LaGrange Winery

Prince William, VA

The Winery at La Grange project, located on a twenty-acre site, is the only operational winery in Prince William County. The property, which was part of Robert “King” Carter’s Bull Run Tract in the 1600s, features a three-and-a-half story solid red brick manor house built in the 1790s which has been restored, vineyards, and expansive grounds with beautiful views for tours, picnics, and catered events. Bowman provided planning, surveying, engineering, and environmental services on this project. Scope of work included the development of a site plan with a parking area layout, preparation of a special use permit plan and plat, a boundary survey, an environmental constraints analysis, a perennial flow determination, support of a cultural resource analysis, and a traffic management plan for the site. During a site survey, a stone was found at La Grange’s “Spring House” showing a date of April 2, 1800 and the initials WL. A landscape plan was also provided which augmented the existing plantings, keeping to their original character. The terracing and stone walls around the house were restored, as were the walkways on the property. During the project, an issue developed with the entrance line-of-sight to the main road. Two existing, curved stone walls graced the original driveway entrance to the house and barns. The client wanted to use the driveway for the winery, but under current VDOT and Prince William County safety standards, there was a sight distance problem. The vision of drivers was blocked when they were pulling out onto Antioch Road. Bowman performed a special survey at the entrance, identified the top few courses of stone that would have to be stepped down and removed to solve the sight problem. The walls were modified with the concurrence of the County’s archeologist so that the walls remain but now meet current safety standards.