Sunset Hills Station

At the intersection of Old Reston Avenue and the W&OD Trail stands a very well preserved rail station that was built some time between 1912-1916, though a rail stop was initially established in that spot in the late 1850s.

In 1886, Dr. Carl Wiehle bought a large parcel of land north and south of the railroad tracks with the intention of building a utopian community. While he laid some of the foundations by laying out roads, creating man-made lakes, and erecting buildings, he was unable to realize his vision before his passing in 1901.

The rail station supported a lumber business in the early 1900’s before being purchased by A. Smith Bowman, who bought the property that would become the 7200-acre “Sunset Hills” in 1927, then opened his distillery in 1934 on the heels of prohibition being repealed in the building that had previously served as the Wiehle Town Hall.

Passenger and mail service continued at Sunset Hills Station until 1951, and freight trains still passed through until 1968, when the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad closed. The station stands in the same location today, next to the W&OD Trail where the trains of yesteryear used to rumble past.