroom and look around thus signaling that a change in weather was on the way. And the drawbacks of welcoming a frog into your home as a pet? It is reported that frogs like Smutchie “are not tidy, and that one must be willing to clean the tank or the skin that sloughs off occasionally. Smutchie’s owner confessed that you have to be half-crazy to keep a frog in your bathroom for 11 years, but that while frogs don’t talk or do tricks – the smile is contagious! “Did you actually think of this frog as a pet?” I asked. “Of course,” was the answer.

Interested in learning more about this intriguing pet? The Internet offers a wealth of information about the care and feeding of pet frogs, as well as the rewards and challenges of frog ownership. There are even forums and blogs devoted to the subject.

So, can you pet a frog? Yes, but you shouldn’t. Too much handling can make the frog feel threatened and cause stress. Also the natural oils on your hands can contribute to froggy illnesses. Handle pet frogs with care!

By Brian Lichorowic

Landscaping with stone means personal memories and much more — getting in touch with the very nature of time and the subtlety of nature.

By Hardie Newton


Weather is a friend. It works at shaping many treasures for the future: Wind, rain, frost, and stones.

Go on a canoeing trip in Rappahannock waters with friends. One will remark on the beauty and clarity of the waters, another will see through them to the diversity of rocks and pebbles over which the waters tumble. How many years have those stones paved the under spaces and bank sides? How many fish out a few of the best to tuck into their pockets?  What sizes were they when they volunteered for their jobs? How many years does it take to polish their surfaces, some into mirror-like images? Were they thrust from inner earth by eons of shakings? Did they once serve as alluring mountain peaks from which travelers surveyed the lands below?

Those who came, walking sticks in hand, might have climbed for days in order to view the area topography while bent on its acquisition. Perhaps some were simply adventurers taking pleasure in viewing the marvels nature had created in a new land strange to them.

No matter the ultimate source of these smooth jewels we tuck away in our pockets, we take them home to become part of a valuable collection. A collection of memories we define as life. Stroking the smooth surfaces of our tumbled stones, we try to understand the powers that fashioned them knowing they have refined us as well.
Others treasure rocks and stones in a different manner. Give Andy Goldsworthy — a British artist known for creating outdoor art using nature’s offerings — a great pile of these and he creates works of art, from museum entrances to British-Isles-style sheepfolds. His 2,278-foot wall built at Storm Center Art Center in Mountainville, New York, is widely acclaimed.

Our Virginia and New England fathers similarly built beautifully stacked walls from rocks seen long ago as obstructions to efficient tilling of their fields. Many of these walls still exist as property boundary marker today.
While exploring your own property or busily clearing and cutting back briars and weeds, you may come upon gullies filled with stones of many sizes. Recognize that a former landowner cleared his fields, creating piles that remain today. Sheer weight, along with years of changing weather patterns, has solidified them into their own patterns, smaller ones sinking, others scraping together, smoothing sharp edges.

People collect: Stamps, antique books, great artwork, rugs, books. There are those who find rocks irresistible. In conversing with such people, one hears interesting tales of acquisitions and trophies. Their domestic surroundings display rocks of all sorts: walls, pathways, garden appointments, house foundations, chimneys — even their showers!

Many consider themselves fortunate to have rock outcroppings on their property: Perfect foils for landscape design. In the built-by-nature arena of the magnificent, we find streams flowing over bedrock or great boulders 30 feet tall jutting from their fields. Important groupings comprise standing or reclining stones representational of the familiar: “Umbrella Rock,” “Reclining Lion,” “Dry Bridge.” The American Indian woman tells stories implying that rocks have souls and for that reason need primarily to live outdoors exposed to the elements, thus properly nourished. Shinto and Buddhist religions would concur, given their belief in animism.

Challenged by the presence of a boulder, we search for its face by walking thoughtfully around it —

....To read entire arcitle, pick up a copy of our Spring 2012 issue on newsstands now!!