Chapter III: Part 3

The type occupies several small areas in the Piedmont region, in the southeastern part of the County. The largest of these areas lies about 2 miles east of Leesburg, and a considerable part of the type is adjacent to the Potomac River. It occupies high, rolling, ridgy, or hilly lands, and has some rather steep slopes, though in general the surface is only gently sloping.

The drainage is good, but wherever the slopes are steep erosion proceeds rapidly, making gullies and washed-out places that hinder or entirely prevent cultivation. The type is well watered by small streams which flow the year round.

Probably one-half of this type is cultivated. The remainder is covered with a growth of scrub oak, pine, and some cedar. The soil is thin and only fairly productive, and consequently is not greatly desired for agriculture. It is very easy to work, but has to be cultivated carefully to avoid washing. The crops raised are corn, wheat, grass, and some apples. Corn yields from 25 to 35 bushels, wheat from 12 to 15 bushels, and clover and timothy hay from 1 to 2 tons per acre. Small fruits and vegetables do well.

Although naturally a thin soil, the Cecil silt loam is fairly well adapted to the production of the crops just named. Of the small fruits, peaches, plums, and berries do best. On the whole the type is considered much better adapted to wheat than to corn. It is limed and fertilized to a considerable extent, and responds well to such applications.

_Cecil Mica Loam._

The Cecil mica loam consists of 12 inches of a friable, micaceous yellow or yellowish red loam, underlain by a yellow or yellowish-red loam, whose mica content increases with the depth until at 24 to 30 inches the subsoil is little more than a mass of small mica flakes which gives it a loose texture. Occasionally the subsoil is a clay loam for several inches before grading into the unweathered mica particles.

On the surface there is from 5 to 40 per cent of angular quartz fragments, ranging from 1 to 6 inches in diameter, some being much larger.

The Cecil mica loam occurs as one long, narrow strip, occupying the lower, gentle eastern slopes of the Catoctin Mountain. The southern end of the strip begins a short distance north of Leesburg, and extends in a northeasterly direction to the Potomac River, opposite Point of Rocks, Md.

The topographic features of the Cecil mica loam consist of gentle and occasionally steep rolling slopes. The surface is well drained and on the steeper slopes the soil washes badly and deep gullies are formed. In a season of moderate rainfall the soil and subsoil retain considerable moisture, but in dry weather crops suffer from drought.

No farms are found entirely on the Cecil mica loam, but those farms of the Piedmont, extending up the mountain slopes, generally include some of this soil. Such areas are often farmed, but more generally used as woodlots. Where cultivated the yields are scant, except where the soil is heavily fertilized. Corn yields from 10 to 30 bushels per acre and sometimes more, and wheat from 6 to 12 bushels per acre. The type is best adapted to forestry, chestnut orcharding, and grape growing.

_De Kalb Stony Loam._

The soil of the De Kalb stony loam consists of a yellow or gray sandy loam of coarse texture, having an average depth of 12 inches. The subsoil consists of a heavy yellow sandy loam to a depth of 24 inches or more, where it rests upon a mass of sandstone fragments. These sandstone fragments and bowlders occur in varying quantities throughout the soil and subsoil. Where the fewer stones are found the soil is not so sandy, but a light loam, yellow or brown in color, underlain by a deep yellow loam subsoil.

The De Kalb stony loam is a mountain soil, occurring in long, parallel bands of varying width, extending in a general northeast and southwest direction, and mainly occupies the crests and slopes of the Blue Ridge and Short Hill mountains. It also occurs in smaller areas on the crest and east slope of Catoctin Mountain.

On the Blue Ridge and Short Hills the De Kalb stony loam covers the whole of the mountains, and here the physiography consists of long, sharp, rock-crested ridges, with steep, rugged slopes and occasional cliffs and huge ledges. There are occasional benches on the mountain sides, and here there is an accumulation of two or three inches of a black mold, resting on the broken sandstone fragments, and covered with a growth of locust, oak, and berry vines.

Owing to the steep and rugged surface of this soil, together with its stony character, superficial drainage is rapid and thorough, the water rushing in torrents from the mountain slopes, while as a result of the loose texture and the large number of stone fragments in the soil the water passes rapidly through it, and there is never an excess of moisture in the soil or subsoil.

On account of the steep and stony nature of the De Kalb stony loam little of the type can possibly be cultivated. The soil is naturally a very thin one, and is not capable of producing fair yields except in its less stony phases.

The principal growth on the type is chestnut, oak, and some pine. Probably 95 per cent of the type is uncultivated, and is valuable only for the timber growth it supports. Where cultivated the average yields per acre are as follows: Corn, from 10 to 20 bushels; wheat, from 6 to 10 bushels. Apples and especially peaches do fairly well on the mountain phase where not too stony.

