The Schoolhouse — Commercial and Residential History 1915–2022
After the School Closed
After Stovepipe Academy closed in 1914, it was replaced by the new Aldie High School and Elementary School nearby at 32369 Meetinghouse Lane.
In 1916, Robert Lee Bodmer, of Aldie's c. 1860s Wheelright and Buggy Manufactory Bodmer family, opened a Maxwell automobile agency in the Stovepipe Academy building—a sign of the times, as the automobile began to transform rural Virginia.
From John G. Lewis's 1976 Architectural Survey of the Older and Historic Structures in the Village of Aldie, Virginia
"Shortly after the Civil War George Bodmer, who had worked in Alexandria repairing cannon wheels for the Confederacy, walked west on the Little River Turnpike to seek a new life and fortune. He stopped at Aldie and shortly thereafter built the stone and frame Wheelright and Buggy Manufacturing Shop, north of the Turnpike and just East of the Little River Stone Bridge, a business which was still in operation until the 1930s."
By the mid-1920s, the schoolhouse property was converted to residential use. Over the decades, additions, partitions and other modifications obscured the original schoolhouse form.
Its memory lived on, however. In his 1976 "Architectural Survey of the Older and Historic Structures in the Village of Aldie, Virginia", John G. Lewis wrote that "this two room ... structure is a favorite in the community".
It endures today in the living memory of Aldie descendants of the Academy's teachers and student scholars, and of the families and neighbors of its residential years, as poignantly brought forth by the renovation.
Commercial and Residential Timeline 1915–2022
1915
School Trustees authorize sale of the schoolhouse property.
- The School Trustees of District No 3 of Mercer District authorize the sale of the schoolhouse property by public auction. "No adequate bid was received."
1916
The schoolhouse property is sold to J.F. Bodmer.
- R. L. Bodmer operates a Maxwell automobile dealership and garage from the property.
1925
The schoolhouse property is sold to the Kirk family and converted to residential use.
1939
The schoolhouse property is sold to Philip Zerega.
- Pending research, most probably related to the Zerega family which purchased Mercer House from Charles Fenton Mercer in 1842.
1940
Loudoun County property survey documents the former school.
- It is found to be "a well-maintained shop building with electricity and stove flue added."
- Its continued use helps preserve the structure during decades when many one-room schools are demolished.
1944–2004
The Jackson family years.
1976
Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission surveys the historic schoolhouse structure.
- The Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission surveys the structure. It is identified as a historically significant former school building of contributing significance to the adjacent Aldie Mill Historic Overlay District.
2004–2022
The Amiri family years.
2022
Preservationist new ownership.
- New ownership plans renovation of the interior and exterior guided by historic preservation standards.
2023–2024
Renovation completed to preserve and protect the schoolhouse property as a historic resource going forward.
- The Stovepipe Academy is restored to historic preservation standards, including structural stabilization, restoration of the original schoolhouse footprint, discovery and preservation of original blackboards, and more.
- It joins the beloved Aldie Elementary School as another landmark of Aldie schools heritage.
