Part 19

Hamilton.

Hamilton, one of the prettiest towns in the County, is spread over a considerable area and occupies one of the highest points in the beautiful Loudoun Valley. It is about 46 miles by rail from Washington, 3 miles from Purcellville and only a few miles from both the Catoctin and Blue Ridge mountains, walling the valley to the east and west, and is the center of a group of seven towns and villages within a radius of 5 miles. It has 364 inhabitants, of which number 18 are merchants and mechanics.

Purcellville.

Purcellville, in the western part of the County with an approximate elevation of 500 feet, is about 50 miles from Washington, 3 miles from both Round Hill and Hamilton, and 2-1/2 miles from Lincoln. It is delightfully situated in the center of one of the finest agricultural districts in the Loudoun Valley and has a population of 300, 17 merchants and mechanics and a national bank.

Middleburg.

Middleburg, situated on Goose Creek in the southwestern part of Loudoun, is 12 miles from the summit of the Blue Ridge at Ashby's Gap, 5 miles west of Aldie, 1/4 of a mile from the Fauquier line, and 16 miles by stage from Leesburg, the seat of government. It is a growing and prosperous community, elevated and airy and overlooking a broad expanse of rich territory. Fourteen of its 296 inhabitants are merchants and mechanics.

Ashburn.

Ashburn, a railway town in lower Loudoun, formerly known as Farmwell, is 34 miles from Washington, 31 miles from Alexandria, 4 miles northwest of Sterling, and 6 miles from Leesburg. It is in the heart of one of the richest and most extensive dairying sections of the State, and has become somewhat famous as a resort for anglers, the bass fishing in Goose Creek, near by, being eminently satisfying and attracting many devotees of the sport from Washington and other more distant points.

Bluemont.

Bluemont, formerly known as Snickersville, is an attractive village, snugly and advantageously situated at the southeastern base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 3 miles from Round Hill, 54 miles by rail from Washington, and 165 miles from Richmond. It is on the western edge of the most densely populated section of Loudoun, and boasts modern hotels and boarding houses, two liveries, a grain elevator, and many handsome dwellings. Two turnpikes, leading from Washington and Alexandria to Winchester, intersect at this point. Bluemont is a popular summer resort, and lies within a very short distance of both the "Bears' Den" and "Raven Rocks," jutting points on the western slope of the Blue Ridge, from which magnificent views may be had of the Shenandoah valley and river and the Alleghany and North mountains. The town has a population of 200, 14 of which number are merchants and mechanics.

Smaller Towns.

Other towns, post villages and settlements in the County are: Airmont, 2-1/2 miles from Bluemont, population 25; Aldie, on Little River, 5 miles from both Middleburg and Oatlands and 12 miles from Leesburg, the County seat, population 155, 7 merchants and mechanics; Arcola, 6 miles from Sterling and 12 miles from Leesburg, population 100, 4 merchants and mechanics; Belmont Park, a small railway station on the east bank of Goose Creek about 4 miles east of Leesburg, formerly a picturesque resort and popular excursion point managed by the old Richmond and Danville Railroad Company, attracting, during the few years of its operation, many thousands of visitors; Bloomfield, 7 miles from Round Hill, population 50; Britain, 8 miles from Purcellville, population 15; Clarkes Gap, one of the highest and healthiest points in the County and an important shipping point, draining a large extent of fertile country, 4 miles west of Leesburg, population 25; Conklin, 10 miles from Sterling, population 10; Daysville, 2 miles from Sterling, population 20; Elvan, 1 mile from Lovettsville, population 18; Evergreen Mills, 7 miles from Leesburg, population 10; Georges Mill, in the extreme northwestern part of the County; Hillsboro, 5 miles by stage from Purcellville, population 131, 9 merchants and mechanics; Hughesville, 7 miles from Leesburg, population 12; Irene, on the Southern Railway one mile from Hamilton and the railroad station for that town, population 20; Leithton, 8 miles from Purcellville and Round Hill, population 25; Lenah, 3 miles west of Arcola, population 25; Levy, on Bull Run, 3 miles south of Aldie; Lincoln, 2-1/2 miles southeast of Purcellville, in the heart of the "Quaker Settlement," population 200, 3 merchants and mechanics; Lovettsville, 2-1/2 or 3 miles south of Brunswick, Md., and 7 miles from both Waterford and Harpers Ferry, W. Va., in an industrious and progressive German neighborhood, population 97, 16 merchants and mechanics; Luckets, 5 miles from Point of Rocks, Maryland, and 7 miles from Leesburg, population 50, 8 merchants and mechanics; Lunette, 4 miles south of Arcola, population 10; Mahala, 2 miles from Ashburn, population 15; Mechanicsville; Mountain Gap, 4-1/2 miles by stage from Leesburg, population 25; Mount Gilead, a centrally and charmingly situated village on Catoctin Mountain about 8 miles respectively from the towns of Leesburg, Middleburg and Aldie, population 50; Mountville, a small settlement in a neighborhood abounding with best quality lime and other minerals, 2-1/2 miles southeast of Philomont and about 1-1/2 miles from both the waters of Goose Creek and Beaver Dam, population 25; Morrisonville, 6 miles by stage from Brunswick, Maryland, and 4 miles from Lovettsville, population 20; Neersville, 5 miles by stage from Harpers Ferry, W. Va., population 25; North Fork, 6 miles from Purcellville, population 26; Oatlands, bordering on Catoctin Mountain 7 miles southwest of Leesburg and 5 miles north of Aldie, population 20; Paeonian Springs, 1 mile northwest of Clarke's Gap, population 112, 6 merchants and mechanics; Paxson, an exceptionally healthy community 2 miles east of Bluemont, population 15; Philomont, a Quaker settlement lying 3 miles southeast of Silcott Springs in a fertile and wealthy wheat-growing neighborhood, population 161; Royville, 2 miles north of Arcola; Ryan, 2 miles south of Ashburn, population 50; Silcott Springs, a one-time noted resort 3-1/2 miles southwest of Purcellville, population 25; Sycoline, between 4 and 5 miles south of Leesburg; Stumptown, 2 miles from Luckets, population 20; Taylorstown, 3 miles southwest of Point of Rocks, Md., population 50; Trapp, 5 miles from Bluemont, population 36; Unison, 6 miles from Bluemont and 9 miles from Purcellville, population 100, 3 merchants and mechanics; Watson, 9 miles from Leesburg, population 10; Waxpool, 2-1/2 miles north of Royville and 8 miles from Leesburg, population 25; Welbourne, about 5 miles northeast of Upperville, in Fauquier county; Wheatland, 5 miles from both Hamilton and Purcellville, population 25; Willard, 5 miles southwest of Herndon, in Fairfax county, and Woodburn, 3 miles from Leesburg, population 15. [Blank Page]

