Main Street 1

The Pink House

This house was constructed by Lewis Klein (1783-1837) sometime between 1816 and 1825, when he opened a "House of Entertainment" (tavern) in the building. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the ground floor was used first as a pharmacy and later as a general store. An interior stair connecting the ground level to the rest of the house was added in the 1950s, and the soft brick was painted a distinctive pink .

Iron Store House

John Williams (1771-1840), Quaker proprietor of a general store across the street, used the stone first story of this building to store iron at least as early as 1816. A later owner added the upper levels of frame construction.

Arch House Row

Joseph Talbott, a disowned Quaker, constructed the eastern buildings in this row around 1810 for use as a tavern and store, thereby creating a commercial hub in the village. Loudoun County's earliest bank was organized here in 1815 and slaves were auctioned in the street in front of the tavern. The arch in the brick facade gives access to a rear well that provided the town with water for fighting fires and other purposes. The construction dates of the two buildings at the western end are unclear; they may predate the tavern. The westernmost served as an Odd Fellows hall in the 1850s. Today the row is residential.

At least three buildings once occupied the open space northwest of Arch House Row. A one-story frame shoe shop is remembered as the place where normally staid Quakers danced a jig of joy upon learning the Civil War was over. In the center of the space was an icehouse that stored pond ice for summer use into the early twentieth century.

Janney Coates House

This three-story brick town house is at the end of the row. It was erected in the first quarter of the 19th century on land formerly owned by Joseph Janney, member of a locally prominent Quaker family. In recent years it was the property of the Coates, one of Waterford’s African American families. After a period of neglect, it was restored in the 1990s. The interior preserves much original simple trim.

Stone Foundation

This foundation is all that remains of the home of African-Americans Ed and Marietta Collins. Ed is believed to have served with Union forces during the Civil War, one of several black men from Waterford to do so.

The Joseph Janney House

Quaker Joseph Janney purchased 12 acres from the Hague family in 1781 and appears to have constructed this dwelling to replace one on Bond Street that he sold in 1784. His house is of log construction, clad in weatherboards, on a stone foundation. According to local legend, the house was originally shorter: extra logs were added atop the walls to create additional space on the upper level. The two parts of the dwelling had no interior access to one another until this century.