The greater part of the De Kalb stony loam is not adapted to agricultural purposes at all, and it is not likely that the land will ever be valuable except for forestry. It is locally termed "mountain land," and is the poorest agricultural soil of the County.

_Porters Clay._

The Porters clay consists of from 6 to 12 inches of a brown or reddish-brown loam, underlain by a heavy red loam or clay loam. The type consists of fairly rough mountain land, and is very stony, having from 15 to 60 percent of small and large schist fragments on the surface, some of which are several feet in diameter. The soil is light and easy to work wherever it is not so stony as to interfere with cultivation.

This soil is a strictly mountain type and not of great extent. It follows the crest and part of the east slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains for several miles, extending in a northeasterly direction and ending at the areas of sandstone formation.

The type is well drained throughout, while the texture of the subsoil is sufficiently heavy to retain considerable moisture through quite extended dry spells. The steeper slopes are uncultivated, and hence are not subject to erosion.

A considerable proportion of this soil type is under cultivation, especially on the broad mountain top. Those areas not cultivated are covered with a heavy growth of oak, hickory, locust, and walnut. Corn and wheat can be grown on the type with fair yields, but little of the latter is grown on account of the stony nature of the land. Corn yields from 20 to 35 bushels, wheat from 8 to 15 bushels, and grass and clover from 1 to 2 tons per acre. Irish and sweet potatoes give good yields, and fine apples and peaches are produced. Peaches are liable to winterkill, and the crop is uncertain for this reason. This type is peculiarly adapted to fruit growing, and especially to the production of apples.

_Meadow._

The Meadow of Loudoun is usually a brown silty or sandy loam, with a depth of several feet. The type occurs in narrow bands along the larger streams, forming a bottom or low terrace a few feet above the mean water level. The nature of the soil depends greatly on the surrounding soils, as it is formed from sediment of the wash from these types and partakes of their textural characteristics to some extent.

The type, while low and flat, is generally well enough drained for cultivation, although this is somewhat hindered by overflows; consequently the land is chiefly used for grazing. The soil is alluvial in origin, being built up by successive overflows of the streams. Little of the type is forested. Where cultivated it is generally used for corn, which yields from 50 to 75 bushels an acre. Little wheat is grown, although the soil is capable of producing fair yields of this crop. It also produces from 2 to 3 tons of hay per acre, and affords excellent pasturage. The crops are somewhat uncertain, however, on account of overflows which sometimes occur after the planting season, though in the case of the River the danger from flood is usually past before the time for corn planting. Where the areas are in grass the floods usually do little damage. Productiveness is in a great measure maintained by the addition of the sediments left by the overflow waters.

FLORA AND FAUNA.

FLORA.--Records of the days of early settlement point to a scarcity and an inferiority of large timber in Loudoun (then Prince William) and contiguous counties. The responsibility for this condition has been traced to the hunters who frequented this region prior to its settlement and wantonly set fire to the forests in order to destroy underbrush, the better to secure their quarries. A comparatively dense and vigorous new growth followed the discontinuance of this pernicious practice.

At the present time, after the encroachment of field and pasture for nearly two centuries, a large portion of the county's area is still under forest cover. The stand, in the main, is somewhat above average size and quality.

The total value of forest products cut or produced on farms in 1899 was $51,351. This includes only the wood, lumber, railroad ties, etc., which the farmers cut in connection with their ordinary farming operations. The reports of persons making lumbering or wood cutting their principal business are not included.

The trees common to Loudoun are four varieties of the white oak, i. e., common, swamp, box, and chestnut-leaved, the latter, however, appearing only along the margin of the Potomac River; black, Spanish, and red oak, chestnut oak, peach or willow oak, pin oak; and in the eastern parts of the county, black jack, or barren oak, and dwarf oak, hickory, black and white walnut, white and yellow poplar, chestnut, locust, ash, sycamore, wild cherry, red flowering maple, gum, sassafras, persimmon, dogwood, red and slippery elm, black and white mulberry, aspin (rare), beech, birch, linn, honey-locust, sugar maple, sugar nut, yellow and white pine, hemlock, and red cedar.

Among the smaller trees and shrubs are the white thorn, maple-leaved or Virginia thorn (suitable for hedging), hawthorn, wild May cherry, or service berry, water beech, fringe tree, red bud, black alder, common alder, sumach, elder, laurel, witch-hazel, hazel-nut, papaw, chinkapin, burnish bush, nine bark, button-bush, honeysuckle, several varieties of the whortleberry or huckleberry, and wild gooseberry.

A few of the brambles met with are the greenbrier, high blackberry, dewberry, or low blackberry, and raspberry.

A list of the vines and creepers would comprise the fox grape, three varieties; pigeon, or raccoon grape, chicken grape, a wild bitter grape, sarsaparilla, yellow parilla, poison-vine, or poison-oak, clematis, trumpet-flower, and wild potato vine.

