About the Fauquier County, Virginia Area

With scenic country roads and picturesque towns, Fauquier County retains the charm and character of its heritage. Located in the heart of Virginia horse and wine country, it is also emerging as prime business location. It sits within an hour's drive from the world class cultural centers, restaurants and retail areas of Washington, D.C. Fauquier is unique, providing easy access to the global community, while offering a tranquil lifestyle in a beautiful environment. Fauquier County offers a business location and a quality of life that can’t be surpassed.

Location
Fauquier County is located approximately 40 miles southwest of Washington DC and is part of the Washington Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The County is bordered to the west by Culpepper and Rappahannock counties, to the south by Stafford County, to the north by Loudoun, Warren, and Clarke Counties, and to the east by Prince William County. 

Fauquier County can be accessed by four major highways, including Routes 28, 29, 55, 211 as well as Interstate 66. 

Airports
Fauquier County is located only 30 miles from Dulles International Airport. Its proximity to both Dulles International Airport and Reagan Washington National Airport provides the County with important, accessible connections worldwide.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, located nearby in Arlington, VA, offers a full range of domestic flights on major, regional, and commuter carriers.

Washington Dulles International Airport is located in Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Virginia. Most major international flights are handled here. It offers a full range of domestic and international flights as well as services from several low-cost carriers. Dulles is the fastest-growing airport in the world, and is number five in terms of aircraft movement.

Other airports serving Fauquier County are Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, located in Warrenton, Culpepper Regional Airport, located in Culpepper, and the general aviation airport located in Manassas.

Terrain
Fauquier County has a total area of 652 square miles and is the 8th largest county in Virginia. Approximately 650 square miles of the county are land and 2 square miles of it are water. 

The landscape is primarily rural with meandering streams, rolling hills and pastures, and forests.

Population
The population of Fauquier County is 63,255 people.

The residents of Fauquier County are very well educated. Of those over 25 years old, 84.5% have high school education and 27.1% have a Bachelors degree and 8% have a Graduate or professional degree. The unemployment level is 2.7%.

Colleges/Universities
Fauquier County has many outstanding educational institutions in the area.

Both the Fauquier and Middletown Campus of Lord Fairfax Community College offer high quality, low cost instructional programs and services to regional residents. They offer a full range of associate degree and certificate programs, as well as continuing education, workforce training, dual enrollment, and community services. The Fauquier Campus is located in Warrenton.

Northern Virginia Community College, located in Annandale, has an enrollment of 19,406.  The Manassas campus is convenient to residents of Prince William and Fauquier Counties.

Marymount University, located in Arlington has an enrolment of 2,479 students, and a local branch campus in Loudoun County. 

Mary Washington College, located in Fredericksburg, has an enrollment of 3,731 students. 

George Mason University, located in Fairfax, has an enrollment of 16,564 students, and a local branch in Manassas.

Shenandoan University, located in Winchester, VA, has an enrollment of 2,030 students and Shepherd College, located in Shepherdstown, WV, has an enrollment of 3,576 students. 

Historic Buildings
Fauquier County has a rich history. There are twelve stops on the county’s Virginia Civil War Trails, preserved in markers and monuments, noting where Chief Justice John Marshall grew up and Colonel John Singleton Mosby rode to fame.

Old Town Warrenton, which is the county seat, is an historic site. The "old" county Court House is still in use, and the streets are lined with well-preserved homes, shops and restaurants. The Old Jail, built in 1808, is now a museum of local history. 

Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
Fauquier County has state forest and two Wildlife Management areas. Its ponds and streams offer superb fishing. Deer, bird and small game hunting are available, and on Rappahannock River there is white water canoeing.

CM Crockett Park is located on the 109-acre Germantown Lake, offering boating, fishing and hiking. It has tennis courts, a country club with a golf course, roller-skating and bowling.

Hiking is also available at Sky Meadows State Park with its rugged terrain and campus facilities. It covers 1,500 acres of land. A restored farm has been developed into an interpretive historical crafts display. A portion of the Appalachian Trail goes through the park, leading into the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

There are three golf courses in the area including Fairway Golf Driving Range, in Remington, Kastle Greens Golf Club, in Midland, and Fairview Golf Driving Range, in New Baltimore.

Special Attractions/Events
Yearly special events in Fauquier County include the Virginia Gold Cup, spring and fall steeplechase races, the oldest horse shows in America, farm and stable tours, statewide wine festivals, winery tours and tastings, Civil War re-enactments at Sky Meadows State Park, Flying Circus Airshows at Bealeton, antique shows, craft festivals, holiday parades and celebrations, trail rides and pick-your-own orchards.

The County offers historic towns and museums, scenic natural vistas, country inns, farmers markets, corn mazes, vineyards, old fashioned festivals and parades, bicycle, hiking and riding trails.

