This landscape changed greatly after the Lodge was built for Richard Blackburn in the 18th century. Between the bank of Neabsco Creek and the King's Highway, Route 1, the site originally included gardens, farm, and forest. In 1796, paintings by Benjamin Latrobe showed the site as Richard Blackburn and his son Thomas Blackburn knew it. By the early 20th century, Wade and Dessie Ellis had created the ornamental gardens seen today, including an American Elm tree, boxwoods, a fruit orchard, coffee, oak and walnut trees, and a variety of flowers. Their home was featured multiple times during Virginia's Historic Garden Week. Rippon Lodge remained a working farm until the 1950s, and its last owner, Admiral Richard Blackburn Black, kept livestock including black angus cattle and sheep on the grounds. Today the site offers views of Neabsco Creek and the Potomac River, abundant plant life, birds, the historic cemetery of the Blackburn and Atkinson families, and nature trails.