The medicinal herbs found in Loudoun are the rattlesnake root, Seneca snakeroot (also called Virginia snakeroot), many varieties of mint, liverwort, red-root, May apple, butterfly-weed, milk weed, thorough-stem, trumpet-weed, Indian-physic, _lobelia inflata_, and _lobelia cardinalis_, golden-rod, skunk-cabbage, frost-weed, hoar-hound, and catnip.

The injurious plants with which the careful farmer must contend are the wild garlic, tribby weed, dog fennel, two varieties of the common daisy, oxeye daisy, St. John's wort, blue thistle, common thistle, pigeon-weed, burdock, broad and narrow-leaved dock, poke-weed, clot-bur, three-thorned bur, supposed to have been introduced from Spain by the Merino sheep, Jamestown or "jimson" weed, sorrel, and, in favorable seasons, a heavy growth of lambs quarter and rag-weed.

Of introduced grasses, Loudoun has red clover, timothy, herd's-grass, orchard-grass, and Lucerne to which last little attention is now given. Native grasses are the white clover, spear grass, blue grass, fox-tail and crab grass, the two last-named being summer or annual grasses. Several varieties of swamp or marsh grass flourish under certain conditions, but soon disappear with proper drainage and tillage.

Although some of the wild flowers of Loudoun merit the attention of the florist, as a whole they have no commercial value or significance and, for this reason, an enumeration of the many varieties has not been thought expedient.

FAUNA.--Wild ducks, geese, and turkeys, pheasants (English and Mongolian), partridges and woodcock are among the game fowls of Loudoun, and eagles, crows, buzzards, owls, and hawks among the predatory. The usual list of songbirds frequent this region in great numbers and receive some protection under the stringent fish and game laws in force here.

Red and gray foxes, raccoons, opossums, woodchucks, squirrels, hares and smaller animals are quite general.

In pioneer days the county abounded in the larger species of game common to the forests of North America. Among these were the beaver and otter, buffalo, deer, wolf, wild-cat, panther, bear, fox, and elk or wapiti (_Cervus canadensis_), noble herds of which ranged the mountain sides and valleys of this section.

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.[13]

Good roads, always of immeasurable importance to the farmer, were early made necessary by the tremendous crops of marketable products harvested from Loudoun lands. Though this need, in time, became imperative the roads were never hastily and imperfectly constructed; they were built with an eye single to permanence and with due allowance for generations of unintermittent and augmentative traffic.

These roads yielded their promoters modest dividends, but with the completion in 1832 of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, bordering the county just across the Potomac, transportation to and from Washington (Georgetown) and Alexandria was materially cheapened and the earnings of the turnpike companies suffered a corresponding decrease, the income, in many cases, being barely sufficient to defray the expense of maintenance. Tolls are now collected at only two points, in the County.

[Footnote 13: No apology is offered for the omission of vital statistics that might and would have been included in this department had earnest appeals addressed to State officers and the State Corporation Commission met with more courteous and, I might add, dutiful consideration. Not the least assistance was vouchsafed by any of them.--THE AUTHOR.]

The turnpike craze spread to Loudoun not long after the War of Independence and culminated about forty years later. It wrought a revolution in public travel, relatively nearly as great as that brought about by the railway craze in more recent years. The corporate names of some of the roads constructed through Loudoun before its subsidence were, the Goose Creek and Little River Turnpike, Loudoun and Berlin (now Brunswick, Md.) Turnpike, Ashby's Gap Turnpike, Leesburg Turnpike, Leesburg and Snicker's Gap Turnpike, Little River Turnpike and Snicker's Gap Turnpike. Their combined authorized capital stock was $637,325, of which amount more than two-thirds was subscribed by individuals, the State assuming the balance.

The system did not originate solely in a local want or demand along the lines contemplated. Other causes were also at the bottom of the movement. The settlement of the County was necessarily by progressive though, at times, apparently simultaneous steps. First came the settlement and location of one or two towns, and the opening of communication between them; then the advent of the trapper, hunter, and scout into the unsettled portion; then came the land grants and the settlement in isolated localities; then the blazed trail to the parent towns and to the cabin of the pioneer or the outposts; then the drift-ways, cart-ways, and the local roads winding from cabin to cabin; then the town-ways and county roads, with here and there the "provincial" highways.

Today, the public roads and turnpikes of Loudoun are unquestionably better than those of most counties and, in obedience to a popular demand, are kept in a fair state of repair. One or two of the main-traveled thoroughfares would compare favorably with the best rural roads in the country.

Long before the Civil War, Little River was rendered navigable from its mouth to Aldie by means of a lock and dam system, this and more far-reaching improvements having been undertaken by the "Goose Creek and Little River Navigation Company" capitalized at $100,000. The dams were destroyed by Federal invaders and never reconstructed.

