Farmer's Delight

Farmer's Delight was built in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1791 by Colonel Joseph Flavius Lane. The Federal style brick house incorporates elements of Georgian architecture. The house is closely associated with American oilman and diplomat George C. McGhee, who owned the property after 1948. The house is maintained by the McGhee Foundation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Lane, a member of the Virginia General Assembly in 1792-1793, was a colonel in the U.S. Army during the Whiskey Rebellion, and had been a member of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Lane and his wife Katharine had eight children. The family operated their property as a plantation, using slave labor, and named it "Farmer's Delight." Although Lane died in 1803, the plantation stayed in the Lane family until 1856, when it was sold to the Leith family. At this time it was known as the Gregg Farm, after Lane descendant Emily Craig Gregg, who had inherited the property. The Leiths held the property until 1919, lending their name to the nearby community of Leithtown, when the property was sold to Henry W. Frost, Jr., who renamed the farm "Frostfields," expanded the house and operated racing and hunting stables. In 1948 the house was bought by diplomat George C. McGhee, who restored its original name and renovated the house, adding wings and gardens. McGhee obtained a set of stone columns for a trellised grape arbor from a Benedictine abbey at Samaron in France that were originally brought to the United States by William Randolph Hearst to be used at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. The house was the scene of receptions for foreign dignitaries and American politicians, including President Lyndon B. Johnson.