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D−History
History · Cascades

Half of Cascades’ homes were built after 1995

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #219 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Cascades was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1908 on.

0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Truejim (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

About Cascades’ history

How historic is Cascades?

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More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Cascades’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cascades is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #219 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cascades’ overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.4) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 13%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Cascades’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Cascades’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cascades are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19087 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1994. Watch Cascades change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cascades’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cascades’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cascades on the map, 1908 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cascades. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cascades on the 1908 USGS mapCascades on the 1944 USGS mapCascades on the 1952 USGS mapCascades on the 1968 USGS mapCascades on the 1972 USGS mapCascades on the 1980 USGS mapCascades on the 1994 USGS map1908Seneca sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cascades.

The story so far

Cascades, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cascades yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cascades is a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cascades had a population of 12,366. Along with nearby Countryside and Lowes Island, it is considered one of the three main components of the Potomac Falls community (ZIP code 20165) within Sterling. Cascades is a planned community of 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) with approximately 6,500 homes. The corresponding homeowners association was incorporated on November 8, 1990. As in nearby Sterling Park, prior to the establishment of the Cascades community in 1990 the area was made up of a few very large farms. The homeowners association maintains five community centers, five swimming pools, …

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,912 to 12,366 (+4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Cascades, decade by decade

Today25 recent
2019-10-02 10 38 43 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-10-02 10 38 43 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-10-02 10 36 44 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-10-02 10 36 44 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 17 10 55 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 17…20192019-09-20 17 10 55 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 17 07 24 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 17…20192019-09-20 17 07 24 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-17 13 40 40 View north along Virginia State Route 1794 (Cascades Parkway) at the exit for Virginia State Route …20192019-09-17 13 40 40 View north along Virginia State R…2019-09-17 13 35 48 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for SOUTH Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-17 13 35 48 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-17 13 29 44 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for NORTH Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-17 13 29 44 View west along Virginia State Ro…2016-04-15 19 27 05 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers in the light of the setting sun along Lake Center Plaza in20162016-04-15 19 27 05 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers …2016-04-15 19 26 59 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers in the light of the setting sun along Lake Center Plaza in20162016-04-15 19 26 59 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers …2016-04-15 19 25 52 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers in the light of the setting sun along Lake Center Plaza in20162016-04-15 19 25 52 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers …2016-04-15 19 25 47 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers in the light of the setting sun along Lake Center Plaza in20162016-04-15 19 25 47 'Kanzan' Japanese Cherry flowers …PotomackSportsplex2015PotomackSportsplexMarketplaceEntrance2015MarketplaceEntranceGreatFallsPlaza2015GreatFallsPlazaCascadesWalkingTrail2015CascadesWalkingTrailCascadesStoneHouse2015CascadesStoneHouseCascadesPublicLibrary2015CascadesPublicLibraryCascadesMarketCenter2015CascadesMarketCenterCascadesMap2015CascadesMapCascadesMainOffice2015CascadesMainOfficeCascadesFireStation2015CascadesFireStationCascadesExit2015CascadesExitCascadesEntrance2015CascadesEntranceAlgonkianPotomac2015AlgonkianPotomacAlgonkianParkEntrance2015AlgonkianParkEntrance
Famous people

Famous people close to Cascades

Nobody well known was born in Cascades itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hilarie BurtonAmerican actress · b. 1982
Sean ParkerAmerican entrepreneur, programmer and philanthr… · b. 1979
Emily FoxAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
Ashley CaldwellAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1993
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Paula CaleAmerican actress · b. 1970
Ronnie DoveAmerican musician · b. 1935
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Faith Bible ChurchchurchNokes Schoolschool

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

CountrysideIts storyD−Lowes IslandIts storyD−Sugarland RunIts storyD−Dulles Town CenterIts storyD−Sterling1 historic placeC−

Questions about Cascades’ history

How does Cascades rank for history?

Cascades is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #219 of 253 in Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Cascades?

0.3% of Cascades’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1995.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (25), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.