Spread across the sitting room of Selma Mansion are Sharon Virts and Scott Miller, along with three of their six adult children, a grandson, a future daughter-in-law, and four sleeping dogs. Members of this blended family take turns complimenting and teasing each other while they describe the challenges of restoring their 19th-century home to its current splendor. The cozy tableau takes place in the same room where members of the Virginia gentry attended elegant balls 100 years ago.
Restoration of Selma
Selma was constructed in 1810, and its restoration has been a significant project for the family, with Virts taking the lead. She grew up in Lucketts and remembers admiring the grand house on the hill. When she and Miller saw a Facebook post about the estate’s neglected condition, she set her sights on restoring Selma to its former glory.
During the initial walk-through in 2016, the couple was astonished to see the mansion’s state of disrepair. Every nook and cranny cried for their attention. Not to be deterred, they made a deal to buy the dilapidated treasure for approximately $1.2 million.
Renovation involved meticulous work to reinstall plaster, replace cracked cornices, and repair wooden thresholds and beams. To remain true to Selma’s history, they hunted down original blueprints from the company that did the architectural designs.
Determined to recreate the look of the 19th century, they found inspiration among the rubble. After discovering a broken fireplace tile dating back to 1905, Virts commissioned Amish craftsmen to replicate 18 new fireplace tiles. A mural painter incorporated the leaves and briars from a plate they unearthed in the garden.
Selma’s previous owners had traveled to Europe to buy furniture, so Virts and Miller did the same. They also bought pieces at local auctions and estate sales. “I love designing and decorating this house,” says Virts. “It’s a way to bring back stuff from the past and make it useful again. Most of the house is very masculine, because I have four boys, and my husband.”
A Living Art Gallery
The couple also added their own eclectic design elements, like placing a gumball machine beside a 17th-century statue of Apollo. On display is a Fabergé egg, paintings by Gaugin and Pissarro, and drawings by Virts’ son Luke Mason. Virts is an accomplished painter herself. Her art gallery, The Ordinary, is located in Leesburg. She and Mason took turns painting a celestial sky between the entryway’s three-story grand staircase.
“We live back here,” says Virts of the sunroom, where she spends most of her time writing and painting. For the patio, the couple designed a scene with trees and birds, then hired Portuguese designers to hand-paint the tiles. “This is a replica of a fountain we saw in Lisbon. We wanted to make the patio feel like it’s part of the house,” Virts explains.
The result of this $5 million-plus labor of love is exuberant and luxurious, yet truly cozy. To see it yourself, you can book a ticket to the annual “Christmas at Selma” fundraising event.
Digging In
Selma was sold in 1897 to Elijah Brokenborough White, who extended the mansion that borders Catoctin Mountain. Over the years, fires and flooding destroyed some of the property, and vines grew over outdoor structures.
Mason took charge of the landscape projects, and Virts reminisces about the challenges they faced: “Lucas comes to me, ‘Mom, we have a problem. Water’s coming in and I can’t get it out of the house. I want to concrete the back.’ I answered, ‘Lucas, when do we not have a problem?’” Mason excavated 6 feet down, then brought in 45 trucks of concrete to build drainage and retaining walls to protect the house from flooding. He added terracing, a pool house, a veranda, and a sunroom.
Today the backyard is a romantic scene where the scent of roses perfumes the air. A bubbling koi pond sits beside the pool house, along with the white gazebo and colonnade where Virts’ son Zachary Mozer will marry fiancée Emma DeMarche this fall. Beyond the front porch, verdant fields rise to the bluffs of the Potomac River.
Loudoun Leaders
Since their marriage eight years ago, the couple has focused their copious energy into new endeavors impacting their hometown. Miller runs the Virts Miller Foundation, which supports Loudoun County through health, preservation, and education programs. They funded the Inova Virts Miller Family Emergency Trauma Center at Inova Loudoun Hospital after Virts’ brother nearly died of an aneurysm and had to be helicoptered to Inova Trauma Center-Fairfax.
“I’m watching my dad at 80 years old, having to drive to Fairfax one hour every day to see my brother. Not only are patients impacted, but also the family,” Virts explains.
Miller is the former president of the Loudoun Education Foundation and co-founded Opportunity Scholars. “We help kids in need around the county who … don’t see college as their path forward. We are trying to provide an alternative. In this area, an electrician, HVAC serviceperson, or plumber can make six figures.”
The couple also launched Amlés Wines in 2017, a brand that produces vintages from grapes grown in Napa Valley, California, as well as Oregon, Italy, France, and Germany. Miller oversees the winemaking, while Virts paints some of the labels. All the profits go back to the foundation. Amlés is served at area restaurants including D.C. Prime in Ashburn and The Wine Kitchen in Leesburg.
Family Ties
Virts’ roots in Loudoun County date back to 1752 when her German ancestors settled in Lovettsville. She attended Lucketts Elementary and Loudoun County High School, all the while collecting stories about Loudoun’s past. “My grandparents and father are storytellers,” she says. “They would tell me about the buildings, people [who] lived and died there, whether it was haunted. I’ve always been intrigued by the old stuff. So, when we bought Selma, I became obsessed with the history of this house.”
“If there’s one thing to know about Sharon,” says Mason, “she likes to tell a story.” Selma is also the muse behind her first book, Masque of Honor. The historical fiction novel features Selma’s original owner, Armistead Mason, a grandnephew of George Mason. Since then, she has written two more historical fiction books and hosts Read With Sharon, an online book club with around 13,000 followers.
The couple has also involved family members in their community and business endeavors. Avery Miller manages the Virts Miller Foundation, while Mason and Mozer are renovating their other historic properties. DeMarche runs The Ordinary. Even grandson Charlie Mason helps at community fundraising events. “We are talking to each other all the time. We all know all the steps,” says Mozer. “We are one big brain trust.”
Selma’s Legacy
Board president of the Loudoun Museum, Virts encourages people to invest in historic preservation. During a tour of Selma, she points out thumbprints indenting the bricks: “This kitchen had been the enslaved quarters. When we bought it, the room was filled with sheet rock and falling down. Many of these bricks were made by enslaved residents before the Civil War. Unfortunately, we don’t know their names, but the legacy they left behind shows in their hard work, sweat equity, and sense of pride. And it’s still standing.”
Virts hired bricklayers from Jamestown to rebuild the walls. “They were descendants of enslaved masons who learned their trade from their forefathers. They’ve been doing this for a millennia and taught us so much [about] how to restore Selma to last another 200 years.”
She looks around with satisfaction. “And we’ve had the privilege of bringing it back to life.”
Feature image by Michael Butcher
This story originally ran in our July Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
