Febrey-Lothrop House

The Febrey-Lothrop House is a large farmhouse that sits on a 9-acre parcel of land at the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and North McKinley Street just within the border of Arlington County, very close to the end of Fairfax County.  This estate, which dates back to 1865, is named for real estate broker John Febrey, who built the house, and its second owner, Alvin Mason Lothrop, who was co-founder of the now defunct Woodward and Lothrop department store chain.

The land on which the house sits, which was originally even more expansive, was home to numerous Union settlements during the Civil War, and served as a training ground for then-future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley.  After John Febrey died, the house was sold to Alvin Mason Lothrop, who used the house as a summer home until his death in 1912.  The house was owned by the Lothrop family for decades, though they reportedly leased the property to eccentric airline mogul and entrepreneur Howard Hughes during WWII.  Hughes was said to have hosted wild parties there, entertaining such luminaries as movie star Jane Russell and George Preston Mars, former owner of the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Football Team).

Hughes’ departure some time before 1950 left the house and huge surrounding lands empty until it was purchased for less than $125,000 in 1951 by steeplechase jockey and real estate developer Randy Rouse.  He kept nine acres of the land for himself (which still surround the home to this day) and sold off the rest of the land, developing the Dominion Hills neighborhood on the remaining portion. 

Rouse married television actress Audrey Meadows, who is best known for her role as Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners, starring alongside Jackie Gleason.  They were divorced after only two years as the stress of travel up and down the east coast proved too much for the marriage.  Randy Rouse died at the ripe old age of 100 on April 7, 2017 and the house has remained the property of his estate in the interim.

The property is at the center of a battle between the Rouse Estate and the Arlington Historical Society, who wish to save the important historical residence from the wrecking ball and further development within Dominion Hills.  For now, the home and its outbuildings still stand and are well worth a spin down Wilson Boulevard.