Middleburg is a town in
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 ...
, with a population of 673 as of the
2010 census. It is the southernmost town along Loudoun County's shared border with
Fauquier County.
Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital" for its foxhunting, steeplechases, and large estates. The
Middleburg Historic District, comprising the 19th-century center of town, is 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 ...
.
History
The town was established in 1787 by Revolutionary War officer and statesman
Leven Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 per acre in 1763 from Joseph Chinn, a first cousin of
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
. It had been called "Chinn's Crossroads" and was then called Powell Town. When Leven Powell declined to have the town named after him, the town was called Middleburgh, and later, simply Middleburg. The village is located midway between the port of
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
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 ...
, Virginia, on the
Ashby Gap trading route (now followed by
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 1863, Middleburg witnessed
two skirmishes during the
Gettysburg Campaign of 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 ...
.
From the early 1900s, Middleburg began welcoming visitors who participated in foxhunting and steeplechasing. The village soon earned a reputation as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital", attracting prominent visitors from across the U.S. Middleburg is the home of the
National Sporting Library research center for horse and field sports, which publishes ''
Thoroughbred Heritage'' on the Internet. A new addition is being made to include an art gallery and museum.
In 1961, activists of the
Civil Rights Movement pressed
John F. Kennedy on local
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of human ...
issues during his residency outside town. That year, he and
Jackie had rented Glen Ora.
The
Middleburg Historic District, comprising the 19th-century center of town, is 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 ...
. The oldest building in town, the
Red Fox Inn & Tavern,
was originally established in 1728 by Joseph Chinn as Chinn's Ordinary and is billed as the oldest continually operated inn in the U.S. The oldest known house still in use as a residence, "Middleburg House," was built in 1779. Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are
Benton, the
Burrland Farm Historic District,
Green Pastures,
Huntland,
Mill House,
Gen. William Mitchell House,
Much Haddam,
Unison Historic District, and
Welbourne.
Geography
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 0.6 square mile (1.5 km
2), all land. The elevation is 486 feet.
Transportation
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 ...
is the only primary highway directly serving Middleburg. US 50 continues westward from Middleburg 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 ...
. Heading east, US 50 reaches
Fairfax, continues on through
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and eventually ends in
Ocean City,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
.
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 632 people, 322 households, and 171 families residing 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 1,083.8 people per square mile (420.7/km
2). There were 364 housing units at an average density of 624.2 per square mile (242.3/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 76.58%
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 ...
, 20.25%
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 ...
, 0.16%
Asian, 1.27% from
other races, and 1.74% from two or more 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 4.27% of the population.
There were 322 households, out of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% 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, 14.9% had a
female
An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...
householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.57.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 16.9% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 72.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 71.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $40,625, and the median income for a family was $60,313. Males had a median income of $41,875 versus $32,708 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 $32,643. About 6.7% of families and 9.9% 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 10.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Public safety
Middleburg is served by the Middleburg Police Department, composed of eight sworn officers and a civilian employee. It is also served by the
Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. The Middleburg Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1936, the third oldest fire department in Loudoun County. After facing numerous challenges in its final years, the fire department dissolved and turned over its operations to Loudoun County Fire-Rescue in 2015. The current Middleburg station 3 is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by career personnel from the county.
Notable people
*
Charles T. Akre, investor, financier and businessman
*
Mo Alie-Cox (born 1993),
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
tight end
The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
*
Bill Backer (1926-2016), advertising executive and thoroughbred owner
*
Stewart W. Bainum Sr. (1919-2014), American businessman and philanthropist
*
Melanie Blunt, former
First Lady of Missouri (2005–2009)
*
Marshall Brement, U.S. Ambassador to
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
(1981-1985), lived in Middleburg before moving to
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
*
Jack Kent Cooke (1912–1997), businessman and former owner of the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
and the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
*
John L. Dagg (1794–1884) , Baptist clergy and author, president of
Mercer University
Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...
from 1844 to 1854
*
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...
