The Town of Washington

08/04/2026

“I’m back at the number one place in my heart!” Klaus Peters’ triumphant return to ownership of the Foster Harris House today was stymied by one small detail—he was locked out. Now sitting on a wicker settee overlooking Main Street from the front porch, he repeatedly searched his phone, unable to locate the entry code that would let him through the door he had last walked out of two years ago. A call to a business partner in another state eventually gained us entry.

Scanning the property with a critical eye earned through a career in hospitality, he pointed out things that needed attention, starting with the garden. “This place was always immaculate. And it will be again.” Tanned, cheery, and now single at 81, Klaus jumped at the chance to come back to Little Washington and revive what he and his former wife, Gisele, oversaw for seven years before selling the B&B in March 2024. In his booming German accent, Klaus explained what the place means to him. “This has been a passion project for us. We created something special here and took great care of every single guest.”

Klaus knows that I have questions, but first he needs to get his bearings. “Is that café open? Can we walk there? I’ll buy you a drink.” We strolled down Main Street and locals who recognized Klaus came out to welcome him home. At the Patty O's bar was Col. John Bourgeois, a long lost pal, insisting that Klaus sit down and try a Vieux Carré, a New Orleans cocktail (rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, Bénédictine, and Peychaud’s bitters). I coaxed Klaus away for a minute to try to discern his plans.

Klaus worried that he’d be too loud sitting at the bar, answering questions. “Everyone will want to know about your legendary dinners,” I laughed. Klaus pondered, “Well, I’ll take it one step at a time. I’ll concentrate on breakfast first—it is a B&B, after all.” Klaus is here for just a day or two to figure out the next move and decide what furniture needs to come up from his house in Florida. He says he’ll be back in three to four weeks, “and then I’ll never leave again.” Klaus walked me to the door. He turned back to join the Colonel for another round at the bar, eager to catch up. — Brian Noyes

08/01/2026

A quiet corner of our village is Luna’s turf—a block or two with not much traffic, few dogs, and a Baptist church with a friendly staff that likes to see a cat strolling by. On a leash.

Gripping the other end of Luna’s lifeline to her outdoor perusal is Jessie Shelburne, who this month marked her third anniversary of moving from the Shenandoah Valley, where she was a general manager of a hotel, to Little Washington, where she manages the R.H. Ballard Shop & Gallery. One of Jessie’s magical talents is finding four-leaf clovers around town, but that’s another story. She wants to talk about her walking partner.

“Luna learned quickly,” Jessie says about her Burmese cat. “She realized that if she was to be allowed outside, there needed to be a compromise between us. She would have to be strapped into a harness, attached to a leash, with me always hanging on.” Jessie says that Luna is smarter than a dog: “She walks around the correct side of shrubbery and doesn’t get caught in the leash, so neither of us gets tangled up.”

They move at the speed of Luna. “She has little legs so she can’t go fast or far, so it gets a little boring. She’ll stop if she’s tired, and we’ll start again when she’s ready. She loves walking around the back side of the Sheriff's Department where the deputies wave at her. I think she feels safe there.” Don’t we all.

A cat on a leash patrolling the town is a conversation starter among visitors and the locals, but mostly they just watch the pair stroll by, like it’s no big deal, as they keep an eye out for lucky charms in the grass and a place for a catnap as long as needed. —Brian Noyes

More images are on our new Instagram page @ https://www.instagram.com/townofwashingtonva

07/25/2026

A few years ago, a loud knocking on our front door startled our two cats and sent them skittering under a bed. Standing on our porch was this woman—she introduced herself as Sharron—holding a cardboard box. Inside was a towel that seemed to be moving. “Y’all need two kittens? I’m trying to find them a home.” She pulled out one and lifted it up, its long tail dangling: “This is French Fry!” The other kitten, with a tiny stub of a tail? “Oh, that’s Tater Tot!” Great names, but we had a full house. Sorry.

Sharron (pronounced Sha-RON) Proper is the Inn at Little Washington’s shepherdess, as it turns out. I love yakking with her during my walks around town, and I usually find her interacting with the Inn’s animals, although I’ve seen her pulling weeds at the post office, digging up sassafras roots in the woods for a turkey brine, or waving from her fully-loaded red pickup truck bouncing up Middle Street. Yesterday she was scrubbing out a watering trough near the goose pen as two llamas, a few sheep, and a couple of goats huddled nearby yearning for a drink. I told her she must be the hardest working person in town, and that brought out a big laugh. “Man, I’ve been doing this for 16 years now. It started when I volunteered to take care of a couple of the Inn’s sheep, and now I’ve got all these guys following me around!” I think she’s happy about that.

Sharron has traveled extensively—living in Guatemala and elsewhere—but she says she always finds her way back to Washington, Virginia. “This is the town of my great-grandfather. I knew him! This is home.” —Brian Noyes

07/24/2026

07/24/2026

It might not be the light at the end of the tunnel yet, but the view is great from Gay Street through the Little Washington Theatre renovation and all the way to the Blue Ridge.

07/23/2026

A gorgeous day for haying (and anything else). Seen near Piedmont Avenue and Main Street.

07/18/2026

Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam were greeted by a warm and receptive audience at Town Hall in Little Washington this afternoon.

07/13/2026

I do a good amount of walking around town every day, which might be the reason Mayor Joe Whited tapped me to take over the Town’s page and launch a new Instagram account. During one hike earlier this summer, I pondered the monumental steel arch that enhances the entrance to the Little Washington Masonic Cemetery, just beyond the town limits on Fodderstack Road. I hadn’t noticed that before. Thanks to a small plaque attached to the back, I tracked down Rick Nawrocki, mastermind behind Rick's Custom Welding, Inc. in Flint Hill.

“Hey Rick, is that cemetery sign new? It looks like it could have been there forever.”

“Well, then I guess we succeeded,” Rick laughed. “That was the goal from the cemetery committee—create a sign that looks like it’s always been there when, actually, there hadn’t been a sign there previously. The cemetery board came in with an idea, and we drew it up and they liked what they saw. It’s been a year-long process with some back-and-forth discussions, then probably a month of fooling around with it in the shop. We installed it on June 2nd. It’s been a nice little project for us, and we’re really happy with it. And you’re right: it does look like it belongs there.”

To donate to the upkeep of the cemetery, or for information on volunteering, visit https://www.littlewashingtonmasoniccemetery.com/donate.

07/13/2026

Hearing about a new arrival on the Patty O's menu had us rethinking our dinner plans. “It tastes like Virginia in summer,” manager André LeTendre said about their “First of the Season Heirloom Tomato and Peach Salad with Sweet Corn Ice Cream.” The Inn‘s “Farmer Andy” Thewlis had picked over 400 pounds of his heirloom tomatoes this weekend, André mentioned, enough to nudge this bright seasonal starter into a starring role on the menu and our table.