Exeter was one of the most elaborate and architecturally interesting plantation complexes in northern Virginia. Although in deteriorated condition, the richly ornamented dwelling house and its many outbuildings provided an excellent picture of plantation life in ante-bellum Loudoun County. Dating from the 1790s, the unusual, several-sectioned Federal plantation house on the eastern edge of the town of Leesburg was built by Dr. Wilson Cary Selden. Its portico and varied roof forms gave it particular distinction. Exeter stood abandoned for many years and was finally destroyed by fire in 1980.