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Sunnyside Farm is a historic home and historic farm property in Loudoun County, Virginia, located near the town of Hamilton. Originally built around 1815, the home has seen several major additions to it up through the twentieth century, making it quite the large dwelling. In addition to the sizeable home, Sunnyside Farm also houses a large springhouse, a brick barn, a loafing shed, a garage, and a corncrib, all of which were added to the property in differing periods of the home’s lifespan. On June 15th, 1994, it was designated on the Virginia Landmark Register, and on August 16th, 1994, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Sunnyside Farm home in 2007 ((By Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons))

The Sunnyside Farm home in 2007 ((By Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons))

Thomas and Mary Nichols were two immigrants from England that arrived in Philadelphia in 1712. The couple had a sizeable family, and their sixth child, Isaac Nichols, found his way to Loudoun County, Virginia, and owned the land that Sunnyside Farms would be built on. Isaac had a son named William by this point, and William lived on the land of Sunnyside Farms. Though there is no documentation to affirm or deny the speculation, it is widely believed that William built the original home on the land in 1815. Isaac deeded the land to William in his will, but William died before his father. As a result, the land would go to Isaac’s grandson, William Nichols, Jr. William, Jr. would go on to construct several new building on the property while he lived at Sunnyside, and in 1836, he sold the farm to William Hatcher.

Hatcher did not appear to make any major alterations to the home, and through his death, it was passed on to his daughter, who sold it in 1855 to William McCray. The home stayed in the McCray family for 125 years, and during that period of time, many alterations were made to the property. On June 15th, 1994, it was designated on the Virginia Landmark Register, and on August 16th, 1994, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

National Register of Historic Places. Sunnyside Farm. August 16, 1994. Accessed August 15, 2016. http://www.dhr.Virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Loudoun/053-0304_Sunnyside_1994_Final_Nomination.pdf