Upperville is a small

unincorporated town 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 ...

Fauquier County Fauquier is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History In 160 ...

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 ar ...

, United States, along

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

fifty miles from downtown

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, near the

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

line. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was originally named Carrstown by first settler Josephus Carr. Through an 1819 Act passed by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, the name was changed to Upperville.

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth ...

wrote of Upperville in his sardonic 1961 poem ''Upon Learning That a Town Exists Called Upperville''.

History

Upperville has been designated as the Upperville Historic District and is a Virginia Historic Landmark that is listed in 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 v ...

. Also listed are Blue Ridge Farm, Oakley, and Rose Hill Farm. Situated eight miles to the west of Middleburg, the Upperville/Middleburg area is home to a number of prominent

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

farms and country estates. Part of Virginia's famous Piedmont horse country, the Upperville Colt & Horse Show was conceived by Colonel Richard Henry Dulany and first held in 1853. It remains the oldest such event in America. A Dulany family member owned Oakley Farm. It was the site of two battles during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Near Upperville,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

n Henry T. Oxnard built a

operation in 1903 that he named Blue Ridge Farm. Purchased by

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Cary Travers Grayson Cary Travers Grayson (October 11, 1878 – February 15, 1938) was a surgeon in the United States Navy who served a variety of roles from personal aide to President of the United States, President Woodrow Wilson to chairman of the American Red Cros ...

in 1928, members of the Grayson family still own the property which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Over the years, others who came to live in the area included heiress

Isabel Dodge Sloane Isabel Cleves Dodge Sloane (February 1896 – March 16, 1962) was an American heiress and socialite who owned a major Thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm. Isabel Dodge was the second of three children of Canadian-born Ivy Hawki ...

, who built the highly successful Brookmeade Stud,

Llangollen estate Llangollen Farm is an historic American horse and cattle farm located in western Loudoun County, Virginia on Trappe Rd. near Upperville at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Eight miles (13 km) from the town of Middleburg, the area is h ...

where

Liz Whitney Tippett Mary Elizabeth Whitney Person Lunn Tippett (born Mary Elizabeth Altemus) (June 18, 1906 – October 30, 1988) was a wealthy American socialite and philanthropist who was a champion Equestrianism, horsewoman and for more than fifty years, a prominen ...

lived for nearly six decades, Bertram and Diana Firestone'sbr>Newstead Farm
Sandy Lerner's, and the very prestigious Rokeby Farm of

Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall ...

. It was Mellon who donated the money to build Trinity Episcopal Church in 1960 which is at the center of the small community's social activities. For two days each year more than ten horse farms and centers in Upperville and Middleburg open their gates to visitors. Since 1960, the Hunt Country Stable Tour has raised money for the outreach programs of Trinity Episcopal Church.

Notable people

Sandy Lerner Sandy Lerner, (born 1955) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She co-founded Cisco Systems, and used the money from its sale to pursue interests in animal welfare and women's writing. One of her main projects, Chawton House, is in ...

, co-founder of Cisco Systems, lives in Upperville, owning and operating a farm there. *

Jill Holtzman Vogel Jill Kendrick Holtzman Vogel (née Holtzman, July 6, 1970) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Virginia State Senator from the 27th district since 2008. A Republican, her district is located in exurban and rural parts of Nort ...

, Virginia State Senator who with her husband owns a mansion in Upperville.A $7.25 million fixer-upper: Turning Bunny Mellon’s private art museum into a home
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References

External links

Upperville.com

Story and Photos of Upperville by William T. Semple
(PDF) {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Fauquier County, Virginia Former municipalities in Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links