European
exploration of Loudoun County began in the early 1700s with surveyors
and settlers crossing westward through an area known at that time as
a hunting ground to members of the Iroquois nation. In 1720, the Treaty
of Albany forbid the Iroquois from entering the area and opened up what
is now Loudoun to permanent European settlement.
English emigrants from the Tidewater region came to the relative
wilderness of Loudoun County for large tracts of land to establish
Southern-style plantations. Germans and Quaker immigrants moved in
through the area that is now Pennsylvania to found small farms. Scots-Irish
immigrants formed a portion of the early population in Western Loudoun.
Early settlers purchased or leased land from the land speculators
who had been given rights to the land by King Charles II of England.
Loudoun County was founded in 1757 through a measure of the Virginia
Assembly. The population and economy remained surprisingly stable
for nearly 200 years.
Agriculture was the primary driver of the early economy. Eastern
planters grew tobacco as a cash crop while smaller farms in the west
and north tended to grow wheat, corn and other staple products.
Several agricultural commodities have been important to the development
of the area. Loudoun farmers produced wheat that fed British troops
during the French and Indian War giving the area the nickname "Breadbasket
of the American Revolution". Many farms and fields in Loudoun
were burned during the Civil War to disrupt the Confederate Army's
food supply.
Until World War I, an area that includes Loudoun County was the number
one producer of apples in the United States. The dairy industry was
one of the most significant economic forces in the region from 1900
through 1960. When the US government subsidized the production of
orchard grass seed to ship to Europe through the Marshall Plan in
the years following World War II, Loudoun farmers experienced a windfall.
For a brief period of time, Purcellville was the "orchard grass"
seed capital of the world.
Loudoun County remained a region of farms and small agricultural
communities until after WWII. The decision to locate Dulles Airport
in Eastern Loudoun in the late 1950s brought first a wave of construction
workers to Eastern Loudoun. This was followed by businesses and workers
in technology and commercial development. An area once occupied by
dairy farms was converted to housing for a growing population.
In the early 1990s, a group of community members banded together
to acknowledge the loss of farms and farming communities and proposed
a museum to preserve the history of agriculture in the area.
In the fall of 1998, the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, Inc. a 501(c)3
not-for-profit corporation was formed. LHFM, Inc. entered into a public-private
partnership with the County of Loudoun Department of Parks, Recreation
& Community Services to construct and operate the Heritage Farm
Museum in Claude Moore Park. The Museum opened in September 2003.
Purchased by the County in 1990, Claude Moore Park is comprised of
historic properties and 357 acres of open space and that was the former
home of Dr. Claude Moore. The site includes the Lanesville Heritage
Area, a National Register Historic Site, a farmhouse dating back to
the late 1700s, four outbuildings and the last remaining intact section
of the original Vestal's Gap Road. Recent developments at the Park
include a visitor's center and the opening of a state-of-the-art Recreation
Center and Community Center.
Agriculture today in Loudoun County remains an active and vital part
of the economy. Vineyards produce local wines and are destinations
for tourists seeking a day in the country. Pick-your-own orchards
and farms attract families interested in locally-grown produce and
organic foods. Loudoun County is home to one of the nation's most
vibrant and diverse equine industries.
The Heritage Farm Museum preserves, promotes and brings to life the
rich agricultural heritage and the history of farming in this area.
Through exhibits, educational programs and special events the museum
preserves what generations before us have left behind and documents
the history our generation is writing today. Visit us for a unique
experience that can be enjoyed by your entire family.
