Hello Loudoun Preservationists,
Twenty something years ago, my company was hired to remove a barn and selective house components from a family farm in what was then referred to as western Fairfax County. This farm had been in my client’s family for over 200 years, his ancestors had immigrated from England and built a new life in Virginia.
The farm was passed down from generation to generation and finally to my client, one of the last farms in Fairfax County. Faced with urban congestion, uncompetitive farming, high taxes and land values too high to resist, my client elected to sell. Knowing that the land was to be developed, he took his barn and parts of the family home with him and relocated to western Loudoun County.
I had the occasion to drive by the old Fairfax farm site recently, and if not for a few notable land marks, I wouldn’t have known where I was. The land had been sculpted, high density houses built, and streets constructed. Stop lights and sidewalks reduced this farm to a place unrecognizable. Every bit of evidence that this family had ever occupied this ground had been erased.
I’m sure this story seems all too familiar to you because we all have one just like it. My story has a little different ending. As I mentioned, my client relocated to western Loudoun County. He bought a farm, built a house with some of his salvaged parts and reconstructed his barn. Fortunately, his son will not have to face the same struggles his father did because there are groups like the Loudoun Preservation Society working to preserve Loudoun’s cultural resources.
It is more important than ever to help preserve Loudoun County. Our cultural, natural and historic resources are disappearing at an alarming rate. Please consider giving generously to The Loudoun Preservation Society. We are the only organization in Loudoun County that raises money to then fund preservation projects. Our annual membership drive is our main revenue, so we depend heavily on your annual membership contributions. Let us all come together to ensure that Loudoun’s story is one that preserves the relics of our past, our landscapes, our communities and does not erase them from our heritage and history.
