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C−History
History · Lansdowne

1 of Lansdowne’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #148 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Janelia. Most of Lansdowne was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: maps from 1908 on.

1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

About Lansdowne’s history

How historic is Lansdowne?

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More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Lansdowne’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lansdowne is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #148 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 Lansdowne’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±1.3) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 1.6 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 42%

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 Lansdowne’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±1.3 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 Lansdowne’s 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 Lansdowne 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 Lansdowne change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lansdowne’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Lansdowne on the map, 1908 to 1994

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

Lansdowne on the 1908 USGS mapLansdowne on the 1944 USGS mapLansdowne on the 1952 USGS mapLansdowne on the 1968 USGS mapLansdowne on the 1972 USGS mapLansdowne on the 1980 USGS mapLansdowne 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 Lansdowne.

The story so far

Lansdowne, in brief

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

Lansdowne is a census-designated place and planned community located near Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lansdowne had a population of 12,427. It is north of State Route 7 and south of the Potomac River. Before the Revolutionary War, the Lee family established Coton Manor here. A section of the Potomac Heritage Trail runs through Lansdowne. It is the home of Inova Loudoun Hospital, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Lansdowne Resort, Prison Fellowship, and Lansdowne Woods of Virginia, a gated, age-restricted community. Lansdowne is part of the Washington metropolitan area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,253 to 12,427 (+10%).

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

Timeline

Lansdowne, 1898 to 1908

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Mahala post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Post officeThe Mahala post office closes
  5. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lansdowne, decade by decade

Today20 recent
Lansdowne, Virginia2026Lansdowne, Virginia2019-09-27 14 40 50 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-27 14 40 50 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-27 14 39 49 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-27 14 39 49 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-27 14 35 27 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-27 14 35 27 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-27 14 28 40 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-27 14 28 40 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-27 14 22 35 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-27 14 22 35 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-27 14 20 57 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) from the overpass for Virginia State Ro…20192019-09-27 14 20 57 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 16 48 56 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 20…20192019-09-20 16 48 56 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 16 46 18 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 24…20192019-09-20 16 46 18 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 16 45 03 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 90…20192019-09-20 16 45 03 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 16 42 52 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 65…20192019-09-20 16 42 52 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 10 12 06 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 65…20192019-09-20 10 12 06 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 10 09 49 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 90…20192019-09-20 10 09 49 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 10 06 53 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 24…20192019-09-20 10 06 53 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 10 03 34 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 20…20192019-09-20 10 03 34 View west along Virginia State Ro…2016-10-29 11 10 26 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) between Belmont Ridge Road (Virginia St…20162016-10-29 11 10 26 View west along Virginia State Ro…Brianna Keilar, the master of ceremonies and CNN White House correspondent, auctions off prizes at the 10th Anniversary…2013Brianna Keilar, the master of ceremonies and CNN Whit…Brianna Keilar, the master of ceremonies and CNN White House correspondent, auctions off prizes at the 10th Anniversary…2013Brianna Keilar, the master of ceremonies and CNN Whit…Brianna Keilar cropped2013Brianna Keilar croppedUS Navy 070604-N-9693M-001 The Navy's Chief of Information Rear Admiral Gregory Smith addresses more than 400 Navy publ…2007US Navy 070604-N-9693M-001 The Navy's Chief of Inform…
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lansdowne

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Janelia
Janelia
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Normandy Manor1
JaneliaNormandy Manor

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Mahala, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ashburn JunctionLansdowne Town Center

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Lansdowne’s history

How does Lansdowne rank for history?

Lansdowne is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #148 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.

What is on the National Register in Lansdowne?

One place: the Janelia (listed 1987).

How old are the homes in Lansdowne?

1% of Lansdowne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2005.

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 (20), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.