E.E. Lake General Store | store / shop, place with historical importance, building/structure currently being renovated/restored/reconstructed

 store / shop, place with historical importance, building/structure currently being renovated/restored/reconstructed

Built by Edward E. Lake about 1901, it was originally a two-story, hip-roofed structure with clapboard siding and, while taking care of grocery and sundries needs of visitors and villagers, also housed a branch of the Loudoun National Bank of Leesburg, which didn't last long after the safe was blown up in 1907!

Upstairs was a hall with "a seating capacity of 500" and was often used for dances. Farmers also used the store when they took their milk to the train for Washington and Alexandria customers and their grain to the Bluemont grain elevator which was next to the depot.

The Lake store closed in the early 1930s, leaving only the Post Office which continued operation until it moved across the street to a new building in 1945. Around 1940, Randall Osburn, brother of Mrs. Forester who ran the Snickersville General Store, reopened the Lake store on a much smaller scale, selling mostly groceries, ice cream, and penny candies; but after two years the store closed for good.

The store has been donated to the county of Loudoun due to the efforts of the Bluemont Citizens Association. Once renovations and stabilization are complete, it will offer significant tourism opportunities to the area, provide a rest stop for bicyclists and pedestrians and improve the view from Snickersville Pike.