Willard (also known as Willard Crossroads) was 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 ...

located in what is now a part of

Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. The village was named after

Joseph Edward Willard Joseph Edward Willard (May 1, 1865 – April 4, 1924) was an American politician, philanthropist, and diplomat. Early life The son of prominent Washington hotelier and Union Army commissary major Joseph Clapp Willard (1820–1897) and former C ...

, a delegate to 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 ...

from 1893 to 1901, then

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle S ...

. Although Willard lived in

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 ...

, he represented

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, because the village was only from the county border. Willard owned a estate in Fairfax. His father was Joseph Clapp Willard, the owner of the famed

Willard Hotel The Willard InterContinental Washington, commonly known as the Willard Hotel, is a historic luxury Beaux-Arts hotel located at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Downtown Washington, D.C. It is currently a member oHistoric Hotels of America the off ...

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, ...

Willard was at the intersection of Willard Road (now Stonecroft Boulevard) and Sterling Road (now Horsepen Road), surrounded by extensive farmland, housing, schools, places of worship, the Willard store (until 1907), and Blue Ridge Airfield (1938–1951). Willard stood west of Floris, north of Pleasant Valley, and south of Farmwell (now

Ashburn __NOTOC__ Ashburn may refer to: Places Canada *Ashburn, Ontario United States *Ashburn, Georgia *Ashburn, Chicago, Illinois, a community area **Ashburn (Metra), a Metra station serving the area * Ashburn, Missouri * Ashburn, Virginia, an unincorpo ...

). Willard was regarded as a crossroads and a distinctive community until construction of Washington Dulles International Airport began in 1958. Approximately of Virginia land from Willard,

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

, Pleasant Valley, Sterling, and Ashburn was bought for construction. By the airport's completion, all remains of civilization before 1958 on this land had virtually disappeared, except a stretch of Willard Rd (used as a service road), and three storage outbuildings between Runways 1C/19C and 1R/19L.

External links

* * * Former populated places in Virginia Geography of Loudoun County, Virginia Settlements demolished to make room for airports {{LoudounCountyVA-geo-stub