Leesburg, Virginia
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| Leesburg, Virginia | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Loudoun |
| Government | |
| - Type | Town Council-Manager |
| - Mayor | Kristen C. Umstattd |
| Area | |
| - Total | 11.6 sq mi (30.0 km²) |
| - Land | 11.6 sq mi (30.0 km²) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 341 ft (104 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 28,311 |
| - Density | 2,440.1/sq mi (942.1/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 20175-20178 |
| Area code(s) | 703 |
| FIPS code | 51-44984[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1498505[2] |
Leesburg is a historic town in and county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Located approximately 40 miles west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain adjacent to the Potomac River[3]. Leesburg is the northwestern terminus of the Dulles Greenway (a private toll road which connects to the Dulles Toll Road at Washington Dulles International Airport), it is largely a bedroom community for commuters to the national capital.
Current growth of the town and its immediate area (Ashburn, Virginia) concentrates along the Dulles Greenway, and along the Leesburg Pike (State Route 7), which roughly parallels the Potomac River between Winchester to the west and Alexandria to the east.
Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center is located in Leesburg.
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[edit] History
Established in 1758, Leesburg is the seat of government for Loudoun County. As of 2007, the town had been county seat for 249 of the last 250 years[4].
The genesis of Leesburg occurred sometime before 1755 when Nicholas Minor acquired land around the intersection of the Old Carolina Road (present day U.S. Route 15) and the Potomac Ridge Road (present day Route 7) and established a tavern there. Despite lack of growth around the tavern, Minor dubbed the sparse collection of buildings about his tavern "George Town" in honor of the reigning monarch of Great Britain upon Loudoun's formation in 1757. The village's prosperity changed the following year when the British Colonial Council ordered the establishment of Court House at the crossroads. Accordingly Minor had a town laid out on the traditional Virginia plan of six criss-cross streets. On October 12 of that year (1758) the Virginia General Assembly founded the town of Leesburg upon the 60 acres laid out by Minor[5]. Leesburg was renamed to honor the influential Thomas Lee and not, as is popular belief, his son Francis Lightfoot Lee who lived in Loudoun and brought up the bill to establish Leesburg nor as is sometimes thought, Robert E. Lee[6] . Interestingly, when the post office was established in Leesburg in 1803 the branch was named "Leesburgh", the 'h' would persist until 1894[7].
During the War of 1812, Leesburg served as a temporary haven for the United States Government and its archives (including the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution and portraits of early American leaders) when it was forced to flee Washington, D.C. in the face of the British Army. When reconstruction began on the Capitol, Potomac Marble from quarries just south of Leesburg was used.[8]
Early in the American Civil War Leesburg was the site of the Battle of Balls Bluff, a resounding Confederate victory. The battlefield is marked by one of America's smallest national cemeteries. The town frequently changed hands over the course of the war as both armies traversed the area during the Antietam and Gettysburg campaigns. The Battle of Mile Hill was fought just north of the town prior to its occupation by Robert E. Lee in September of 1862.[9] Leesburg also served as a base of operations for Col. John Mosby and his partisan Raiders, for whom the Loudoun County High School mascot is named (the Raiders). The local courthouse was built in 1894 and thus is not, as thought by many, one of the few courthouses in Virginia that were not burned during the war.
In the 20th century, Leesburg was the home of World War II General George C. Marshall, architect of the famous Marshall Plan that re-built Europe after the war, and radio personality Arthur Godfrey, who donated land for the town's first airport.
Today Leesburg continues to serve as the center of government and commerce for Loudoun County. The Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and cited as one of the best preserved and most picturesque downtowns in Virginia.
[edit] Geography
Leesburg is located at (39.109219, -77.557868)[10].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 11.6 square miles (30.0 km²), all of it land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 28,311 people, 10,325 households, and 7,258 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,440.1 people per square mile (942.3/km²). There were 10,671 housing units at an average density of 919.7/sq mi (355.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 83.29% White, 9.20% African American, 0.19% Native American, 2.61% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.53% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.89% of the population.
Of all households 41.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 22.9% are made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 38.9% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.
The median income of the households in the town is $68,861, and the median income of the families is $78,111. Males had a median income of $51,267 versus $35,717 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,116. About 2.4% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education and public services
Leesburg has two high schools, Loudoun County High School which serves the western portion, and Heritage High School, which serves the eastern portion. Both schools are part of the Loudoun County Public School system.
