In 1918, two of Thomas Samuel Carper’s sons, George Wallace Carper and Oswald Carper paid off their father’s debts and took over the property from their mother Lura and started what became a successful dairy business. They kept the simple farmhouse, but in 1920 added two large barns, a milk house and a machine shed. A tenant house was added in 1940.
- George Wallace Carper bought out his brother Oswald and expanded the dairy operation into a trucking business delivering milk to local residents and merchants. Wallace Carper is described as having been an efficient businessman, good humored, jolly and a good neighbor who sold his milk to neighbors for only ten cents.
- Dairy farming in Virginia became prominent for nearly 100 years following the Civil War. By the 1950’s, Fairfax County was Virginia’s largest dairy producer, and the area was known for its productive herds and quality products.
- George Wallace Carper’s large circle of friends served as the launchpad for his eventual political career. In 1932, he ran as a Democrat for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and he ended up serving for 24 years. From 1940-1954, he served as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
- In Carole L. Herrick’s book “Yesterday – 100 Recollections of McLean and Great Falls, Virginia,” area resident Don Burns recalled in 2006 his memory of Wallace Carper. Burns states, “It always tickled us during election time. Wallace would bring a pair of pants into the store for dry cleaning and stay there three or four hours greeting potential voters.”
- Carper’s dairy farm was a success until the 1960’s when emerging new grocery stores and refrigeration trucks that could deliver milk from far-away farms proved to be stiff competition for customers. At the same time, increased taxes soon became unaffordable for the Carpers and nearby housing developments were making the land worth more than the dairy operation itself. With declining health, Carper sold the property and structures to the Greenway Heights Land Corporation on March 7, 1962
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