Aldie is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) located between Chantilly and Middleburg in Loudoun County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, United States. The historic village of Aldie is located on the John Mosby Highway ( U.S. Route 50) in a gap between the Catoctin Mountains and

Bull Run Mountains The Bull Run Mountains are a mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia in the United States. Located approximately east of the main chain, across the Loudoun Valley. The Bull Run Mountains, together with Catoctin Mount ...

, through which the Little River flows. Aldie traditionally serves as the gateway to the Loudoun Valley and beyond. The Aldie CDP was first drawn prior to the 2020 census and comprises solely the historic village. As of 2014, the Aldie postal area (ZIP Code 20105), covering a much greater area than the CDP, had a population of 11,420 people, a 569% increase since 2000Aldie zip 20105 overview
/ref> making it one of the fastest-growing suburbs in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and the second fastest growing ZIP code in Virginia. The Aldie ZIP Code 20105 has currently the highest median sales prices for houses sold in Loudoun County. As a result, the eastern part is suburbanized with numerous upscale communities recently built or under construction while most of the Aldie Hills adjacent to the village of Aldie have so far largely preserved their

bucolic A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depic ...

character with farms, wineries and custom homes. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 70.

History

Aldie's beginnings were laid in 1765 when James Mercer and George Mercer established a mill at the location of the present historic edifice. The location was a natural choice, as the gap contained the intersection of the Belhaven Road between

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

and the Mountain Road which ran northwest to Snickers Gap. By 1809 the

Little River Turnpike State Route 236 (SR 236) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 29 and US 50 in Fairfax east to SR 400 in Alexandria. SR 236 is a major suburban arterial highway that connects the inde ...

was completed from Alexandria to the Mercer Mill, replacing the older rutted section of Belhaven Road. With the opening of the road, James Mercer's son, Charles Fenton Mercer, in a partnership with William Cooke, set out to develop a village on at the turnpike's western terminus. Mercer named the village for Castle Aldie, his Scottish clan's ancestral home. By 1811 a post office had been established in the village. Two years later, the

Ashby's Gap Turnpike U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a transcontinental highway which stretches from Ocean City, Maryland to West Sacramento, California. In the U.S. state of Virginia, US 50 extends from the border with Washington, D.C. at a Potomac River crossing at Rossl ...

was completed from Aldie to Middleburg, and in 1818 the

Snickersville Turnpike The Snicker's Gap Turnpike was a turnpike road in the northern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. Part of it is now maintained as State Route 7, a primary state highway, but the road between Aldie and Bluemont (formerly Snickerville) in Loud ...

opened, replacing the Mountain Road. By the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 1820, Aldie had a population of 248 residents, making it the fourth largest town in the county. The population peaked in 1830 at 260—notably more than half, 132, were slaves. With the incorporation of Middleburg the following year, Aldie began a slow decline. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, the village itself and lands immediately to the west and northwest were the site of the Battle of Aldie during the Gettysburg Campaign. In addition, the Confederate partisan John Singleton Mosby was active in the village, and several small skirmishes between Union

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

and his band of rangers took place in and around Aldie. Aldie's most famous resident was President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

, who constructed his private residence at Oak Hill in 1822. The Aldie Mill Historic District, Furr Farm, Loudoun Agricultural and Mechanical Institute and Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Arts and culture

The town hosts two annual festivals: in May the Treasures on the Turnpike, and in October the Harvest Festival.

Landmarks and other points of interest

Aldie has three sites listed on the

. This includes the Aldie Mill Historic District, which includes the Aldie Mill and other historical buildings, the Loudoun Agricultural and Mechanical Institute, and the Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church. Gilbert's Corner Regional Park is also located in Aldie next to Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church and offers trails and a picturesque view of the

and

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virg ...

Education

The Aldie area is served by Aldie Elementary School, Arcola Elementary School, Buffalo Trail Elementary, Goshen Post Elementary School, Pinebrook Elementary School, Mercer Middle School, Willard Middle School,

John Champe High School John Champe High School is a public High school in Aldie, an unincorporated community in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The school was established in 2012. It is named after the revolutionary war hero John Champe who led an unsuccessf ...

, and Lightridge High School.

Notable people

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

, jazz trombonist *

, 5th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

References

External links

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Loudoun County, Virginia Washington metropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Census-designated places in Loudoun County, Virginia