GUEST BLOG: Sterling Virginia's Fascinating History
Recently, I had the pleasure of connecting with Brittany Delong, a fellow Sterling native and passionate historian, who has delved into the stories of Sterling's past.
Her dedication to unraveling Sterling's narrative has resulted in a captivating book, "Sterling: Images of America," which chronicles our hometown's journey through time.
Brittany's exploration not only sheds light on the pivotal moments that shaped Sterling but also highlights the resilience and spirit of its people.
Brittany so very kindly agreed to write a guest blog highlighting five fascinating facts from her new book about our mutual hometown of Sterling, Virginia.
Please enjoy!
GUEST BLOG by Brittany DeLong
As a lifelong Sterling native and history enthusiast, I’ve always been interested in the history of my hometown. My ties to the area go back before I was born, when my grandparents purchased one of the first homes on West Poplar Road during Sterling Park’s housing boom in the early 1960s. But it wasn’t until the start of the pandemic, when I found myself with more time on my hands, that I formally started to research further into Sterling’s earliest history.
I found that the neighboring towns of Herndon and Leesburg had litany of history books written, but I couldn’t find a central resource on Sterling. So, I decided to write a book on Sterling myself. Over the last four years, I’ve scoured local history books and newspaper articles, worked with the Thomas Balch research library, and conducted dozens of interviews with longtime Sterling residents. I’m excited to announce that has culminated in the publication of Sterling: Images of America, with Arcadia Publishing.
In celebration of the book being officially published on February 26, I thought it would be fun to share five of the most interesting facts I came across in my research. I hope you learn something new about my beloved hometown—what I’ve learned in my research has certainly given me a renewed appreciation of the area at large.
- One of the oldest remaining segments of colonial pathway is located in Sterling.
Vestal’s Gap Road encompasses a route that runs from the port of Alexandria to present-day Leesburg and on to Winchester. A portion of the road runs through modern-day Sterling, and archaeologists believe the road originated as a series of hunting paths used by Algonkian-speaking native tribes before the first settlers arrived in the area. George Washington traversed the road multiple times, including a journey to Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania in 1754 to confront the French prior to the French and Indian War.
2. A Civil War battle took place in Sterling.
On February 22, 1864, the Civil War arrived at the front door of Samuel and Henrietta Ankers at their home in Sterling, located at what is today the site of the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College (shown above in a 1974 aerial photograph). Confederate lieutenant colonel John Singleton Mosby’s horsemen ambushed Union Captain James Sewall Reed’s cavalrymen after hiding in a pine thicket south of Dranesville Turnpike (present-day Route 7), below the ridge of Bridges Hill near Ankers’ blacksmith shop. While Reed’s men tried to rally, the Second Dranesville Battle ultimately resulted in Captain Reed’s death, 12 other Union soldier deaths, one Confederate soldier death, and dozens more wounded. The remaining soldiers in the skirmish fled to the nearby Potomac River. Today, the site is recognized with a Virginia Civil War Trails marker and a plaque of remembrance.
3. President James Buchanan vacationed in Sterling at the Summer White House in 1859 and 1860.
To escape the heat of Washington, the 15th United States president brought his family to the two-story Summer White House residence, owned by the Summers family, for rest and relaxation. The house-turned-hotel, built in the 1850s, was located near today’s Ruritan Circle. The building operated for many years afterward as a hotel and an antique shop before it was demolished in 1989.
4. Sterling farmers were innovators.
Before Sterling was commercially developed, the area was primarily a farming community from the mid-1800s through the better half of the twentieth century. Sterling farms were ground breaking in a variety of ways. Sterling Farm, a cattle and dairy business owned by Dr. Albert Shaw, was dubbed “the Experimental Farm,” as Shaw was the first farmer in the area to receive a federal grant for applying scientific methods to the raising of crops and livestock. Jesse M. Hughes’ dairy farm, located on Route 7, was the first electrified farm in Loudoun County and was a Rural Electrification Administration demonstration site in 1936. Lastly, Pidgeon Hill was owned and operated by Flora Edds, one of the country’s first college-educated Black women and the first farmer in the area to use an electric milker. Edds’ farm is pictured above.
5. Claude Moore Park in Sterling is the largest natural area accessible to the public in Eastern Loudoun County.
The 357-acre area of land today known as Claude Moore Park, which houses sections of the original Vestal’s Gap Road, exists in large part thanks to one man’s conservationist efforts. In 1941, radiologist Dr. Claude Moore purchased the Lanesville property at public auction. He donated land to the National Wildlife Federation in 1975 for the purpose of environmental education outreach, but a bitter and highly publicized conservation dispute ensued when the NWF sold the property to developers in 1986. Ultimately, Loudoun County purchased the property from the developers in order to support Dr. Moore’s vision that this historic and natural property be kept as open space for active and passive recreation. Today, the area contains miles of hiking trails, and the original schoolhouse, tenant house, and barn are still standing on the property.
Brittany would like to extend an invitation to all to her book launch, please see details below:
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