Statistical.

AREA AND FARMING TABULATIONS.

The area of Loudoun County is variously reckoned at 460, 468, 495, 504, 510, 519, 520, and 525 square miles. The approximate accuracy of any single estimate in this confused assortment can not easily be determined, none, so far as is known, having been officially confirmed. Yardley Taylor, who, in 1853, made a most careful survey of the County, fixed its area at 525 square miles. By far the most trustworthy authority in this and certain other connections, his findings have been adopted with little uncertainty or hesitation.

Of this number, 207 square miles lie east of Catoctin Mountain and are of the upper secondary formation, while the remaining 318 square miles to the westward are of primitive formation.

The longest line across the County is 35 miles, and extends from the lower end of Lowe's Island at the old mouth of Sugarland Run, to the summit of the Blue Ridge at Ashby's Gap; the second longest, 34 miles, extends from the corner of Jefferson County, West Virginia, at the margin of the Potomac River below Harpers Ferry, to the corner of Fairfax County on Bull Run, within half a mile of Sudley Springs in Prince William County.

Within the limits of Loudoun are included 313,902 acres of the finest farm land to be found in any county of the State. The farms number 1,948, the average size being 162 acres. They are smallest in the northwestern portion of the county and of moderate size in the central portions, the largest occurring in the southern and eastern portions. In 1900, 1,754, or 90 per cent, were operated by white farmers, and 194, or 10 per cent, operated by colored farmers.

TABLE I.--Summary by Decades of the Improved and Unimproved Land in Farms, with per cent of Increase and Decrease.

-------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------- | Acres of Land in Farms. | Per cent of Increase. |---------+-----------+-------------+---------+----------+------------ Census | | | | Total | Improved | Unimproved Year. | Total. | Improved. | Unimproved. | Land. | Land. | Land. -------+---------+-----------+-------------+---------+----------+------------ 1900 | 313,902 | 251,874 | 62,028 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 4.8 1890 | 294,896 | 235,703 | 59,193 | [*]1.3 | 1.4 | [*]11. 1880 | 298,869 | 232,391 | 66,478 | 8.2 | 15.1 | [*]10.7 1870 | 276,291 | 201,888 | 74,403 | [*]6.7 | [*]8.3 | [*] 1.9 1860 | 296,142 | 220,266 | 75,876 | .5 | 5.7 | [*] 1.2 1850 | 294,675 | 208,454 | 86,221 | - | - | - -------+---------+-----------+-------------+---------+----------+------------

The most striking fact to be noted concerning the reported farm areas is the comparatively great decrease in the decade 1860 to 1870. This was, of course, one of the disastrous effects of the Civil War, from which the South, in general, after more than forty-five years, has not yet fully recovered, as is shown by the fact that in some of the South Atlantic states the reported acreage of farm land in 1900 was less than it was in 1860.

A continuous increase is shown in the area of improved farm land except in the decade 1860-1870. The decrease in the amount under cultivation, reported in the census of 1870, was due to conditions growing out of the change in the system of labor which prevented a complete rehabilitation of agricultural industry.

Only three other of the 100 Virginia counties reported larger improved areas in 1900, viz: Fauquier, 291,734 acres; Pittsylvania, 280,456 and Augusta, 276,459.

TABLE II.--Number of Farms by Decades: Summary, 1850 to 1900.

1900 1,948 1890 1,818 1880 1,841 1870 1,238 1860 1,207 1850 1,256

Comparison of the number of farms reported in 1850 with the number at the last census shows an addition in fifty years of 692 farms.

The great increase between 1870 and 1880 is seen at a glance. During this period the large plantations were steadily undergoing partition, in consequence of the social and industrial changes in progress after the Civil War.

TABLE III.--Farms Classified by Area--1900.