Fire protection services are provided by the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company. Rescue and EMS services are provided by the Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad. Both the fire company and rescue squad are volunteer organizations supplemented with partial staffing from the Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Department. The fire company can trace its roots back to 1863; the rescue squad was formed in 1952.
Leesburg is also served by a town police department.
[edit] Newspapers
[edit] Business and industry
Leesburg operates the Leesburg Executive Airport, which serves Loudoun County with private and corporate aircraft operations. A designated reliever airport for Dulles International, the airport accounts for nearly $45 million per year in economic impact to the region (Virginia Department of Aviation). It is home (as of 2005) to over 240 aircraft, and hosts 20–30 jet operations per day.The airport was built in 1963 to replace the original Leesburg airport, which Arthur Godfrey owned and referred to affectionately as "The Old Cow Pasture" on his radio show. Godfrey, who, by the early 1950s, had purchased the Beacon Hill Estate west of Leesburg, used a DC-3 to commute from his farm to studios in New York City every Sunday night during the 1950s and 1960s. His DC-3 was so powerful and noisy Godfrey built a new airport, funding it through the sale of the old field. Originally named Godfrey Field, it is now known as Leesburg Executive Airport at Godfrey Field.
Also located near Leesburg is the The National Conference Center, built by the Xerox Corporation in the 1970s and used by government entities and private business for meetings and conferences. This maze of underground buildings is connected through three main focal points, and is currently the main headquarters of Civilian Police International, a government sub-contract company.
Ida Lee Park was made possible in 1986 by the generous donation of Greenwood Farm to the town of Leesburg by William F. Rust, Jr., and his wife, Margaret Dole Rust. The farm contained 141 acres and was donated to the town for perpetual use as the Ida Lee Park. The Rusts requested that the park be named in memory of Ida Lee, Mr. Rust's grandmother, to preserve the historic link between the Lee family of Virginia and the Town of Leesburg. Ida Lee Rust was the daughter of Edmund Jennings Lee, first cousin of Robert E. Lee. Ida Lee spent her married life at "Rockland"; the Rust family home located near Leesburg, and in her later years lived in a house built by her sons at 113 East Cornwall Street in Leesburg. The Rusts also donated 3 acres of land from the original 141 acres for the Rust Library located adjacent to Ida Lee Park. In 1991, the Rust's gave the town $50,000 for the construction of the William J. Cox Pavilion at Ida Lee Park, a public picnic area containing a pavilion and playground.
Other recreational opportunities available to Leesburg residents include parks run by Loudoun County, including and the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail, a former railroad right-of-way converted to a hiking/biking/jogging path by the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority.
The Rust Manor House and Nature Sanctuary is the home of the Audubon Naturalist Society.
Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival held annually in April in the Historic District. Includes garden displays, vendors and entertainment. Fourth of July celebrations includes a morning parade, festival at Ida Lee Park, and evening fireworks. Court and Market Days held in October in the Historic District. The focus of this event is to recognize Leesburg’s cultural heritage. The Halloween Parade is said to be the longest running Halloween parade east of the Mississippi. It includes marching bands from the local high schools, floats made by local businesses, Scout troops and families, etc. Most parade participants distribute candy to parade-goers.
[edit] Historic sites
The Leesburg area boasts of 21 entries on the National Register of Historic Places, including:
- Dodona Manor, the restored, early 19th century home of George C. Marshall, a general and diplomat who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and owned the home from 1941 - 1959;
- Morven Park, the estate of the late Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis; and
- Oatlands Plantation, a National Historic Landmark.
- White's Ferry, the only ferry across the Potomac River, has its Virginia terminus just outside the town. It is a cable-guided car and passenger ferry. A ferry has plied the river from this site since 1828.
[edit] References
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Head, James W. History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia.
- ^ Loudoun Times-Mirror, "Leesburg says county should stay", September 12, 2007, Page A1
- ^ Scheel, Eugene. Loudoun Discovered: Communities and Crossroads, Volume Two, Leesburg and the Old Carolina Road. Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va. 2002.
- ^ Leesburg,VA
- ^ Scheel, Eugene. p23
- ^ Scheel, Eugene. p.26
- ^ Turner, Fitzhugh ed. Loudoun County and the Civil War. Willow Bend Books, Leesburg Va. 1998.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Official site of the town of Leesburg, Virginia
- Dodona Manor
- Dulles Greenway
- Leesburg Today (local newspaper)
- National Conference Center
- Oatlands
- Leesburg, Virginia is at coordinates Coordinates:
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