Aldie is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) located between

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city ** US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Chantilly (Charlotte neighborhood), North Carolina ...

and Middleburg in

Loudoun County, Virginia 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. The county seat is Leesburg. Loudoun County ...

, United States. The historic village of Aldie is located on the John Mosby Highway (

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 Atlantic ...

) 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. They are located approximately east of the main chain, across the Loudoun Valley. The Bull Run Mountains, together with Catoct ...

, through which the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

flows. Aldie traditionally serves as the gateway to the

Loudoun Valley The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in Northern Virginia in the United States. Geography The lush and fertile valley lies between Catoctin Mountain and the Bu ...

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 metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

and the second-fastest growing ZIP Code in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. 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 The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target aud ...

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 N ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and the Mountain Road which ran northwest to

Snickers Gap Snickers Gap, originally William's Gap, is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain on the border of Loudoun County and Clarke County in Virginia. The gap is traversed by Virginia State Route 7. The Appalachian Trail also passes across the 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 in Virginia, U.S. Route 29 and U.S. Route 50 in Virginia, US 50 in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax east to Virginia State ...

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 Charles Fenton Mercer (June 16, 1778 – May 4, 1858) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Loudoun County, Virginia who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Virginia General Assembly. Early and family life The ...

, 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 Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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 Ro ...

was completed from Aldie to Middleburg, and in 1818 the

Snickersville Turnpike The ‘’‘Snickersville Turnpike’’’ (formerly known as the ‘’‘Snicker’s Gap Turnpike’’’) is a historic road in the northern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. While part of the original route is now maintained as State Ro ...

opened, replacing the Mountain Road. By the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

, the village itself and lands immediately to the west and northwest were the site of the

Battle of Aldie The Battle of Aldie took place on June 17, 1863, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screened Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate infantry as it marched ...

during the Gettysburg Campaign. In addition, the Confederate

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

John Singleton Mosby John Singleton Mosby (December 6, 1833 – May 30, 1916), also known by his nickname "Gray Ghost", was an American military officer who was a Confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War. His command, the 43rd Battalion, Virginia ...

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 groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

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 Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

, 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

Education

The Aldie area is served by Aldie Elementary School, Arcola Elementary School, Buffalo Trail Elementary, Goshen Post Elementary School, Pinebrook Elementary School, Hovatter Elementary School, Henrietta Lacks 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 unsuccess ...

, and

Lightridge High School Lightridge High School is a public high school in Aldie, Virginia. Lightridge is within the jurisdiction of Loudoun County Public Schools. The school was opened at the beginning of the 2020–21 school year. History The name “Lightridge” wa ...

Demographics

Aldie first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

in the 2020 U.S. Census.

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''. Car ...

, 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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

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