Loudoun is traversed by the Washington and Ohio Division of the Southern Railway, which penetrates the County centrally from east to west and furnishes an outlet for her immense shipments of cattle, grain and miscellaneous products. No less than twelve stopping points are recognized within her limits, at all but three of which commodious stations have been erected.

The original purpose of the promoters was to extend this road to the coal-fields of Hampshire County, West Virginia (then in Virginia). The name under which it was incorporated was the "Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad." During the Civil War its bridges and tracks were destroyed by order of General Lee and for some years afterward Loudoun was without adequate railway communication with the outside world.

The cost of construction between Alexandria and Leesburg, the first division of the work, was $1,538,744. The line, many years afterward, was extended to Round Hill and still later to Bluemont, at present the Westernmost terminal. Stages, affording communication with Winchester and intermediate towns of the Shenandoah Valley, are operated from this point and between Leesburg and Middleburg and Point of Rocks. Liveries are conducted in all the important towns.

The northern edge of the County is in easy communication with the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal just across the Potomac.

Large steel bridges, spanning the Potomac at Harpers Ferry, Brunswick and Point of Rocks, afford convenient ingress into West Virginia, Maryland and the not far-distant state of Pennsylvania.

Further communication with the north is made possible by a ferry (White's) in constant operation between Loudoun and the Maryland shore.

TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

_Leesburg._

Leesburg, a fine old town, the county-seat of Loudoun, lies at the eastern base of Catoctin Mountain, 2-1/2 miles from the Potomac River at Balls Bluff, and 3-7/8 miles west of Goose Creek. It is in the northern part of the County, 40 miles northwest of Washington, 153 miles in a like direction from Richmond, the State capital, within a few miles of the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains and the celebrated Valley of Virginia, 12 miles from Point of Rocks, Md., and about 22 miles from historic Harpers Ferry, W. Va. It occupies a high and healthy plain, the environs of which are waving and well cultivated and delightfully variegated by hill and dale.

The town derives its name from the Lees, who were among the early settlers of the County, and was established by act of the General Assembly, in September, 1758, in the thirty-second year of the reign of George II. Nicholas Minor, who owned sixty acres of land about the court-house, had subdivided this tract and some of the lots had been built upon prior to the passage of the act. This instrument constituted "the Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Esq., Thomas Mason, Esq., Francis Lightfoot Lee (father of 'Light Horse Harry' of subsequent Revolutionary fame), James Hamilton, Nicholas Minor, Josias Clapham, Æneas Campbell, John Hugh, Francis Hague, and William West, gentlemen," trustees for the newly established town. Prior to its establishment it had borne the name Georgetown, bestowed in honor of the then reigning English monarch.

[14]"In its birth and infancy the town was destined to win renown, for it was first founded as a fort or outpost of the then struggling colony of Virginia, as its narrow streets and close, little red brick houses still testify, and for many years was the most westerly post of the colony. At one time the entire town was enclosed by stockades...."

"Following its establishment the little fort became the principal outfitting post for the British and colonial forces in the French and Indian war. Tradition still fondly points to the stone house, famous as the headquarters of General Braddock, who, it is claimed, passed through the place on his last fatal march to the wilderness; but in the light of thorough investigation this claim is found to be unsubstantiated. While a division of his army, under command of the eccentric old Sir Peter Halkett, did undoubtedly spend the night at the plantation of Nicholas Minor, the principal founder of the town, General Braddock is found to have gone in another direction."

[Footnote 14: Mrs. A. H. Throckmorton in the Richmond _Times_.]

Leesburg is governed by a mayor and common council and had at the time of the last government census (1900) a population of 1,513. An unusual percentage of its people are well educated, and all proverbially hospitable.

The houses, many of which are of brick and stone construction, are built in a compact and substantial manner. In the town and its environs are many of the most palatial residences to be seen in Virginia. There are several well-kept public roads leading from the town to the surrounding country seats and stock farms, nearly all of which are modernized reminders of the old plantation days.

With an elevation less than most points in the County, Leesburg, nevertheless, shares with them the distinction of being unsurpassed for healthfulness and picturesqueness of surroundings.

Crossing at right angles, its streets are regular and spacious and lighted by electricity. Many of its dwellings and business houses are also equipped with electric lighting facilities, power for which is generated at a plant located near Belmont, on Goose Creek, and controlled by Leesburg capitalists. In almost every quarter of the town are brick and granolithic sidewalks, fringed with the usual varieties of shade trees.

Some of the municipal advantages not already enumerated are a sewerage system, a fire department, a public library, police protection and a thoroughly modern system of water-works of a capacity sufficient to supply the entire corporation with absolutely pure water from a noted spring issuing near the base of Catoctin Mountain.

