Salona, Fairfax County, Virginia

Many people have helped materially with the story of Salona. Peter Maffitt, descendant of the Rev. William Maffitt, and Douglass and Henry Mackall, descendants of one of Maffitt's sisters, generously shared information on the Maffitt family and gave William Maffitt a three-dimensional shape. John D. K. Smoot, Jane Smoot Wilson and William Smoot, descendants of Jacob Smoot, recalled many stories of their family and of Salona. Clive and Susan DuVal, present owners of Salona, endured hours of interviews, photographing, and measuring of the house and outbuildings.

Valuable assistance has also been given by Mike Rierson, Fairfax County Park Authority, and W. Brown Morton, III, National Park Service, who contributed useful information on the architectural features and possible age of Salona; and William Elkjer measured and drew up floor plans of Salona. The Rev. William Sengel of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Jean Elliot, Frank Gapp, John Gott, Winslow Hatch, Beth Mitchell, and Donie Rieger also contributed information.

Librarians who have provided information and encouragement are Harva Sheeler, Dot de Wilde, and Eric Grundset, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library; Mathilde Williams, Peabody Collection, Georgetown Public Library; the helpful staff at the Archives Division, Virginia State Library; and Ruth B. Lee, Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Church, Montreat, North Carolina.

Introduction

At the edge of the busy commercial area of the community of McLean, hidden from the heavy traffic on Dolley Madison Boulevard by a natural screen of trees and shrubs, stands the substantial brick dwelling known as Salona. Only a portion of the original 466 acres surrounds the house; the rest of the land has been converted into church properties, shopping centers, residential subdivisions, and other appurtenances of development.

Originally, the land was part of a large grant of 2,630 acres taken out by Thomas Lee in 1719 from the Northern Neck proprietor, and later named "Langley," a name which persists in the area to the present day.

The Reverend William Maffitt of Maryland purchased the 466-acre parcel in 1812, and he may have been the builder of the brick house at Salona to which President James Madison fled when the British burned the capital in August, 1814.

After the death of Maffitt, the property went through the hands of several northerners who were part of the influx of Yankees just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. The parcel was divided into several pieces.

Jacob G. Smoot of Georgetown, D.C., purchased 208 acres, including the house, in 1853. He and his descendants owned Salona for almost 100 years--through the Civil War when Camp Griffin troops were temporary residents in tent villages on Salona and surrounding property and in the extended period of rebuilding during the agricultural era following. They witnessed and were part of the subdivision of lands for suburban tract housing.

As a reflection of changes experienced in the Washington metropolitan area following World War II, Clive DuVal, a veteran, came from New York to accept employment with the federal government. He and his wife Susan purchased Salona with the idea of restoring it and using it for a family residence.

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