Interesting Facts
Fauquier County is noted as America's #1 Rural Community, by, "The Progressive Farmer."

About the Loudoun County, Virginia Area.
 

Loudoun County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. It has a reputation as an international center for technology, communications and transportation, as well as being known for its spectacular scenery, rich history and strong sense of community. The county provides exceptional services and an internationally recognized educational system. Visitors and residents alike enjoy Loudoun’s unique character and outstanding quality-of-life, for although it offers all the amenities associated with proximity to Washington, D.C., it retains its delightful rural charm.

Location
Loudoun County is Virginia's northern-most county, located in the Washington-Arlington metro area. One of Virginia’s 95 counties, its county seat is Leesburg.

It is bounded on the north by the Potomac River; across the river are Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland. It is bounded on the south by Prince William and Fauquier Counties, on the west by Jefferson County, West Virginia and Clarke County, and on the east by Fairfax County.

Washington Dulles International Airport is located in Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Virginia. The airport is 26 miles from Downtown Washington, D.C. The majority of international flights are handled here. Dulles Airport serves most passengers in the region and is the second busiest international airport on the Eastern Seaboard. It offers a full range of domestic and international flights and also offers services from several low-cost carriers.

Leesburg Executive Airport at Godfrey Field in Leesburg, VA, is a smaller, modern general aviation airport that serves a variety of aircraft including corporate jets. Individuals and groups can charter jet aircraft for domestic and international destinations. 

Hagerstown Regional Airport, also known as Richard A. Henson Field, is a public airport located in western Maryland off of Interstate 81. The airport is also not far from Northern Virginia, about 43 miles from Leesburg, VA. Limited commercial service is available at this airport.

Terrain
The rolling, manicured and serenely undeveloped landscape of Loudoun County is spectacularly beautiful. The expansive fields lay crisscrossed with the fences and corrals of horse country. Beautiful, new housing developments have been popping up in the county over the last decade. 

Loudoun County has a total area of 521 square miles, 520 square miles of it is land and 1 square mile of it is water. The total area is 0.24% water. 

Population
The population of Loudoun County is approximately 239,156 people.

Its average household income is nearly 40 percent higher than the U.S. average. 

Loudoun County has a high level of women in the labor force. The population is also highly educated. A high percentage of its adult population has graduate or professional degrees. For those over 25 years old, 95.2 percent are high school graduates, 47.2 percent have a Bachelor's degree and 15.2 percent have a Master's, professional or doctorate degree.

Colleges/Universities
There are nearly a dozen college and university campuses along Loudoun County’s Route 7 “Learning Corridor”. It offers the highest concentration of post-secondary academic institutions in Virginia. They offer undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, specialized training, and research opportunities either on their campuses or onsite at business and corporate locations. These schools provide evening and weekend class times and many also offer courses online or via satellite.

Some of the colleges and universities serving Loudoun County are:

Northern Virginia Community College, Main Campus, is located in Annandale, VA and has an enrollment of 19,406.  It is a two-year college offering instructional programs leading to a degree or enabling students to transfer to a four-year college. 

George Mason University, is located in Fairfax, VA, and has an enrollment of 16,564. 

The George Washington University Virginia Campus is located in Loudoun County, inside of the University Center complex in Ashburn, Virginia and is the University’s flagship research and technology campus. The campus focuses on providing graduate-level programs that award a graduate certificate, master's degree, or doctoral degree. 

Frederick Community College, is located in Frederick, MD, and has an enrollment of 2,407. 

Montgomery College is located in Rockville, MD, and has an enrollment of 11,829. Shepherd College is located in Shepherdstown, WV, and has an enrollment of 3,576. 

Northern Virginia Community College, is located in Annandale, VA, and has an enrolment of 19,406. 

Marymount University, is located in Arlington, VA, and has an enrollment of 2,500. 

Historic Tidbits
Loudoun County is full of history, spanning several periods and diverse cultures. It has colonial Old Towns, churches, battlefields, restored gristmills, preserved working plantations, Civil and Revolutionary War re-enactments, and hundreds of maintained historic homes and estates.

Historic attractions in Leesburg include the Loudoun Museum, Balls Bluff Battlefield Regional Park, Oatlands Plantation, and Morven Park with the Governor Westmoreland Davis Mansion.

Civil War Battlefield on the Potomac River hill is the site where the Union fell backward into the river, in a defeat which warranted a congressional investigation. On the battlefield is one of the nation’s smallest national cemeteries.

Morven Park is a 1,200-acre estate, home of former Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis.

The Loudoun Museum has over 6,000 artifacts of Loudoun history. The building housing the Museum shop is a 1700’s log cabin.

Oatlands Plantation features an 1804 mansion, an 1810 green house and a four acre terraced garden.

Dodona Manor was once owned by a relative of George Washington. It was subsequently purchased in 1941 by George Marshall, one of the most illustrious citizens of Northern Virginia.  The tours are interesting and informative.

