Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [63]
Throughout its history, first as a farming community and later as the commercial center of Loudoun County, Leesburg seems a place to which people escaped. That was literally true during the War of 1812, when the British advanced on Washington and burned the White House. For a brief period, Leesburg became America’s capital city and repository for the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. South of Leesburg stands Oak Hill, the home of President James Monroe. He would retreat here for respite and, it’s said, wrote the Monroe Doctrine here, a document that embodied the principles of America’s “manifest destiny” and justified westward exploration and expansion. From 1941 to 1959, General George Marshall, a soldier and statesman known for his far-reaching ideas and policies, resided in town. His Marshall Plan helped reconstruct Europe after World War II and earned him a Nobel Peace Prize.
Around Town
The town’s character isn’t just about famous people, though. Leesburg’s charm is as much about its old buildings and the smaller towns on its periphery that were the farm communities of German and Scotch-Irish settlers. A few stone homes and mills date from the pre-Revolutionary period, but most are turn-of-the century – which is still old in as dynamic a region as Northern Virginia. That old-time feeling is certainly what developers of Market Station on Harrison Street, Leesburg, had in mind. The re-created mill complex has historic buildings relocated from other states, and it’s a unique setting for restaurants, shops and a courtyard with outdoor tables. A log house built in 1840 in Rectortown MD, made entirely of American chestnut, is now home to a teddy bear gift shop. The centerpiece is the Osterburg Mill, moved here from southwest Pennsylvania in 1984.
As you mill about Market Station, you might see people in bike shorts and helmets carrying water bottles. Leesburg is a pit-stop on the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail, and is popular with bikers who love the paved, 100-foot-wide rail-to-trail that runs 45 miles from the suburbs of Arlington, just outside Washington DC, to Purcellville at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The railroad opened in 1860, and was an attempt by merchants of port cities like Alexandria to get western goods across the Blue Ridge and onto their tidewater docks. But commercial success was not in the cards for this railroad. The most prosperous years came after the Great Depression and through World War II, when it transported tourists and vacationers out to the countryside; the trip included a stop at Leesburg. For more information on the W&OD Trail, contact the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority at tel. 703-352-5900 (or the W&OD park at tel. 703-729-0596), or visit their Web site, www.nvrpa.org (click on “Trails” under “Park Facilities”). Another organization, the non-profit Friends of the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (FOWOD), provides information on its site as well, www.wodfriends.org.
If you’re looking for a good introduction to town, visit for a First Friday Gallery Walk. The evening might feature a wine tasting at one gallery and music at another. Downtown shops are open until 9 pm the first Friday of every month (except January), and many serve wine and cheese and other refreshments. Check online at www.leesburgfirstfriday.com for more information.
Leesburg is probably as well known for the shopping outlet mall just outside town, with some 110 brand name retailers (see page ###). But if it’s a one-of-a-kind art object, an antique treasure or unique home decorative piece you’re looking for, explore downtown. There’s a restaurant at every turn, some with Colonial fare that will keep you refueled. And if you want to keep the old-fashioned theme going, you can stay at a historic