(born 1931), award-winning American actor and director
*
Edwin Broun Fred (1887-1981), educator
*
Sam Huff (born 1934), retired Hall-of-Fame American football player for the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
and New York Giants
*
Rodney Jenkins (1944-2024),
show jumper
*
Sheila Johnson (born 1949), billionaire co-founder of BET and local
real estate developer
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...
*
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963),
35th President of the United States (1961–1963), built
Wexford
Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
just outside Middleburg with his wife,
Jacqueline (1929–1994)
*
William John Logan (1891–1977): Banker, college football player, and the 2nd Mayor of
Flower Hill, New York, serving in that capacity between 1931 and 1937.
*
George C. McGhee (1912-2005), diplomat and businessman
*
Paul Mellon
Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 2, 1999) was an American philanthropist and a horse breeding, breeder of thoroughbred horse racing, racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Muse ...
(1907–1999), philanthropist and race-horse breeder and owner
*
Alice du Pont Mills (1912–2002), aviator, race-horse breeder and owner, environmentalist, philanthropist, and member of the
Du Pont family
The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), a French minor aristocrat. Currently residing in the U.S. states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Du Ponts have been ...
*
Lucy Minnigerode (1871-1935), superintendent,
United States Public Health Service
The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...
Nursing Corps
*
Wendy Pepper (1964-2017),
fashion designer
Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...
*
Keshia Knight Pulliam (born 1979), actress best known for her role on ''
The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'' as
Rudy Huxtable
*
Bruce Sundlun
Bruce George Sundlun (January 19, 1920 – July 21, 2011) was an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as List of governors of Rhode Island, 71st governor of Rhode Island ...
(1920-2011), businessman, lawyer, and former
Governor of Rhode Island (1991–1995)
*
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...
(1932–2011), actress and activist, owned a farm with her then husband, Republican senator and former
U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Warner
John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...
(1927–2021)
*
Frederick M. Warburg (1897–1973), investment banker, owned a horse and cattle farm
*
Stephanie Zimbalist (born 1956), actress best known for her role as Laura Holt on ''
Remington Steele''
Newspapers
*
Middleburg Eccentric'' Middleburg's only locally owned and operated newspaper.
''Middleburg Life'' Monthly lifestyle publication/news service. Middleburg's oldest and most respected locally owned and operated newspaper covering the people, lifestyles, and trends of the countryside.
* ''
Purcellville Gazette
''The Purcellville Gazette'' was a weekly tabloid-style newspaper serving Western Loudoun County, Virginia encompassing Purcellville, Hamilton, Hillsboro, Round Hill, Bluemont, Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city ...
:'' Weekly newspaper, based in
Purcellville, Virginia, serving Middleburg and western
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 ...
.
In popular culture
* Middleburg was named as the location of the mysterious
crop circles
A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop, usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s. Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the sort of thing ...
in the
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
spoof ''
Scary Movie 3'' (2003). The film shows an actual map of the Middleburg area, complete with actual surrounding towns and
Route 15 pictured on the map.
* The New Hampshire scenes in the season three "Manchester" episodes of ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...
'' were filmed in Middleburg.
* The Red Fox Inn is featured in Alfred Hitchcock's ''
Marnie'' (1964) and the town's name as well as surrounding towns are mentioned over the loudspeaker in the bus station. Several horse riding scenes were also shot there.
[https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/m/Marnie.php#:~:text=The%20horse-riding%20scenes%20use%20the%20US%E2%80%99%20%E2%80%98Horse%20and,Virginia%2C%20about%2035%20miles%20west%20of%20Washington%20DC.]
References
* Moon, Vicky. ''The Middleburg Mystique: A Peek Inside the Gates of Middleburg, Virginia'' (2001)
Capital Bookswww.middleburgmystique.com
External links
*
Visit Middleburg"Middleburg Historic District" at The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, a
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
dedicated to raising national awareness of the history in the region from
Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
to
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...
, Virginia
{{authority control
1787 establishments in Virginia
Populated places established in 1787
Towns in Loudoun County, Virginia
Towns in Virginia