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# History of Waterford Virginia

18th, 19th, and 20th Century history

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Pages

- [Home](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/) - History of Waterford Virginia This web site is not a definitive site providing all the history of the Waterford. Rather it is a collection of articles that give an overview of the village's history. Like many areas in the east, Waterford experienced the arriving farmers, the fromative Civil
- [waterford-african-american](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-african-american/) - A simple one-room school, a frame church overlooking a mill, tilting tombstones in a segregated cemetery. These are the most evocative monuments that remain of African-Americans who for 150 years made up a quarter of this old village-and contributed immeasurably to the building, the life, and the character of Waterford.
- [waterford-agriculture](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-agriculture/) - The farms around Waterford began basically as subsistence operations. Once the fields were cleared the size and layout of area farms remained essentially unchanged. The most remarkable feature of the Waterford landscape is that the field patterns are virtually unchanged since the onset of mechanized farming in the late 1940's.
- [three-women-journalists-civil-war](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/three-women-journalists-civil-war/) - In the first three years of the Civil War, Emma Eliza (Lida), sister Lizzie Dutton and cousin Sarah Steer cared for wounded Union soldiers, hid them from marauding Rebel troops, and managed to hold together the farms and businesses their fathers and brothers had left behind.
- [Waterford Post Office](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-post-office-1st/) - Waterford Post Office The Waterford Post Office is the third oldest in Loudoun after Leesburg in 1793 and Middleburg in 1797, was a tribute to the industry of the Quaker families who began settling the area around Janney's Mill in the late 1730s. As early as 1809, Quaker Daniel Stone lived in the Hillside House
- [waterford-news](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-news/) - Three Quaker maidens of Waterford, Sarah Steer (26), Elizabeth Dutton (Lizzie, 24), and Eliza Dutton (Lida, 19), determined that their zeal for the Union should not be suppressed, gave vent to their feelings by publishing a newspaper called The Waterford News.
- [waterford-1863](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-1863/) - The year 1863 dawned with the town free of warring troops. The war had moved south. Local cavalry companies, both Union and Confederate, paid but frequent visits to Waterford during the winter. The Loudoun Rangers were camped at Point of Rocks, Maryland with little to do. Life in Waterford was nearly normal, true, the stores had only limited stocks merchandise, and the mill was dosed.
- [waterford-town-ordinances-1875](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-town-ordinances-1875/) - Probably the most interesting "legislation" about the town of Waterford was the Ordinance of July 3, 1875. It contained fifteen ordinances regulating practically every phase of life; an interesting commentary on the complaints we now hear about governmental regulation and control.
- [book-burning-cow](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/book-burning-cow/) - This humorous book, The Burning Cow Question and Other Tales From The Waterford Town Council 1891-1909, gives humorous and serious stories taken from the minutes of the Waterford Town Council from 1891-1909
- [book-devine-when-young](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/book-devine-when-young/) - In this his final book, beloved Northern Virginia historian John Divine looks back affectionately at the village of his youth. Waterford, Virginia-now a National Historic Landmark-was a wonderful place for a lively boy growing up in the early 1900s.
- [waterford-african-amer-2](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-african-amer-2/) - From early days, the unusual thing about Waterford was the number of free black people who lived in and around this southern town. The Quakers had long frowned on slavery and in 1776 banned it officially for Friends. Their egalitarian beliefs meant that former slaves found a haven in that small corner of Virginia.
- [waterford-1862](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-1862/) - Waterford, the town settled by a people seeking peace, became an armed camp during the winter of 1862. Eight months of war had changed a once prosperous community into one of want. "Its citizens were destitute of coffee, sugar, salt and many of the articles necessary for daily living."
- [log-cabins-waterford](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/log-cabins-waterford/) - A quick overview of the log cabins found in Waterford Virginia. Very early cabins in Virginia are said to have had no chimneys or fireplaces. The fire burned on the dirt floor and the smoke escaped through a hole in the roof as it did from an Indian teepee. This was rough living, and it wasn't long before cabins were built with fireplaces outside their walls. These are the cabins that survive today.
