Farmer's Delight

Farmer's Delight is a historic plantation house and estate in Loudoun County, Virginia, rather than a commercial consumer brand. The property was established in 1791 by Colonel Joseph Flavius Lane, a Virginia legislator, Continental Army veteran, and later U.S. Army officer associated with the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion. Lane and his wife, Katharine, raised a large family at the estate, which was operated as a plantation using enslaved labor. The property received the name Farmer's Delight during the Lane family's ownership. The principal residence is an early Federal-style brick house incorporating Georgian features. Its original block was a two-story, five-bay structure measuring approximately 23 by 43 feet, with a central hall and rooms on either side. The building is among the early examples of brick construction in Loudoun County. Later owners expanded the house and altered the grounds, producing a larger architectural complex that includes multiple wings, outbuildings, agricultural structures, gardens, and museum spaces. The Lane family retained the property until 1856, after which it passed to the Leith family. During that period it was known as Gregg Farm, a name associated with Lane descendant Emily Craig Gregg. The Leith family's ownership also gave its name to the nearby community of Leithtown. In 1919, Henry W. Frost Jr. acquired the estate, renamed it Frostfields, enlarged the house, and operated racing and hunting stables there. The property's best-known modern owner was George C. McGhee, an American oilman and diplomat who purchased it in 1948. McGhee restored the historic Farmer's Delight name and undertook an extensive renovation. The work added wings, gardens, archival facilities, and spaces for McGhee's collections. The estate became a setting for receptions involving foreign dignitaries and American political figures, including President Lyndon B. Johnson. The property encompasses approximately 90 acres and includes around fifteen buildings. Its grounds contain roughly 20 acres of gardens, an English-style landscape, terraces, a boxwood maze, and a large variety of conifers. The McGhee Library occupies a structure believed to be the oldest on the property, reportedly dating to about 1750. Other features include barns, agricultural buildings converted into museums, a tenant house, a relocated log cabin, a garage containing archive and research facilities, and a small chapel based on one the McGhees admired in Bonn. Farmer's Delight was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places on June 2, 1973. The McGhee Foundation administers the property. Although it has been used for public and private events, it is principally significant as a historic residence, plantation landscape, and architectural resource. Its history also reflects the changing interpretation of Virginia estates, including the central role of enslaved labor in the property's early operation and the later preservation and commemorative efforts associated with the McGhee family.

Farmer's Delight was established in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1791 by Colonel Joseph Flavius Lane. Lane had served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, later became a colonel in the U.S. Army during the Whiskey Rebellion, and served in the Virginia General Assembly in 1792 and 1793. He and his wife, Katharine, had eight children and operated the property as a plantation using enslaved labor. The Lane family gave the estate the name Farmer's Delight. Lane died in 1803, but the property remained in his family for more than half a century. In 1856 it was sold to the Leith family. By then it was known as Gregg Farm, a name connected with Emily Craig Gregg, a descendant of the Lane family who had inherited the property. The Leiths held the estate until 1919, and their ownership became associated with Leithtown, the nearby community. Henry W. Frost Jr. purchased the property in 1919 and renamed it Frostfields. He expanded the house and developed racing and hunting stables. The property changed direction again in 1948, when it was acquired by George C. McGhee, an American oilman and diplomat. McGhee restored the original Farmer's Delight name and carried out a major program of architectural and landscape work. He added wings and gardens and incorporated historical and decorative elements into the estate. Among these were stone columns obtained from a Benedictine abbey at Samaron in France. The columns had previously been brought to the United States by William Randolph Hearst for intended use at Hearst Castle in California. During McGhee's ownership, Farmer's Delight became a setting for diplomatic and political hospitality. Receptions held there included foreign dignitaries and American political leaders, among them President Lyndon B. Johnson. The McGhees also developed the property as a landscape and cultural complex. The grounds were shaped into an informal English garden, with conifers, multiple terraces, an open park-like approach, and a boxwood maze. Washington landscape architect Boris Timochenko designed four terraces, three of which were constructed. The estate covers about 90 acres and contains approximately fifteen buildings. The original brick house is a two-story, five-bay Federal-style structure with Georgian influences. Its first floor followed a center-hall plan, and the original brickwork and northern wing were laid in Flemish bond, while later additions used American bond. The house is sometimes compared architecturally with the George Wythe House in Williamsburg. Its early brick construction makes it an important local architectural example. The wider property includes the McGhee Library, housed in a building reputed to be the oldest structure on the estate and thought to date from about 1750. A former children's playroom was adapted for library use. A garage built during the McGhee period contains archival and research facilities. Seven barns and other agricultural buildings remain, with two adapted as museums for McGhee collections from Africa, South America, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific. Other surviving or relocated features include a tenant house dating from approximately 1880 to 1920, a log cabin moved from near The Plains, and a small chapel modeled on a chapel admired by the McGhees in Bonn. Farmer's Delight was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 2, 1973. The McGhee Foundation administers the estate, which has been used for both private and public events. Its historical significance encompasses early Virginia plantation architecture, the social and economic history of enslaved labor, successive changes in estate ownership, twentieth-century diplomatic life, and preservation of a large historic landscape.

• 1973

  National Register listing

  [1]Farmer's Delighten.wikipedia.org

  Farmer's Delight was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on June 2.

• 1948

  George C. McGhee acquires the estate

  [1]Farmer's Delighten.wikipedia.org

  McGhee purchased the property, restored the Farmer's Delight name, and began extensive architectural and landscape renovations.

• 1919

  Renamed Frostfields

  [1]Farmer's Delighten.wikipedia.org

  Henry W. Frost Jr. acquired the property, renamed it Frostfields, expanded the residence, and operated racing and hunting stables.

• 1856

  Transfer to the Leith family

  [1]Farmer's Delighten.wikipedia.org

  The estate left Lane family ownership and became associated with the name Gregg Farm.

• 1803

  Death of Joseph Flavius Lane

  [1]Farmer's Delighten.wikipedia.org

  Lane died, while the property remained with his family for several more decades.

• 1791

  Farmer's Delight established

  [1]Farmer's Delighten.wikipedia.org

  Colonel Joseph Flavius Lane established the Loudoun County plantation estate and gave it the name Farmer's Delight.

A preserved Virginia historic estate and architectural landmark with plantation-era origins, later diplomatic associations, landscaped gardens, archival resources, and cultural collections.

• Historic architecture · 1791

  Historic main house

  The original residence is a two-story, five-bay brick house built in the Federal style with Georgian influences. Its center-hall plan, early brickwork, Flemish-bond masonry, and later additions form the architectural core of the estate.

• Historic landscape · 1948

  Gardens and estate landscape

  The McGhee-era grounds include informal English gardens, conifer plantings, terraces, an open park-like front approach, and a boxwood maze. The landscaped grounds form a substantial part of the property's historic and visitor appeal.

• Cultural and archival facility

  McGhee Library and archive

  A former bank-barn-like structure, reputedly the oldest building on the property, was adapted as the McGhee Library. A separate garage provides archive and research space connected with the estate and its collections.

• Museum space

  Museum and collection buildings

  Several agricultural buildings were adapted as museums for George and Claude McGhee's collections of artifacts from Africa, South America, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific.

1. 1Farmer's Delighten.wikipedia.org