Some of the public buildings are a town hall, one of the largest brick edifices in Northern Virginia; a comparatively new court-house and a clerk's office,[15] both venerable structures with imposing façades lending them an exquisite air of Colonialism, the two liberally disposed over a fenced area with sloping lawns and umbrageous shade; a brick jail (County) containing eight steel cells, commodious residential quarters for the jailer and his family and having, as an humanitarian feature, a sunny court with towering walls; a remodelled brick academy and a colored school, both comprising primary, intermediate, and high school divisions, and provided with ample educational facilities and extensive playgrounds.

[Footnote 15: Prior to 1873, the Leesburg Academy.]

The town has 7 churches representing all the leading denominations, a Young Men's Christian Association branch, 5 fraternal orders and a weekly newspaper. Eight trains arrive at and depart from Leesburg daily.

Among the local enterprises are two handsome banking houses (the "Loudoun National Bank" and "Peoples National Bank"), 2 large hotels affording accommodations for 130 guests, several boarding houses, stores handling every class and grade of merchandise, an artificial ice plant with a daily capacity of 5 tons, a large race course on the outskirts of the town where are held annually a horse show, races and other like events, a confectionery and bakery, an ice cream factory, a pop factory, two harness factories, a lumber and planing mill, 2 private schools, 3 cobblers' establishments, 2 livery stables, 3 blacksmith shops, 2 furniture houses, 2 undertaking establishments, 2 grain elevators, a lime quarry, 3 wheelwright shops, 2 tinning establishments, a concrete construction plant, monument works, wood and coal yard, Standard Oil Company's branch and packing house.

Leesburg probably has more than the usual number of resident physicians, lawyers, and mechanics to be found in towns of a corresponding size.

_Round Hill._

Round Hill, a thriving railway town in the western part of the County, lies 3 miles east of Bluemont, 3 miles west of Purcellville, and 53 miles from the city of Washington. It is the second largest town in Loudoun, has an elevation of about 600 feet above mean tide and is in the midst of a rich farming region abounding with streams of pure water from mountain water-courses. The town's name is derived from a conical hill projecting from the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 2 miles away. It has a population of 450, 20 of which number are merchants and mechanics, and a newly established bank.

_Waterford._

Waterford, a thriving Quaker settlement, is situated on Catoctin Creek in the northern part of the County, 6 miles south of Taylorstown, 7 miles northwest of Leesburg, 47 miles in a like direction from Washington and 159 miles north of Richmond. It was named after the town of Waterford, in Ireland, where some of its founders had formerly resided. The first house within the town limits was built by one Asa Moore, and remains standing at the present day. In common with the other towns and villages of the famous Loudoun Valley, Waterford is noted for its numerous and inexhaustible wells of the purest and best water, bracing air and low mortality rate. It has 383 inhabitants, 14 of whom are merchants and mechanics.

_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; _Pæonian 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[16] 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.

[Footnote 16: It will be understood that the total land in farms by no means equals the total area of the County.]

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 | - | - | - -------+---------+-----------+-------------+---------+----------+------------

[* - Decrease.]

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._

Under 3 acres 22 3 and under 10 acres 155 10 and under 20 acres 171 20 and under 50 acres 246 50 and under 100 acres 264 100 and under 175 acres 396 175 and under 260 acres 324 260 and under 500 acres 274 500 and under 1,000 acres 88 1,000 acres and over 8

TABLE IV.--_Number of Farms of Specified Tenures, June 1, 1900._

Owners 1,116 Part owners 173 Owners and tenants 18 Managers 48 Cash tenants 232 Share tenants 361 ----- Total 1,948

POPULATION.

The persistent high price of Loudoun lands has discouraged increase of population by immigration. Indeed, in more than eighty-five years, except for the slight fluctuations of certain decades, there has been no increase through any medium.

The last census (1900) fixed Loudoun's population at 21,948, of which number 16,079 were whites, 5,869 negroes, and the remaining 101 foreign born. This aggregate is even less than that shown by the census of 1820, which gave the county a population of 22,702, or 754 more than in 1900.

The succeeding schedules, giving complete statistics of population for Loudoun County by the latest and highest authority, were taken from United States Census reports, collected in 1900 and published in 1902.