- [waterford-quaker-settlement](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-quaker-settlement/) - Waterford was known as "The Town" in our early days and the distance members would travel to go to meeting was astonishing. All Loudoun Quakers at that time belonged to Fairfax Meeting and people from what are now the towns of Hillsboro, Hamilton, Lincoln, and Philomont were members of the meeting at Waterford.
- [waterford-origins](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-origins/) - In 1801, the village of Waterford – which had begun life as the village of Janney's Mill--received its official name with the establishment of its post office. The Waterford Post Office, the third oldest in Loudoun after Leesburg in 1793 and Middleburg in 1797, was a tribute to the industry of the Quaker families who began settling the area around Janney's Mill in the late 1730s.
- [waterford-pioneers](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-pioneers/) - Waterford's pioneering Quakers were Amos and Mary Yardley Janney from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia. In the early 1680s the Janney and Yardley families had been among the first to leave England for William Penn's new colony. Fifty years later the grandchildren of those Quaker immigrants were themselves ready to move on, enticed by reports of fertile land newly open to settlement in Virginia.
- [waterford-farmers](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-farmers/) - "Good farmers are the best assets a State can have," wrote the Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture in 1906. "The products of Virginia farms are now worth seventy-million dollars per year, and Virginia is the wealthiest state in the South except Texas. The soil-is the basis for all wealth and prosperity. This was certainly the case in Waterford, Virginia, from the very beginning.
- [waterford-1930s](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-1930s/) - Recollections on Food, Diabetes, Cash, The cobbler, Being poor, Doctors, School, The Nix's farm, Religion, Swimming, Pranks and outhouses, Wealth and privilege, First radio, Grocery stores, Hunting, Cider and other drinks, Ice, Recollection of residents, Restoring historic houses, and End of the 30's
- [waterford-battle-1862](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-battle-1862/) - This war is thought of as one of brother against brother, but seldom did it really happen — here it did. The Catoctin Mountains separated the homes of two men who would contribute much to the history of a divided County: Elijah V. White and Samuel Means.
- [waterford-agriculture-catoctin-farmers-club](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-agriculture-catoctin-farmers-club/) - One of the many developments in agrarian regions during reconstruction was the rise of farm clubs. Advancements in agriculture stagnated during the Civil War; post war farmers were anxious to resume improvement activities. Continued economic instability after the war prompted farmers to look for new opportunities to stimulate growth.
- [browse-page](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/browse-page/) - Browse the content of this site.
- [waterford-jail](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-jail/) - This sturdy stone jail with its pyramidal roof attests to the flexibility of this type of structure. From the colonial period through the 19th-century numerous outbuildings were built following this simple formula. The jail housed many an inebriate and petty thief from its construction through the end (1936) of Waterford's incorporation as a town.
- [browse-page2](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/browse-page2/) - Browse the content of this site.
- [waterford-development-timeline](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/waterford-development-timeline/) - From its beginning, Waterford was a thriving commercial center. Waterford's commercial development peaked, with the exception of the Civil War years, between 1850 and 1875. In 1871 the railroad by-passed Waterford and the village entered into a slow decline.
- [waterford-timeline](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/waterford-timeline/) - A chronology of major events in the village and its environs.
- [waterford-afr-amer-slavery.](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-afr-amer-slavery/) - The town was notable for the relatively large numbers of free blacks who lived in the village. They were drawn by the tolerance and encouragement of the local Quakers. But life for African-Americans in pre-Civil War Waterford could be much harsher, Many neighboring farms employed slave labor, and even a few townspeople owned or hired slaves.
- [waterford-schools](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-schools/) - The history of education in Waterford did not begin with the present school system. When the Commonwealth of Virginia established free schools in 1820, the children of Waterford had benefited from private schools for more than half a century.
- [waterford-old-mill](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-old-mill/) - The Old Mill at Waterford is one of a number of mills that have occupied its place along the Catoctin Creek. Here we look at the Mill's past and future.
- [waterford-foundation-history](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-foundation-history/) - In 1943, restorationists established the Waterford Foundation to "revive and stimulate a community interest" in re-creating the town of Waterford as it existed in previous times with its varying crafts and activities. Another 1943 milestone was the creation of the Waterford Homes Tour and Crafts Exhibit by the Foundation.
- [waterford-development](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-development/) - The village of Waterford grew steadily, if slowly by present standards. Development of the village followed as paths, then roads were established leading east and south from the first mill. What began with subsistence farming by a few closely related families grew to a diversified farming of wheat, corn, and livestock. By 1820 the village had already assumed the shape it still retains.
- [waterford-1864](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-1864/) - At the beginning of the year 1864, the citizens of Waterford had not seen large bodies of troops since the previous July when the Army of the Potomac returned from the Gettysburg Campaign; but the small bands roamed throughout the border-land.
- [waterford-shopping-1870](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-shopping-1870/) - In the small town of Waterford, life was peaceful, and the biggest excitement was on Market Day. It was a prosperous village, with numerous shops and small businesses to serve the country about. In those days, the town could supply all the commercial needs of the farmers and townspeople, and so the number of shopkeepers, craftsmen and manufacturers increased with demand.
- [waterford-mills](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-mills/) - The mill is the symbol of Waterford today. It illustrates the reason for the existence of the village at this location. Two additional mills operated in the village: Schooley Mill and another near the corner of Clarke's Gap Road and Factory Street.
- [waterford-afr-amer-segr](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-afr-amer-segr/) - During the Civil War, several African Americans from Waterford joined the Union army to help end slavery and the oppression of their race. After the war, Waterford's black community established their own school and church buildings, but even these advances were evidence of continued segregation.
- [second-street-school](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/second-street-school/) - Waterford's Second Street School In 1866, Quaker Reuben Schooley (1826-1900) sold its Second Street property to the "colored people of Waterford and vicinity." The local African-American population, with financial help from the Quakers, promptly erected a school building they could also use for church functions. This is one of the older one-room schoolhouses in Loudoun County
- [waterford-afr-amer-faith](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-afr-amer-faith/) - Slavery put a tremendous strain on the social fabric of the African-American community. Even black residents of Waterford who had long been free could not entirely escape from the effects of that dismal institution. Unhappily, the harsh realities of slavery led all too often to the breakdown of normal family life in Waterford, as in the rest of the South.
- [waterford-culture-influenc](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-culture-influenc/) - The first settlers in the Waterford area were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), and while Quakers may have set the early tone of the Waterford area, it by no means developed as an exclusively Quaker community. As Glass puts it, there were others soon introduced to the group who did things differently.
- [second-st-school-2000](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/second-st-school-2000/) - Here are comments from the Catoctin Elementary 4th grade class in 2000 about their attendance in the Waterford Foundation's Second Street School Program. This is a living history program that allows students to attend school as children did in the 1800's.
- [about-waterford](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/about-waterford/) - Waterford was founded about 1733 and grew until it was the second largest town in Loudoun County. It is now a National Historic Landmark and many buildings still in use in the village were built before 1840.
- [waterford-ice-houses](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-ice-houses/) - Like all towns before refrigeration, Waterford had a number of ice houses. Today, two can be seen during a walk through the village: A below ground ice house exists on Patrick Street, and an above ground ice house can be seen on Second Street.
- [waterford-automobiles](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-automobiles/) - The first automobile to enter Waterford was a one-cylinder, chain-driven Maxwell owned by Fenton Fadeley, Sr. He was nearly mobbed by the crowd drawn to the blast from his horn. Young Fenton, Jr., soon set a precedent all too familiar to parents of later Waterford generations: he was caught speeding through the village at the breakneck rate of 20 miles per hour.
- [town-government-1800s](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/town-government-1800s/) - Although Waterford was settled in 1733 it was not until 1801 that its first charter was issued and its first trustees appointed. This page reviews the evolution of Waterford's village government.
- [waterford-cemeteries](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-cemeteries/) - There are two cemeteries in Waterford Virginia: the Waterford Union of Churches Cemetery and the Quaker Cemetery at the old Fairfax Meting House.
- [map-1875](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/map-1875/) - This is an 1875 map drawn for Charles Phillips Janney of Leesburg from a survey by James Skinner Oden.
- [Cloths washing in waterford in the 1800s](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/cloths-washing-in-waterford-in-the-1800s/) - Clothes Washing In Waterford During the Mid-1800's The following "receet" for washing was used by Edgar Bean's great-grandmother on Wash Day. Bild fire in yard to het kettle of rain water. Set tubs so smoke won't blow in eyes if wind is pert. Shave one hole cake lie sope in bilin water. Sort things in
- [waterford-history-grants](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-history-grants/) - in 1722, Governor Spotswood signed the Treaty of Albany which opened the area to settlement. Lord Fairfax appointed a resident agent to distribute "patents" to the lands. Just short of ownership of the land, a patent required an annual "quit-rent" be paid by the grantee as compensation to the Proprietor.
- [book-linking-past](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/book-linking-past/) - This publication was was prepared by the Department of the Interior, Preservation Assistance Division, National Park Service. Although it was prepared as a planning strategy for Waterford, Virginia, much of its material includes historical background.
- [waterford-williams-williams-hostage](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-williams-williams-hostage/) - In 1863, William heard a knock at the front door. On going to see who was there, a pistol was pointed to his face and I was told that I was a Confederate prisoner and must go with them. So begins his saga.
- [waterford-furniture](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-furniture/) - The Furniture of Chair and Cabinet Makers, John Mount, William T. Mount, and Lewis N. Hough, 1825-1895. Waterford's commercial development peaked between 1850 and 1875. The village was home and work place to millers, tanners, carpenters, blacksmiths, wagon makers, wheelwrights and also cabinet makers and chair manufacturers.
- [waterford-schools-old-school](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-schools-old-school/) - In 1877, action was taken to bring public education to Waterford. In August 1872, patrons and friends raised money to pay the teachers. As a reporter put it, "It is evident that the people of this ancient town are alive to the best interest of their children, and are determined to have for them good Schools."
- [waterford-phillips-farm](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-phillips-farm/) - A prosperous Quaker farmer, Thomas Phillips, began amassing land bordering the village of Waterford in the early 1800s. These lands became the Phillips farm, now in the news because of a controversy over a developer's plans to build a luxury housing development on the 144-acre site.
- [maps](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/maps/) - Current and historical maps are available.
- [Contact Us](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/contact-us/) - Contact Us If you have any questions about the village, please send us an email. If you have questions about Waterford's history, genealogy, or its preservation as a National Historical Landmark, please contact the Waterford Foundation on their web site. The Waterford Foundation's mission is to preserve the historic buildings and open spaces of the National
- [waterford-churches](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-churches/) - Waterford, although originally a Quaker settlement, has been the home of a variety of congregations during its history. Today, however, there are only two active congregations: Baptist and Presbyterian.
- [waterford-epilogue-1865](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-epilogue-1865/) - In Waterford, after the war, most of the homes remained occupied, but many residents moved away forever. The town, like a crippled soldier left unable to compete in the aftermath, became a permanent casualty of the war. Thus it happened that Waterford stood still for a time, then slowly slipped into the stream of history.
- [waterford-tannery](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-tannery/) - To an extent difficult to appreciate today, early farm communities like Waterford were self-sufficient. Waterford's tanyard dates from the 18th century. The tannery supported a substantial network of related tradesmen and clearly served a populace well beyond the town limits.
- [waterford-barn-building-1923](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-barn-building-1923/) - Often as much pride was put into building the main barn as was put into building the farm house. In fact the reason the barn and clusters of outbuildings were actually as much a part of the household as any room in the farmhouse. One of the last barns near Waterford was so built in 1923, on the farm of J. T. McGavack about four miles west of town.
