This happens to be just up the street from me and for some years I used to wonder where the iron gate and gravel drive located along the last section of Blackburn Road led to. the area is all wooded so there was no way to see up the drive past the first curve. The entire hill was fenced off with PW County property signs and more often than not the gate was closed and locked. A while ago I finally discovered that is was the site of the oldest home in the Woodbridge area and known as Rippon Lodge. More info from Wikipedia below. To call it a "lodge" is something of a misnomer, but I suspect it started out somewhat smaller than it is today. It was occupied until quite recently it seemed then PW county became the property owners and after some restoration work opened it up to the public three days a week. The view from the top of the hill on which it sits is quite nice, you can see all the way to the Potomac River and across to the Maryland shore line.
From Wikipedia...
"Rippon Lodge is the oldest house still extant in Prince William County, Virginia. Built ca. 1747 by Richard Blackburn, it lies on high ground overlooking Neabsco Creek at the south end of what is now the unincorporated town of Woodbridge at 15520 Blackburn Road. The house takes its name from Richard Blackburn's birthplace, the small city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England.
The house is located along a remnant of the original Kings Highway (now known as the "Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route" ); this vital roadway connected the 13 original colonies, stretching from Newport, Rhode Island to Yorktown, playing a vital role in the Revolutionary War It was along this road that colonial troops marched to defeat the British at Yorktown.
Originally a tobacco plantation, the land holdings stretched from Neabsco Creek westward to near what is now I-95 and amounted to about 21,000 acres (85 km²). The property featured its own port on Neabsco Creek and is close to the town of Dumfries, a once-important colonial seaport.
Built by Richard Blackburn, the house was passed to his son, Col. Thomas Blackburn. It was sold around 1820 to the Atkinson family who lived there for about 100 years."
I've also made arrangements with the caretaker to gain access to it some time in the early morning well before it opens to the public to take advantage of the early morning light with an agreement to allow them to use any pictures they like in promotional material, Kool beans! I'd get credit of course and not really looking for (or expecting payment, but I wouldn't refuse any either!)
The main house, love the porches!
a view of the side lawn facing the river
There is a nice vegetable garden behind the main house next to what I presume was the cookhouse
The side entrance facing the wooded area with a set of stone steps leading into the woods behind the house
the opening in the stone wall and small garden just outside the entrance above
A small out building across the main lawn from the lodge
This assume was the cookhouse
a nice garden path
another garden and a flower shot
This bunkhouse sits on the foundations of an old barn, it was last used as a bunkhouse for individuals that worked for one of the last owners of the Blackburn Family during the Great Depression, seems he ran his own mini CCC program for locals during that time.
and finally a link to the pano I took from the center of the main lawn
http://roadrunes.com/photo/main.php?g2_ ... emId=62607
RM