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Fort Johnston (Leesburg, Virginia)

American Civil War forts in VirginiaLoudoun County in the American Civil WarVirginia in the American Civil War

Fort Johnston, also known as Fort Geary, is a Civil War era earthen fort atop a 670 feet (200 m) peak of Catoctin Mountain just west of Leesburg, Virginia. Constructed in the winter of 1861-62 following the Battle of Balls Bluff, it is one of three forts constructed to defend the town from the threat of possible invasion. The fort was built in the design of a four-point star with arm of each point measuring roughly 110 feet (34 m) in length. The fort was only sporadically occupied by Confederates, as the main threat of invasion came from the east across the Potomac. In 1862, when Loudoun County was invaded by the Union army, the fort was abandoned and later occupied by the Federals who rechristened it Fort Geary in honor of their commander. Throughout the war, Leesburg was rarely held in force by either side of the conflict and the fort saw little use. Today, parts of the earthworks of the fort still exist, and are located on private property on Fort Johnston Road.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Fort Johnston (Leesburg, Virginia) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Fort Johnston (Leesburg, Virginia)
Fort Star Lane,

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N 39.1293 ° E -77.5847 °
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Fort Star Lane 17677
20176
Virginia, United States
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Glenfiddich House

Glenfiddich House, also known as Harrison Hall, is a historic house in Leesburg, Virginia. The house was built in three sections, with the first section completed in 1780. When viewing the house from the street, the left wing of the residence is the original home. Between 1850 and 1860, the main block of the home was built for Henry and Jane Harrison (hence Harrison Hall), by the Norris Brothers of Leesburg, and is a good example of the Italianate style of home. The property still includes historic outbuildings: a log springhouse with V-notched corners, circa 1800, and a brick meat house, circa 1855.During the Civil War Harrison Hall became a hospitality center for Confederate officers passing through the area. After the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21, 1861, wounded soldiers were tended to at Harrison Hall. Among those was Colonel E. R. Burt of the 18th Mississippi. He died of his wound four days after the battle. The most famous Civil War visitor was none other than General Robert E. Lee. The general broke one of his hands and sprained the other when his horse, Traveller, shied from a fast approaching courier. On September 4, 1862, General Lee received treatment at Harrison Hall; that evening he held a war council, planning the confederate invasion of Maryland, which ended with the Battle of Antietam. Among the planners in attendance were Generals Lewis Armistead, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, James Longstreet, and James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart.From 1966 to 1968 poet and author James Dickey resided at Glenfiddich House, an easy commute to his position as poetry consultant to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. It was during his stay that he began his manuscript for his novel Deliverance. The desk that he wrote the first drafts of the novel is still at Glenfiddich House.

Carlheim
Carlheim

Carlheim (also called Paxton) is a mansion located in the northeast part of Leesburg, Virginia. It was constructed in about 1872 for Pennsylvania industrialist Charles R. Paxton (1816–1889) and his wife Rachel who continued to live there until her death in December 1921. When constructed, it sat on over 760 acres (3.1 km2) roughly bounded on the north end by the Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Regional Park, the Balls Bluff Battlefield and the Potomac River. In accordance with Mrs. Paxton's will, the buildings and 50 surrounding acres were preserved and organized into a charitable trust to benefit "needy children." Designed by New York architect Henry Dudley, the nearly 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) 32-room Second Empire building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for its architectural and local significance. In 2004, the property became a non-contiguous part of the Leesburg Historic District. The estate of Mr. and Mrs. Paxton was originally entered down a long tree lined driveway off of King Street. Today, that entrance is gone and there are two more contemporary entrances; Wildman Street (normally closed) and the new main entrance that was completed in 2009 at 601 Catoctin Circle. Among the buildings that remain from the original estate but are outside the present campus include the Farm Managers Home (now the Exeter Community Club House) and the stabilized creamery ruins at Red Rock Park along Edwards Ferry Road. The mansion and remaining 16-acre (65,000 m2) grounds are currently the home of The Arc of Loudoun, Northern Virginia's premier advocacy, education and therapy organization dedicated to serving people with disabilities and their families. The Arc's constituents encompass all ages and ranges of intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD), cognitive impairments, and other neurodevelopmental disorders (to include Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, and Fragile X); and/or neurophysical injuries and dysfunctions (to include spinal cord and brain injuries, stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, cerebral palsy, and balance disorders). The Arc's onsite programs include Ability Fitness Center, Aurora Behavior Clinic, Aurora School, A Life Like Yours ALLY Advocacy Center, and Open Door Learning Center. The Campus is privately owned property but holds several events open to the general public. The major annual fundraising events on the property include: Music at the Manor free concert series (May) Shocktober Haunted House (One of The Scariest Haunted Houses in the US) (October) My Bloody Valentine Haunted House (February)