_Population, Dwellings, and Families:_

_1900._ _Private Families._ Population 21,948 Number 4,195 Dwellings 4,157 Population 21,690 Families 4,231 Average size 5.2

_Private Families Occupying Owned and Hired and Free and Encumbered Homes, 1900._

Total private families 4,195

_Farm Homes Owned._ _Other Homes Owned._
Free 959 Free 622
Encumbered 257 Encumbered 147
Unknown 120 Unknown 81
Hired 648 Hired 1,169
Unknown 7 Unknown 185
----- -----
Total 1,991 Total 2,204

_Native and Foreign Born and White and Colored Population, Classified by Sex, 1900._

_Native born._ _Native White--Foreign Parents._ Male 10,634 Male 114 Female 11,213 Female 121

_Foreign born._ _Foreign White._ Male 59 Male 58 Female 42 Female 42

_Native White--Native Parents._ _Total Colored._ Male 7,583 Male 2,938 Female 8,161 Female 2,931

In 1860, one year before the outbreak of the Civil War, the County held within its boundaries 21,774 souls: 15,021 white, 5,501 slave, and 1,252 free colored. In number of slaves at this period Loudoun ranked thirty-sixth in the list of Virginia counties which then also included the counties now in West Virginia. This number was distributed amongst 670 slave-holders in the following proportions:

1 slave 124
2 slaves 84
3 slaves 61
4 slaves 83
5 slaves 46
6 slaves 39
7 slaves 35
8 slaves 27
9 slaves 22
10 and under 15 slaves 80
15 and under 20 slaves 36
20 and under 30 slaves 23
30 and under 40 slaves 4
40 and under 50 slaves 4
50 and under 70 slaves 1
100 and under 200 slaves 1

The following table gives the population of Loudoun County decennially, from and including the first official census of 1790:

1900 21,948 1890 23,274 1880 23,634 1870 20,929 1860 21,774 1850 22,079 1840 20,431 1830 21,939 1820 22,702 1810 21,338 1800 20,523 1790 18,952

The reports of population by magisterial districts given below, with a single exception, show an appreciable decrease between the years 1890 and 1900:

----------------------+-------+------- | 1900. | 1890. ----------------------+-------+------- Broad Run district | 3,309 | 3,463 Jefferson district | 3,106 | 3,307 Leesburg district | 4,299 | 4,246 Lovettsville district | 3,104 | 3,210 Mercer district | 4,010 | 4,570 Mt. Gilead district | 4,120 | 4,478 ----------------------+-------+-------

The following incorporated towns for the same period are charged with a corresponding decrease in the number of their inhabitants:

-------------+-------+------- | 1900. | 1890. -------------+-------+------- Hamilton | 364 | 407 Hillsboro | 131 | 156 Leesburg | 1,513 | 1,650 Lovettsville | 97 | Middleburg | 296 | 429 Waterford | 383 | 385 -------------+-------+-------

These circumstances of fluctuation and actual decrease might appear singular if it could not be shown that practically the same conditions obtain elsewhere in the State and Union, or wherever agriculture is the dominant industry. Especially is this true of the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William, and Fairfax, in Virginia, and Jefferson, in West Virginia. All these farming communities adjoin Loudoun and exhibit what might be called corresponding fluctuations of population between the above-named periods.

A decrease then in the population of any of these districts is obviously due, in a large measure, to the partial or total failure of the crops which causes the migration of a portion of the population to large cities or other parts of the country. If the failure occurs immediately preceding a census, the decrease shown will, of course, be large.

As another contributing cause, it can be positively stated that the disfavor in which agriculture is held by the young men of Loudoun, who seek less arduous and more lucrative employment in the great cities of the East, is, in part, responsible, if not for the depletion, certainly for the stagnation of the county's population.

The white population of Loudoun County in 1880, 1890, and 1900 was as follows:

_Census._ _Population._

1880 16,391
1890 16,696--305 increase.
1900 16,079--617 decrease.

The negro population of Loudoun County for the same periods was:

_Census._ _Population._

1880 7,243
1890 6,578--665 decrease.
1900 5,869--709 decrease.

The figures show that the negro population has steadily decreased, while the white population increased from 1880 to 1890, and decreased from 1890 to 1900. The proportion of decrease for the negroes was much greater than for the whites. As the occupations of the negroes are almost entirely farming and domestic services, crop failures necessarily cause migration to other localities, and as Washington and Baltimore are not far distant and offer higher wages and sometimes more attractive occupations, there can be no doubt that the decrease is principally due to the migration to those cities.

INDUSTRIES.

Agriculture, in many of its important branches, is by far Loudoun's leading industry, and is being annually benefited by the application of new methods in cultivation and harvesting. The farmers are thrifty and happy and many of them prosperous.

During the Civil War agriculture received a serious set-back, as the County was devastated by the contending armies, but by hard work and intelligent management of the people the section has again been put upon a prosperous footing.

The agricultural methods in use throughout the County are very uniform, notwithstanding the fact that there are a comparatively large number of soil types in the area.

A system of general farming, with few variations, is practiced, although some of the soils are much better adapted to the purpose than are other soils of the area. The system of rotation practiced consists of drilling in wheat and timothy seed together on the corn stubble in the fall, and sowing clover in the following spring. The wheat is harvested in the early summer, leaving the timothy and clover, which, after obtaining a good growth, is grazed or cut the next year for hay. This land is then plowed, and the following spring corn is planted, to be followed by wheat again the next fall, thus completing the rotation.

