Loudoun County is a lot of things: It’s suburban and sprawling in the east, it’s rural and mountainous in the west -- and it’s all growing by leaps and bounds.

Loudoun is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. In the past 15 years, the number of children in public schools has tripled, and in six years the population grew by nearly 60 percent to reach about 270,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

2007 marks the 250th anniversary of Loudoun. In 1757, Fairfax County was split and Loudoun County's geographic boundaries were drawn. The name harkens back to a Scotsman named John Campell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun, who came to Virginia in 1756 during the French and Indian War.

On Aug. 12, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read from the courthouse steps in Leesburg. No Revolutionary War battles took place on Loudoun County soil, although many men from the area joined the fight and fought in the battles that ravaged throughout the colonies.

During the War of 1812, the Declaration of Independence again came to Leesburg when it served as a temporary capital of the United States. President and Dolly Madison fled Washington with important historical documents, including the Constitution and portraits of important American leaders.

The Civil War had an arguably more noticeable effect on Loudoun County history. While the Quakers and most of the Germans in northern and central Loudoun opposed slavery and secession, the gentry in the southern part of the county were more inclined to support the cause of the Confederacy.

Col. John Mosby, also known as the "Grey Ghost," was a Confederate partisan ranger. He and his famed "Mosby's Rangers" were known for their ability to strike fast by using guerrilla tactics, then blend in with local townspeople.

Mosby and his men subverted Union operations up and down the Shenandoah Valley. U.S. Highway 50, which cuts through the southern part of Loudoun, also is known as John Mosby Highway as a tribute to the influential Southern fighter.

The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an effort to seize Leesburg. The battle, which was the second largest battle of 1861, was fought near White's Ferry. Ultimately, the Union was routed after a series of mishaps and the Confederates won the battle.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who would go on to become an influential Supreme Court justice, fought in the battle and suffered a near-fatal wound as a young Union soldier. The name of the battle is reflected in local landmarks, including Ball’s Bluff Elementary School in Leesburg.

The People of Loudoun

Until about 1850, people generally would settle near others with similar backgrounds. Mary Fishback, the author of several books about Loudoun history and a librarian at the Thomas Balch Library, said Germans settled in Lovettsville, Scotch and Irish settlers moved to Leesburg, the Dutch were in Philomont and the English were in Middleburg and Aldie. There also was a large community of Quakers who settled in Waterford, near Goose Creek (now Lincoln).

Blacks had an important role in the history of Loudoun County, Fishback said. Many black men served as soldiers for the Union during the Civil War. At one point, there were more than 100 black communities scattered throughout the county.

Because of the large black population (as much as 25 percent, according to some historical census statistics) no communities were fully segregated. There were active black communities in Bluemont (Snickersville), Bowmantown, Cooksville, Hamilton, Hillsboro, Lincoln, Lovettsville, St. Louis, Waterford, Watson and Willisville, to name a few. More information on the history of blacks in Loudoun is available from the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library here.

Oak Hill plantation, the former home of President James Monroe, is located nine miles south of Leesburg. The plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is where the fifth president wrote the Monroe Doctrine in 1823. Thomas Jefferson was the architect.

Another National Historic Landmark in Loudoun County is Dodona Manor, the home of George C. Marshall. Marshall, who served as secretary of state under President Harry S. Truman, was architect of the Marshall Plan for rebuilding Europe after the devastation of World War II.

Modern History

"We've always had this east-west feud [in Loudoun]," Fishback said. "Every time the White House empties out, half of Sterling or that area empties out; they move on and somebody else moves in.”

The eastern end – including Sterling and Ashburn – tends to be more transient than the west, she said.

Until recently, western Loudoun was mainly farms and other large tracts of land. In many instances, the same family had owned the land for generations; some even dating back to the Civil War.

Then came a surge in development.

To the dismay of some longtime residents, the development and subdivisions that dot the landscape in the eastern part of the county are popping up in the west. Some in the west have become so disgruntled as to call for secession from Loudoun. High property taxes tied to rapid development in the east have proven to be a burden on rural property owners, Fishback said.

"I think people in the west are still trying to hang on to snippets of what they have," she said.

Loudoun is a traditionally rural county. Starting in the 1960s, however, the opening of Washington Dulles International Airport spurred development. Dulles, which straddles eastern Loudoun and western Fairfax counties, is the one of the busiest international gateways in the country.

The airport is named for John Foster Dulles, who served as secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and was a significant figure in the early Cold War era. Dulles opened in 1962, and there are plans underway to extend the Metrorail to the airport and into Loudoun.

The new branch of the Metro will extend 23 miles from Metrorail's orange line. Phase 1 of the extension will be 11 miles, then the second phase will run from Wiehle Avenue in Fairfax through Dulles airport and into Loudoun.

The final stop on the Metro will be the Route 772 stop near the highway's intersection with the Dulles Greenway. It will feature a Kiss and Ride, as well as parking for about 3,300 vehicles. The project will bring 11 new Metro stations to Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

In the past several years, the Washington metropolitan area has undergone a period of rapid growth. Major road improvements eased commutes into Washington, attracting more people to the eastern part of the county. In the last three decades, the population of Loudoun County has nearly quadrupled and development throughout the county has boomed.

Loudoun also has money. Census data in 2006 show the county emerged as the wealthiest jurisdiction in the nation, with its households having a median income of more than $98,000.

Like much of the country, the housing boom has ended and real estate sales and prices have fallen. By the end of 2006, the county had issued 3,284 residential building permits – a 35 percent drop from the year before and fewer than half the number issued in 2003.

Although growth has slowed compared to the boom years, thousands of new faces continue to make their way to Loudoun each year.

To learn more about the history of Loudoun County, visit the Thomas Balch Library in downtown Leesburg.