Chapter 7

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: