Fairfax, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Grandma's Cottage
Historic Blenheim
Margaret Conn Willcoxon Farr, known as "Grandma Farr" lived in "Grandma's Cottage" from about 1867 until her death in 1904. At that time, the house stood at its original location at the northeast corner of Main and North Streets. A sister of Albert Willcoxon, and she and her husband, Richard Ratcliffe Farr, are buried in the Willcoxon Family Cemetery here at Blenheim.
The house (currently under restoration) is architecturally important for its rare construction technologies: hewri-timber framing with brick infill between the studs found inside the c. 1840 section (left side) and its shed-roofed addition (right side) with clapboard-covered log-wall construction providing the area's only known surviving example of this early building technique.
In the early morning hours of June 9, 2001, Grandma's Cottage rolled along Old Lee Highway to its new home. Overhead power wires were moved, traffic was diverted, and onlookers cheered. Moving the Cottage to Blenheim reunites "Grandma Farr" with the Blenheim landscape and reflects the tightly-connected Willcoxon, Farr, and Ratcliffe familiesintegral to the history of the early
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[Captions:]
Mural: A crowd gathered to watch and photograph "Grandma's Cottage," atop a flatbed trailer, move to its new home on June 9,2001.
City of Fairfax Historic Collections
Far Left: Margaret Conn Willcoxon (photographed c. 1870 in the fashionable dress of the period) and husband Richard Ratcliffe Farr (1804-1845) had two sons, Richard an Rezin.
Courtesy of Ann Far Lewis
Near Left: Son Richard Ratcliffe Farr (1845-1892), a "Mosby Ranger" during the Civil war, was a state Superintendent of Schools and served in the Virginia General Assembly.
City of Fairfax Historic Collections
Erected by City of Fairfax, Virginia. (Marker Number 6.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is June 9, 2001.
Location. 38° 51.363′ N, 77° 17.566′ W. Marker is in Fairfax, Virginia. It can be reached from the intersection of Old Lee Highway and Heritage Lane, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3610 Old Lee Hwy, Fairfax VA 22030, United States of
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Boxwood Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Dairy Barn Complex (within shouting distance of this marker); Historic Blenheim (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Blenheim (Willcoxon Farm) (about 300 feet away); Blenheim House (about 300 feet away); Willcoxon Family Cemetery (about 300 feet away); Old Baptismal Area (approx. 0.9 miles away); Fairfax (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fairfax.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 8, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 865 times since then and 60 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 8, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
