Casper:I have seen this older looking white building across Reston Ave from Reston Town
Center. Do you know what it is? It has been there for years.
Jan Bachman: This building housed the office of our primary real estate settlement attorney back in the early 1980’s, I learned a bit about it when cooling my heels in his waiting room…. it has a great history and we are glad that it has been saved. In the 1940’s, A.C. Bowman lived in the house and produced, “Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Whiskey” from the distillery that was on the property behind the house.
Distilling continued until 1988 when the company moved south to Fredericksburg VA. In the 1960’s, the house was sold to Robert E. Simon. Simon, who helped develop Madison Square Garden in NYC and whose family owned Carnegie Hall, liked the idea of the European piazza and as such, was instrumental in creating the Reston of today.
How Reston Got Its Name
Reston, named for Robert E. Simon’s initials R-E-S with the English word for town T-O-N, was one of the first planned communities in the nation. The site, located along Old Reston Avenue, was purchased by Bowman in 1927 and served as his family’s estate.
The Bowman mansion oversaw the family business, the Virginia Gentleman bourbon distillery, which is now the location of the Sallie Mae building.
Prison Fellowship bought the property in July 1983 and built the office buildings to house the organization’s staff. Prison Fellowship was founded in 1976 by former Nixon aide, Chuck Colson, who became a born-again Christian after a seven month prison stay for his role in the Watergate conspiracy.
The organization, now led by former Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, has become the world’s largest religious outreach program for prisoners, ex-prisoners, crime victims, and their families.
When my husband (Steve, the regular blog author) and I first moved to Reston, there was no Town Center, no toll road, no Reston north of Route 606 and the Smith Bowman distillery was in full function…lots of changes since then!
Check out the Reston Museum for the most acurate historical
information regarding the development of this beautiful planned
community.
Want to take a tour of homes you like in Herndon, Reston or Sterling? Please drop us a line and we will make the arrangements.
Reston real estate agents, homes for sale in Reston, Townhouses for sale in Reston, Listing Agents in Reston, condos for sale in Reston, new homes in Reston, Reston home buyer's agents, Steve and Jan Bachman real estate.
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Moving to Northern Virginia?
Here is a photo ensemble of homestyles and countryside:
http://video214.com/play/ngb0RJKin5pR3jr2CUotnw/s/dark
Why pay more and get less when selling your home? Jan and Steve Bachman of RE/MAX Gateway use professional photographers, create interactive photo floor plans, print full color brochures, and make an individual property website for your listing that goes out to 40+ public real estate search sites including Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow etc.
We also create a custom photo tour that is sent to other agents and prospective buyers.
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RE/MAX Hall of Fame, Platinum Club, A washingtonian Magazine Top Agent 2018
Happy to Help. No Hassle, No Pressure.
Jan and Steve Bachman are full time Realtors® with RE/MAX, specializing in Homes for Sale in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington Counties.
Search for Northern Virginia Homes Like an Agent Just play around. No hassle, no spam, we won’t bother you. Fresh listings emailed to you. Want more info. Drop us a line.
We found our 2 rescue dogs through Petfinders. They're 
great!
