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Pot House Has History on its Side
Pot House Has History on its Side
By Travis Shaw
ust a few miles north of Middleburg lies a tiny village that bears the curious name of Pot House. Though it now only consists of a few historic homes, it was once a busy industrial center and a bustling country crossroads. In July, the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area invited guests to explore this fascinating location and learn more about its history.
The community of Pot House had its beginnings in the late 18th century. James Leith immigrated from Scotland as a young man, and sought his fortune in Virginia as a surveyor. In 1768, he purchased 620 acres in the vicinity of Goose Creek, and it’s likely the original structure at Pot House dates to this period. The settlement acquired its name from the manufactory that was built to produce ceramics and bricks for the local market. Over the years this business would rely on both paid and enslaved labor.
In subsequent decades, Leith sold portions of the property to other planters. Among them was John Kyle, who used Pot House bricks to build Locust Hill, now a part of the Foxcroft School.
Another portion of the property, including the Pot House itself, was sold in the early 1790s to Joseph Lane. A veteran officer of the Revolutionary War, Lane also used local bricks in the construction of Farmer’s Delight.
During the 1790s, the first written descriptions of the Pot House appeared. In May, 1790 a sale advertisement in the Alexandria Gazette newspaper described the structure as a “two story building 60 feet in length, 20 feet in breadth” with a separate room laid off for family living quarters. Six years later, the Reverend Alexander McFarland recorded that he preached at the “Pot House” once a month as he made his circuit around Cameron Parish.
In 1834, the Pot House property was sold to the eminent builder William Benton. After immigrating from England as a young man, Benton found his calling as an architect, and many of his works still dot the Loudoun landscape. His most famous commission was Oak Hill, built for President James Monroe in the 1820s, using bricks made at Pot House.
Other Benton works include the Episcopal and Methodist churches in Middleburg and the Methodist church in Unison. Benton also used Pot House bricks in the construction of his own home, New Lisbon (now known as Huntland). During the period of Benton’s ownership, a lively village grew around the Pot House, including several homes, a wheelwright’s shop, and a blacksmith’s shop. William Benton’s son Benjamin also ran a school at New Lisbon for several years before the Civil War.
When that war broke out in 1861, the population around Pot House largely supported secession, and many young men from the area left to serve with the Confederate army. The village itself was frequented by soldiers on both sides throughout the war. On June 19, 1863 there was a small skirmish near the village that was a part of the much larger Battle of Middleburg. Union cavalry and artillery passed through the village that afternoon in an effort to move around the Confederates blocking the Ashby’s Gap Turnpike.
Confederate troops of the 5th and 7th Virginia Cavalry encountered them on the west side of Pot House. One Confederate officer described the events that followed: “We had a skirmish with the enemy near the pot-house...I ordered the seventh to charge on the right flank, which was done with spirit. A stone fence was soon discovered in front, which had to be pulled down. We then charged through the gap, and uncovered the position of the enemy, which proved to be too strong to be attacked…Among the sharpshooters, Sergeant Stickley, Company H, was wounded in the hand, and Capt. Shoup’s horse wounded.”
In the later years of the Civil War, the Pot House also was a frequent rendezvous location for Colonel John Mosby’s Confederate partisans. One particular event involving Mosby happened late on the night of January 1, 1864. Earlier that day Mosby’s men defeated a group of Cole’s Maryland Cavalry near Five Points.
In the confusion, the commander of the Marylanders, Captain Albert Hunter, escaped and was making his way through the freezing darkness back to the Potomac. After crossing Goose Creek, he passed the Pot House. He later recalled, “I noticed a light at the house, and on coming up close found a horse and wanted to “git,” but on reflection concluded to play infantry while in the enemy’s country, so that I could the better dodge corners in case of pursuit, and I did not know the country well enough to run any risks.”
Hunter later found out that the horse tied up at Pot House belonged to none other than Col. Mosby himself. In his recollection of the event Hunter wrote, “All I have to say is, had I known it was Col. Mosby’s horse, he would certainly have been compelled to borrow another to get to camp, or overhauled me on the road.”
Following the war, the area around Pot House faced serious economic decline. Both armies had stripped much of the area of crops and livestock, while the abolition of slavery eliminated the area’s economic foundations.
Another blow was dealt by the coming of the railroad. Once bricks could be cheaply shipped from large manufacturers, there was no more need for a local manufacturer in southern Loudoun County. In 1890 William Benton, then 99, was thrown from his horse and soon succumbed to his injuries. The Pot House property was purchased by members of the Leith family, descendants of James Leith who had originally bought the property in 1768.
By the turn of the century the Leiths dominated the area around Pot House, owning Farmer’s Delight, Huntland, and Locust Hill. They were so influential that the area became known as Leithton.
Through the early 20th century, the village was home to a post office and coach stop, a blacksmith shop, general store, and a public school. In the 1950s the Pot House was purchased by Charlotte Noland for use as faculty housing for nearby Foxcroft School. In 1985 the home was sold to Clifford Turner and Louise Evans, who began a thorough restoration of the historic structures. Several years later Pot House was acquired by noted local artist Karen Casey, who transformed the old blacksmith shop into an art studio.
The current owners of the Pot House are the most recent in a long line of conservation-minded stewards. Their commitment to preserving the Pot House is evident in the care they’ve taken to protect the home and its surrounding landscape. Their hard work ensures that the story of this remarkable historic village will continue to be told for years to come.
Travis Shaw is director of education for the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area.
