Party to Celebrate Ben Lomond Center's 40 Years on Saturday

Provided, Prince William County Government:

Ben Lomond Community Center is throwing a party Saturday to celebrate its 40th Anniversary. People who visit the center between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. will find cake and punch and activities for children, including a moon-bounce, old-fashioned yard games and hands-on crafts. There will also be dance demonstrations and tours of the center.

In the early 1970s, developers were anxious to build houses in the western end of the county, but a public fondness for an old barn that stood at the site of the 1837 Ben Lomond Manor Estate, blocked the way.

A group of citizens, led by Ms. Patricia White and the women of the Westgate Woman’s Club, banded together with then Gainesville District Supervisor, now state Sen. Charles Colgan, to launch a campaign to “Save the Barn” as a community gathering place for people of all ages.

The campaign was a marked as a success when a $300,000 bond was passed by the Loch Lomond, Rockledge and Stonewall citizens to provide the funding to restore this historical building for use as a community gathering place. However, a feasibility study proved that renovating the old barn was too costly, so a new building was needed. The architects of Smith and Smith, of Springfield, Va., were commissioned to design the new building. The architects understood the historical significance of the old barn and where it stood and built a two-story building to resemble the old barn.

In 1983, the Prince William County Park Authority purchased Ben Lomond Community Center and expanded programming and classes in fitness, dance, arts and special events. Ben Lomond Community Center transferred back to the county in 2012 and is managed and programmed by the Prince William County Department of Parks & Recreation.

For more information about the Ben Lomond Community Center, call 703-792-8320 or visit their website. You can also visit their Facebook page .