Recreation
Loudoun County is located in the center of Virginia horse country, and has the state's largest horse population. There are trail rides, pastures and horse farms to enjoy, as well as horseback riding, show jumping and dressage. Because of the proliferation of equestrian activities, visitors can enjoy events such as point-to-point racing, nationally recognized horse shows and the steeplechase. Middleburg, is the nation’s horse and hunt capital.

Loudoun County abounds with indoor and outdoor recreational activities, such as hiking, biking, cycling, skating, canoeing, kayaking, tennis, golf, swimming, boating, polo, point to point steeplechases, hunting and fishing. The area has 15 area parks and 5 regional parks. They are some of the finest parks and trails in the country, providing excellent facilities for picnics, sports activities and tournaments. Nature and bird walks are plentiful.

The route of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad (W&OD) has been made into a beautiful and well-maintained bike and walking path, stretching 45 miles from Purcellville to Arlington. Parts of the trail are also available for horseback riding. 

The Potomac River and its tributaries provide ample recreational opportunities. Boaters can find public access to the river in Algonkian Regional Park, with its riverfront vacation cottages, miniature golf, picnic facilities and nature trail.

Golf
Loudoun County has over a dozen of Virginia's finest golf courses, ranging from popular public links to lush private courses.

Algonkian Regional Park Golf Course is an 18-hole public course offering long, straight, flat, and tree-lined fairways, as well as fairways with hills, doglegs, and water holes.

Brambleton Regional Park Golf Course is a public championship 18-hole, par-72 course with a variety of challenging holes, scenic woods and water holes, large bunkers and plush putting greens.

Dulles Golf Center Premium Golf Range includes professional golf instruction, 18-hole miniature golf course, and beach volleyball.

Goose Creek Golf Club is a semi-private 18 hole course located just minutes from Washington DC and Dulles International Airport, offering a championship layout set with undulating greens, creeks, and narrow fairways
.
Lansdowne Golf Club is a private 36-hole course. It is the premier private golf facility in the Mid-Atlantic, offering two championship courses, including The Robert Trent Jones II Course and The Norman Course.

Raspberry Falls Golf Club is a Gary Player designed 18-hole public championship golf course.

South Riding Golf Club features a Dan Maples design noted in Washington Golf Monthly`s "Top 100 Mid-Atlantic Courses".

Virginia National Golf Club is an 18-hole course which was awarded four and a half stars by Golf Digest. It is one of Virginia’s finest courses. 

Westpark Golf Club is an 18-hole semi-private course with open fairways, rolling terrain, and meandering creeks. 

Lowes Island Club is a private 36-hole course featuring two championship courses on 465 acres, created by Tom Fazio and Arthur Hills. 

River Creek Club a private championship Ault-Clark 18-hole golf course borders the Potomac River. 

Stoneleigh Golf Club was named, “The Prettiest Golf Course in Northern Virginia,” by Golf Magazine and was awarded a three and a half star rating by Golf Digest. It is noted as one of the best and most challenging courses in the Greater Washington Area. 

Loudoun Golf and Country Club is a private 18-hole championship course that was founded in 1927. 

Special Attractions/Events
Loudoun County’s annual special events are held in a wide variety of places including historic town districts, historic sites, equestrian centers, wineries, and parks. The events include country and craft fairs, festivals, steeplechase horse races, equestrian shows, winery events, home and garden tours, outdoor summer concerts, farm and stable tours, antique shows, historic reenactments, dog shows, and holiday parades. Weekly Sunday afternoon concerts on the courthouse lawn are a delight.

On the first Friday of every month, Leesburg celebrates ‘First Friday Leesburg’. All of its art galleries, shops and restaurants extend their hours and feature special activities. 

Other notable events are the Bluemont Concert Series, the August Court Days, Farm Tours and the Waterford Fair.

Loudoun County has ten outstanding wineries which have emerged as leading Virginia producers of Vinifera and New World grape wines.

The Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport is the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum companion center. It is a 760,000-square-foot hangar facility with 80 aircraft and spacecraft on display.

White’s Ferry, established in 1828, is the last working ferry on the Potomac River.

Interesting Facts
Loudoun County is named for John Campbell Fourth Earl of Loudoun and Governor of Virginia, 1756-1759.

The Roman Catholic church in Middleburg was built in 1963 for President John F. Kennedy.

Jacqueline Onassis lived in Middlesburg and rode with the Piedmont Fox Hounds and Orange County hunts in Middleburg until just months before her death in 1994.

Writer Russell Baker, actor Robert Duvall, philanthropist Paul Mellon, the Smothers Brothers and Washington business magnate Donald Graham have homes in Loudoun.  Baker's mother, Kay Graham of the Washington Post, was also a home owner in Loudoun.