  Susan and Clive DuVal, II, arrived in northern Virginia in 1952, hunting for an older house with interesting architectural features and surrounding acreage. When they discovered Salona, it was occupied by the Danish family who were in the east wing. They decided it was just the house they wanted, unprepossessing though it appeared, full of the musty odor of unoccupied houses, ill-treated by a succession of temporary tenants and youthful vandals, and in poor repair inside and out. Inspection of the house would have discouraged the average home buyer but the DuVals had the desire and resources to do what was necessary to rehabilitate the dwelling and to live in it. The first of three tracts was purchased from the Smoot heirs in January, 1953, and the DuVals spent about a year extensively renovating the house and grounds before they moved in. Without specific descriptions of the original house to use as guidelines, they attempted to preserve as much as possible of the presumed original dwelling while adapting it to modern living. Both of the DuVals are descendants of French Huguenots who immigrated to New Amsterdam in the late eighteenth century. Both were born in New York City. One of Mrs. DuVal's grandfathers was Jesse Metcalf, a United States senator from Rhode Island, and her father was Frederic H. Bontecow, a New York state senator. As other residents of Salona had been before them, the DuVals were well educated, above the average level of Fairfax County residents. Mrs. DuVal is a graduate of Vassar, DuVal of Yale University Law School. And like some of their predecessors, their income, cultural interests and extent of community involvement are also well above the average for the time in which they live. The DuVal family arrived in Fairfax County during a period when the population growth was expanding rapidly, both from in-migration and natural increase. With them the couple brought their three children, Susan Lynde (Lyn), Clive, III, and David. Daniel, their fourth, was born in 1953. Their experience was a reflection of the times—in the 1950 U. S. Census, Fairfax County's population was 98,557; in 1960, it had increased to 248,897. The DuVal Family The DuVal family, about 1957. Left to right Daniel, Susan Lynde, Clive II, Susan, David and Also reflecting the Washington metropolitan area's typical experience in the 1950s, DuVal came from elsewhere to accept employment with the federal government, in his case, as Assistant General Counsel (International Affairs) for the Department of Defense. He was, typically, a World War II veteran, a former officer in the United States Navy. From 1955 to 1959, he was general counsel for the United States Information Agency. Since then, he has been in the private practice of law. As did the majority of married women with children in the decades 1950-1970, in Fairfax County, Mrs. DuVal stayed at home with the children rather than taking a regular outside job, except for her many volunteer projects in which she was regularly involved in the McLean community. Salona became a place of hospitality, where social, political, arts and educational events were held. The Woman's Club of McLean, the McLean House Tour, the McLean Ballet Company, Children's Hospital, the Fairfax YWCA, the McLean Boys Club, the Northern Virginia Democratic Women's Club, Yale University students and the Historical Society of Fairfax County, were among the many beneficiaries of the DuVals' generosity in making Salona available for special events. In 1965, DuVal ran for and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, in which he served for three consecutive terms. Because of his deep interest in conservation and environmental protection, DuVal received both the Virginia state award and the National Wildlife Federation award in 1970 for being the outstanding conservation legislator in the United States. In 1975, a patriotic organization, the Society of the United States Daughters of 1812, obtained the DuVals' permission to place an historic plaque at Salona to commemorate James Madison's visit there in 1814. The bronze plaque was mounted in a foundation stone from what are thought to have been old slave quarters. They once stood in the side yard below the house. The plaque reads as follows:
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