Orlean Historic District

Orlean is a small crossroads village in northwestern Fauquier County, Virginia, whose 80-acre historic district holds about two dozen properties dating from the late 18th century to the mid-20th century. Dwellings, outbuildings, stores, a post office, a former school, two churches and cemeteries line Leeds Manor and John Barton Payne roads. The oldest building is Orlean Farm House, begun around 1795 as a log house and enlarged in stone in 1812. Most buildings are vernacular, with examples of Federal, Greek Revival and Queen Anne styles. The village grew from Thomas Lord Fairfax's Leeds Manor, gained a post office in 1817, and served as a commercial center with stores, a tavern and a doctor's office. The Smith and Payne families shaped its early history, and Judge John Barton Payne was born here in 1855. At the south end, an African-American neighborhood includes Providence Baptist Church and a cemetery.