- [waterford-afr-amer-work](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-afr-amer-work/) - For most of Waterford's long history, hard physical labor was expected of nearly every resident-young and old, male and female, black and white. But it is clear that much of the roughest, most dangerous work was performed by African Americans. Despite the hard work. there were also times for recreation and enjoyment. Music was a favorite diversion.
- [Map Showing Construction Dates for Waterford's Buildings](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/map-showing-construction-dates-for-waterfords-buildings/) - Map Showing Construction Dates of Waterford Buildings This map shows the dates that building within the village were constructed.
- [map-area-history-scheel](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/map-area-history-scheel/) - This is a map drawn by Eugene Scheel, a Waterford historian and mapmaker, showing historical sites and dates.
- [loudoun-mutual-insurance](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/loudoun-mutual-insurance/) - The village's third pioneering enterprise, Loudoun Mutual Insurance Co., was founded in 1849 and incorporated by the General Assembly. It still is in operation today in Waterford.
- [waterford-1926](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-1926/) - In August of 1926, I came as a bride to live in the village of Waterford, Virginia. To a young city girl it was like stepping into a completely new world. The little village still retains its charm though the way of living is modern. With the movement of the urban into the rural, we wonder what will be the result in years to come.
- [waterford-1861](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-1861/) - The story of Waterford during the Civil War is the story of many Virginia towns caught in the ebb and flow of the changing fortunes of war; only the central characters are different. Waterford Virginia in 1860 seemed the most unlikely place for the fury and destruction of war to strike, for the community had been founded by a people whose cardinal principle was non-resistance.
- [map-1854](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/map-1854/) - This map, adapted from an 1854 Loudoun County map by Quaker historian Yardley Taylor, shows the names of Waterford's residents and the location of streets, mills, businesses, churches, and burial grounds.
- [ephemera](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/ephemera/) - Waterford History Ephemera Below are various items of interst to Waterford History Waterford Primer. A 1947? pamphlet written by Nanacy White and Clare Metzle. This eight page pamphlet gives the ABC's of living in Waterford
- [waterford-thomas-moore](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-thomas-moore/) - In 1799, when the elderly Thomas Moore died at his home on Bond Street (now 40132 Bond Street) in Waterford, Virginia, he was a long way from his native Waterford, Ireland-and at the end of an unusual life's journey.
- [waterford-automobiles-stories](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-automobiles-stories/) - Even after automobiles became plentiful, horses remained important in Waterford, especially in the winter. The unpaved roads around would be cut up so badly with farm wagons and wet weather that many people would put their cars away about the first of December.
- [waterford-town-1760](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-town-1760/) - An overview of the beginnings of the village of Waterford from 1747-1780. Starting with the mill and ending with the selling of lots after the death of Francis Hague.
- [map-waterford-1875-2](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/map-waterford-1875-2/) - This is another 1875 map from surveys by James Skinner Oden.
- [waterford-early-1800s](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-early-1800s/) - Through the end of the 18th century, the settlement at Janney's Mill drew Pennsylvania Quaker, German Lutheran, and Scotch-Irish Presbyterian small farmers. As Loudoun County built and improved roads, the village grew rapidly. Homes and shops were built, and in the 1790s the settlement was renamed Waterford. Waterford continued to prosper and reached its manufacturing height in the mid 19th century.
- [toasts-july-4th-1832](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/toasts-july-4th-1832/) - In the 56th year of our independence, Brook W. Sower, editor of the Leesburg newspaper sked the organizers of festivities in four towns to send him descriptions of their festivities. In Waterford the gala took place "at a spring near the town," and there the day passed "with great harmony and much hilarity.
- [waterford-house-numbers](https://www.waterfordhistory.org/history/waterford-house-numbers/) - Under a county ordinance, residents are required to post street addresses for use by county law enforcement and fire and rescue services, citizens of Waterford were last week were told that they must now display new 5-digit street address numbers.