Middleburg Historic District

Middleburg is a tidy historic village with a big personality. As the heart of Northern Virginia's hunt country, it has long been known for its refinement. Above all, though, Middleburg is a casual place welcoming to visitors who are interested in wandering the streets lined with historic buildings.

There are approximately 600 people currently residing in the town established in 1787 by Leven Powell, a Revolutionary War officer and regional Federalist leader. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 an acre from Joseph Chinn, first cousin to George Washington.

The town developed as a coach stop and relay station on Ashby's Gap Turnpike, becoming by mid-century a commercial center for lower Loudoun and upper Fauquier counties. Situated in the "middle", the village provided the overnight resting stop for travelers making the 70-mile overland journey from Alexandria to Winchester. The town saw frequent Civil War cavalry action and won a reputation for fierce Confederate loyalty but afterwards it declined in fortune and population.

By the second decade of the 20th century, the Middleburg area assumed a new identity as a social and equestrian center. The community prospered and grew in reputation as the nation's foremost area for fox hunting, thoroughbred breeding, and horse racing.