Loudoun's gently sweeping hills and broad valleys support great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and yield immense crops of corn, wheat, oats, and other cereals. More corn is produced and probably more live stock marketed by Loudoun than by any other of the 100 counties of Virginia.

The wheat is either sold for shipment or ground into flour by the many mills of the County, which mainly supply the home demand. The surplus is shipped chiefly to Washington and Baltimore. The major portion of the corn is used locally for feeding beef cattle, dairy stock, and work animals. Hay is shipped in large quantities and the rye, oats, and buckwheat are mostly consumed at home. Considerable pork is fattened in the County and many hundred head of cattle are annually grazed to supply the Washington and Baltimore markets.

A Government statistician was responsible for the following statement, based, no doubt, on the creditable showing made by Loudoun in the census of 1880: "Taken as a whole, probably the best farming in the State is now done in this (Loudoun) County." Of Virginia counties, it stood, at that time, first in the production of corn, butter, eggs, and wool, and in numbers of milch cows and sheep, and second only to Fauquier in the number of its stock cattle.

The breeding of superior stock and horses is an important branch of the County's agricultural activities. A contributor to _Country Life in America_, in an article entitled "Country Life in Loudoun County," says of it: "And the raising of animals is here not the fad of men of wealth who would play at country life. It is a serious business, productive of actual profit and a deep-seated satisfaction as continuous and well grounded as I have ever seen taken by men in their vocation."

The wealthier class of citizens of course specialize, each according to his personal choice. One, with 1,500 acres, all told, does a large dairying business and raises registered Dorset horn sheep, large white Yorkshire swine, registered Guernsey cattle, and Percheron horses. Another, with a like acreage, specializes in hackneys. A third, on his 300 or more acres, raises thoroughbreds and Irish hunters. A fourth, with 1,000 acres, fattens cattle for market and breeds Percheron horses, thoroughbreds, hackneys, and cattle. A fifth, owning several thousand acres, fattens cattle for export. A half dozen others, on farms ranging from 200 to 1,000 acres, raise thoroughbreds or draft animals. These are the specialties; on all the farms mentioned the owners have their secondary interests.

Some of the farmers whose capital will not permit the purchasing of high-priced breeding stock, have long been engaged in the business of finishing cattle for the market, animals being shipped from Tennessee, West Virginia, and elsewhere to be fattened on the wonderful grasses of Loudoun County. These steers are pastured from several months to two years, or according to their condition and the rapidity with which they fatten.

Sheep are to be found on most every large farm and are kept for both wool and mutton. Buyers visit these farms early in the winter and contract to take the lambs at a certain time in the spring, paying a price based on their live weight. When far enough advanced they are collected and shipped to eastern markets.

The rapid growth of near-by cities and the development of transportation facilities have exerted a great influence in the progress of the dairy industry in Loudoun County, increasing the demand for dairy produce, making possible the delivery of such produce in said cities at a profit to the farmer, and thereby inducing many to adopt dairy farming as a specialty instead of following it as incidental to general agriculture.

The dairy cows in Loudoun, June 1, 1900, numbered 8,563, of which 7,882, or 92 per cent were on farms, and 681, or 8 per cent, were in barns and enclosures elsewhere.

If the number of dairy cows, June 1, 1900, be taken as a basis, the five most important Virginia counties arranged in order of rank are as follows: _Loudoun_, 8,563; Augusta, 7,898; Rockingham, 7,312; Bedford, 6,951; and Washington, 6,792.

If prime consideration be given to the gallons of milk produced on farms only in 1899, the counties rank in the following order: _Loudoun_, 3,736,382; Fairfax, 3,310,990; Bedford, 3,244,800; Rockingham, 3,141,906; and Augusta, 2,993,928.

If greatest weight be given to the farm value of dairy produce, the order is as follows: Fairfax, $301,007; Henrico, $247,428; _Loudoun_, $242,221; Pittsylvania, $200,174, and Bedford, $194,560.

From every point of view but the last, Loudoun ranked as the leading dairy county of Virginia. The relative rank of other near competitors varied according to the basis of arrangement. The value of dairy produce is materially influenced by nearness to markets and also by the average production per farm, and these factors assisted in modifying the rank of Loudoun with reference to farm values of dairy produce.

The good prices obtained for apples during recent years have led some to plant this fruit on a larger scale than heretofore, and the result is so far quite gratifying. Apples do well on most of the soils of Loudoun. The best are sold to buyers who ship to large markets. The poorer qualities are kept for home consumption, used for cider and fed to hogs. Pears are grown in small quantities throughout the County. Peaches do well on most of the soils, but yield irregularly on account of frosts. All indigenous vegetables succeed well, but are mostly grown for home consumption, market gardens being conspicuously scarce.

