Winchester Historic Homes – The Darlington House:Â Located at 419 North Loudoun Street, most knowledgeable locals understand this to be the site of the former Fort Loudoun, as the Winchester Food Tour spotlights another unique and historically significant home in downtown Winchester which is another registered in the National Register of Historic Places.
Part of the 1752 plan for the Town of Winchester was this lot, referred to as Out-Lot 49, totaling roughly five acres. It was coupled with a half-acre in-lot, which was required by Lord Fairfax at the time. In this case it was Lot 32 and Lord Fairfax’s first conveyance of these properties was to Isaac Perkins.
In 1756 the House of Burgesses authorized the building of Fort Loudoun and between 1756 and 1758 it was so built under the supervision of George Washington. Along with his militia, Washington occupied the fort for two years. The property was an ideal location due to it’s standing on the hill just outside of town to the north. The well that supplied the fortification can still be seen on the property today. (The link just above shows the layout of Fort Loudoun, along with amazing historical details and information, and a diagram superimposing the layout of the fort over the properties as they exist in the modern day.) More photos are below!
Once no longer useful for military purposes at the time, the Isaac Perkins sold the two lots to Robert Rutherford in November of 1764, and from there passed through several owners before coming into the possession of the owner whose name is attached to the property. The longest period of ownership is often the reason for the names attached to many of the historic homes in and around Winchester, and this one is no exception. In March of 1866 Flora B. Darlington took ownership of the property. It remained in the Darlington family all the way until March of 1954, a period of 88 years, almost to the day.
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