Hamilton is a town in the Loudoun Valley of

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, 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, Virgi ...

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 506 as of the 2010 census.

Geography

Hamilton is located 6 miles west of the county seat Leesburg at (39.133889, −77.664151), near the western base of

Catoctin Mountain Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²), all of it land.

History

The present Town of Hamilton was once occupied by several native tribes. European settlers arrived in the 1730s. In 1768, George and Tabitha Roach Tavenner built the first house in the Hamilton area. Their son, Richard and his wife Ann Hatcher, built an estate called ''Harmony'' and the surrounding area was thereafter known as Harmony. The Leesburg and Snickers Gap Turnpike Company opened a road connecting Leesburg and Snickersville in 1831. Growth ensued and by 1833, the area had enough population to sustain Harmony Methodist Church, which was built on land donated by Richard and Ann Hatcher Tavenner. The town also became known as ''Hamilton Store'' after a store founded there by Charles Bennett Hamilton. In 1835, John Quincy Adams approved a post office located in Hamilton's store and the town's name was recorded as Hamilton. The last important Civil War action in Loudoun County, known as The Harmony Skirmish, took place on March 21, 1865, as confederate Colonel John S. Mosby and his troops surprised troops commanded by Colonel

Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer. He served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Great Sioux War a ...

. By 1868, a steam railroad from

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 ...

had come to Hamilton along the future route of the

Washington and Old Dominion Railroad The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The rail transport, railroad was a successor to the bankruptcy, bankrupt Washingt ...

. Many tourists came to the town seeking relief from the city's heat. There was a -mile boardwalk that traversed the town and a dance hall. By 1900, the Town of Hamilton was Loudoun County's second largest town. The booming businesses in Hamilton included two newspapers, a butcher shop, a men's clothing store, a broom factory, a milliner, a dentist, two hardware stores, a stove shop, a flat racecourse, a livery stable and boarding houses. The advent of the automobile led to a slow decline in tourism. In 1926, many of the town's central businesses were destroyed by fire and tourism thereafter declined sharply. Hamilton has since been known more as a residential community. During the town's history, it was the site of a vibrant Afro-American community. The Hamilton Masonic Lodge, Janney House, William Smith House, Spring Hill Farm, and Sunnyside Farm 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 ...

Transportation

The only primary highway directly serving Hamilton is Virginia State Route 7 Business. SR 7 Bus follows Colonial Highway west to east through central Hamilton, connecting to Purcellville to the west and Leesburg to the east.

Virginia State Route 7 Virginia State Route 7 (VA 7) is a major primary state highway and busy commuter route in northern Virginia, United States. It travels southeast from downtown Winchester to SR 400 (Washington Street) in downtown Alexandria. It ...

, which originally followed Colonial Highway through Hamilton, now bypasses the town just to the north. Via SR 7, travelers may head westward to

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 ...

or turn eastward, eventually reaching

. SR 7 also interchanges with

Interstate 66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is a 76.32 mile east–west Interstate Highway in the East Coast of the United States, eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with Interstate 81 in Virginia, I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its w ...

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

, Interstate 395 and Interstate 495.

Demographics

As of 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 2000, there were 562 people, 216 households, and 157 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 2,218.2 people per square mile (868.0/km²). There were 224 housing units at an average density of 884.1 per square mile (345.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.42%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.53% Asian, 0.36% from other races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population. There were 216 households, out of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 79.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $59,688, and the median income for a family was $73,333. Males had a median income of $53,571 versus $32,857 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $27,474. About 2.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Jimmye Laycock, college football player and coach * Ashley Caldwell, 2010 US Ski Team Member US Olympic Team Member Aerials (youngest US Olympian in the 2010 Vancouver Games)Ashley Caldwell looks to prove doubters wrong in Sochi , Sports , columbiamissourian.com
Retrieved May 7, 2018.

References

{{authority control Towns in Loudoun County, Virginia Towns in Virginia