The Paxton Child Development Center (Friends for Saving Paxton)

Dear Preservation 911,

I live in Leesburg, Va., and am part of a group of neighbors, parents and otherwise interested citizens who have banded together to save one of two known residential dwellings designed by Henry C. Dudley, a founder of the American Institute of Architects. The other property is the protected Park-McCullough house in Vermont. Both the Vermont and Virginia properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

This home is known as Carlheim and the whole property—the remaining 16.2 acres of what was once a 750 plus acre parcel—is locally referred to as the Paxton Child Development Center. We recently succeeded in getting the property listed as a non-contiguous part of the Leesburg Historic District, but since this was a "hostile" re-zoning, we have only secured one year to prevent the demolition and sale of the property for development. The home and grounds are well-maintained, and $250K has been spent on the house itself over the last five years to keep it in good shape.

The home is run under the auspices of trustees who inexplicably seem determined to liquidate the 130 year old property. Built as a summer home by wealthy Pennsylvania industrialist Charles Paxton and his wife Rachel, Carlheim was to remain in the service of children, and it has been since 1924. The late Mrs. Paxton would be quite distressed to learn of the current situation. By most accounts, the child development center is a profitable operation, but the trustees would rather become a check-writing charity.

In any event, we are focused on keeping the property substantially as it is, ensuring that it stays in the service of children, placing a conservation/preservation easement on the home and grounds, and increasing public access. We are looking for donors, investors or partners who would like to join us in this challenging yet worthwhile fight.

Regards,

Scott Billigmeier
"Friends for Saving Paxton"
www.savepaxton.com

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