Hosts of summer boarders give to Loudoun a large transient population requiring for its accommodation numerous hotels and countless boarding houses. This trade brings considerable money into the County and is a factor in its prosperity not to be ignored.

Scattered over Loudoun may be found great numbers of small industries, many of them employing steam, water, or motor power. These comprise grist mills, grain elevators, quarries, canneries, packing houses, saw mills, an artificial ice plant, and miscellaneous enterprises. Though comparatively insignificant taken singly, viewed collectively they show an aggregate of energy and thrift wholly commendable.

Several of Loudoun's more important enterprises were launched subsequent to the last general census and this circumstance renders its reports of manufactures, at no time complete or entirely reliable, of uncertain value as a symposium of the County's manufacturing interests at the present time. However, they are the latest reports obtainable and constitute the only official statistical exhibit of this subordinate source of wealth. They afford at least a partial insight into the present status of the manufacturing interests of Loudoun and, to this end, are reprinted below:

Number of establishments 164 Number of proprietors and firm members 197

Capital: Expenses:
Land $25,957 Fuel and rent of power
Buildings 79,350 and heat $8,811
Machinery, etc 104,402 Miscellaneous 12,935
Cash and sundries 141,548 Cost of materials used 424,538
-------- --------
Total $351,257 Total $446,284

Value of products $638,136

FARM VALUES.

The tables appearing under this and the two succeeding kindred headings were constructed from the latest general census reports, and are a most complete and trustworthy statistical exhibit of the agricultural resources and products of Loudoun County. TABLE I.--_Value of all farm property, including implements and machinery and live stock, with increase and decrease, and per cent of increase and decrease, by decades: Summary 1850 to 1900._

--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------ Census | Value of | Increase in | Per cent | Average year. | all farm | decade. | of | value per | property. | | increase. | farm. --------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------ 1900 | $11,056,109 00 | $971,459 00 | 9.6 | $5,675 62 1890 | 10,084,650 00 | [#]729,731 00 | [#]6.7 | 5,547 11 1880 | 10,814,381 00 | [#]1,437,636 00 | [#]11.7 | 5,874 19 1870[##]| 12,252,017 00 | 323,187 00 | 2.7 | 9,896 62 1860 | 11,928,830 00 | 2,446,073 00 | 25.7 | 9,883 04 1850 | 9,482,757 00 | | | 7,549 97 --------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------

[##: Values in gold.]

[#: Decrease.]

An especially great increase in the total value of farm property will be noted in the decade from 1850 to 1860. Then followed the Civil War with its great destruction of farm property, and from this disaster the County did not fully recover before 1890.

The average value per acre of all farm property in Loudoun increased from $32.18 in 1850 to $35.22 in 1890.

TABLE II.--_Value of farms with improvements, including buildings, with increase and per cent of increase, by decades: Summary 1850 to 1900._

--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+--------- Census | Value of | Increase in | Per cent | Average | Average year. | farms. | decade. | of | value per | value | | | increase. | farm. |per Acre. --------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+--------- 1900 | $9,138,560 00 | $518,830 00 | 6.0 | $4,691 25 | $29 11 1890 | 8,619,730 00 | [#]911,524 00 | [#]9.6 | 4,741 33 | 29 23 1880 | 9,531,254 00 | [#]1,345,752 00 | [#]12.4 | 5,177 22 | 31 89 1870[##]| 10,877,006 00 | 368,795 00 | 3.5 | 8,785 95 | 39 37 1860 | 10,508,211 00 | 2,158,840 00 | 25.9 | 8,706 06 | 35 48 1850 | 8,349,371 00 | | | 6,647 59 | 28 33 --------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+----------

[##: Values in gold.]

[#: Decrease.]

In 1900 there were only two counties of Virginia with higher farm values than Loudoun. They were Rockingham, with $11,984,440, and Augusta, with $11,464,120.

TABLE III.--_Value of land and buildings, with the per cent of the total represented by the value of buildings, June 1, 1900._

Land and improvements (except buildings) $6,649,690 00 Buildings 2,488,870 00 ------------- Total $9,138,560 00 Per cent in buildings 37.4

TABLE IV.--_Number of farms and number and per cent of those with buildings, June 1, 1900, with average values of land and buildings._

Number of farms:
Total 1,948
With buildings 1,933
Per cent with buildings 99.2
Average value of--
Land, per farm $3,414 00
Land, per acre 21 18
Buildings, per farm 1,278 00
Buildings, per farm with buildings 1,288 00

TABLE V.--_Total and average value per farm of farm implements and machinery, with increase and decrease and per cent of increase and decrease in the total value, by decades: Summary 1850 to 1900._