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History · Middleburg

Middleburg dates to 1787, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Gen. William Mitchell House, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 149 buildings between them. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Gen. William Mitchell House, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 149 buildings between them. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1880.

1787founded
6on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
22old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Middleburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Middleburg began

When was Middleburg founded?

1787

Middleburg dates its founding to 1787 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 419 in 18802020 census: 669239 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓

What stands out about Middleburg’s past

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

A historic districtThe Middleburg Historic District takes in 149 historic buildings.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1910, then more than doubled.A town in old photos22 old photos, postcards and papers, 1909–1930.A National Historic Landmark6 places on the National Register, including Gen. William Mitchell House, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 161 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmark
1
Gen. William Mitchell House
historic buildings protected
161
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Gen. William Mitchell House
Middleburg Historic DistrictMuch HaddamRed Fox InnShiloh Baptist Church, built 1913
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Federal3
Colonial Revival3
Georgian Revival1
Italianate1
Gothic Revival1
Romanesque Revival1
★ Landmark
Gen. William Mitchell HouseBuilding
Middleburg Historic DistrictFederal
Much HaddamFederal
Burrland Farm Historic DistrictColonial Revival
Red Fox InnFederal
Shiloh Baptist ChurchBuilt 1913

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

People over time

Middleburg, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020429 in 1890Low: 263

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1910, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Middleburg’s Wikipedia page.

By decade

Middleburg, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s6 items
Middleburg Races, (Va.)1909Middleburg Races, (Va.)Middleburg, Va. Races1909Middleburg, Va. RacesMiddleburg, Va. Races1909Middleburg, Va. RacesMiddleburg, Va. Races1909Middleburg, Va. RacesMiddleburg, Va. Races1909Middleburg, Va. RacesMiddleburg, Va. Races weighing in1909Middleburg, Va. Races weighing in
1920s–1930s16 items
Middleburg Fox Hounds meeting1923Middleburg Fox Hounds meetingFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft SchoolFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft SchoolRogers House1930Rogers HouseFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft SchoolFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft SchoolFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft SchoolFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft SchoolRogers House1930Rogers HouseRogers House1930Rogers HouseRogers House1930Rogers HouseRogers House1930Rogers HouseRogers House1930Rogers HouseRogers House1930Rogers HouseFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft SchoolFoxcroft School1930Foxcroft School
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Middleburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Middleburg.

Read it all →

The town was established in 1787 by Revolutionary War officer and statesman Leven Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 per acre in 1763 from Joseph Chinn, a first cousin of George Washington. It had been called "Chinn's Crossroads" and was then called Powell Town. When Leven Powell declined to have the town named after him, the town was called Middleburgh, and later, simply Middleburg. The village is located midway between the port of Alexandria and Winchester, Virginia, on the Ashby Gap trading route (now followed by U.S. Route 50).

In 1863, Middleburg witnessed two skirmishes during the Gettysburg campaign of the Civil War.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Middleburg in 1909

Passages that mention Middleburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.

"The only hope for Duffie's regiment now lay in an immediate advance upon Aldie, where he might have created considerable commotion by attacking the rear of the 1st Virginia Cavalry on the Middleburg road. But he did not know this and his orders were positive, requiring him to encamp for the night …
History and comprehensive description of Loudoun County, Virginia1909 · page 170Read the page →
Read the text

"The only hope for Duffie's regiment now lay in an immediate advance upon Aldie, where he might have created considerable commotion by attacking the rear of the 1st Virginia Cavalry on the Middleburg road. But he did not know this and his orders were positive, requiring him to encamp for the night at Middleburg. He therefore made the best of his situation by dismounting one-half of his regiment behind stone walls and barricades, hoping that he might be able to hold his

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Duffie at Middleburg .'^ "On this same afternoon (June 17, 1 863) events of considerable importance occurred at Middleburg, where Stuart had established his headquarters for the day. "Early in the morning Col. A. N. Dufl&e, with the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry, had crossed the Bull Run Mountain at Tho…
History and comprehensive description of Loudoun County, Virginia1909 · page 169Read the page →
Read the text

Duffie at Middleburg .'^ "On this same afternoon (June 17, 1 863) events of considerable importance occurred at Middleburg, where Stuart had established his headquarters for the day. "Early in the morning Col. A. N. Dufl&e, with the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry, had crossed the Bull Run Mountain at Thoroughfare Gap. His orders directed him to encamp at Middleburg on the night of the 17th and to proceed the next

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Middleburg, 1787 to 1976

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1787
    FoundingMiddleburg is established
  3. 1794Born hereJohn Leadley Dagg is born here
  4. 1797Post officeThe Middleburg post office opens
  5. 19th century
  6. 1830Born hereJohn M. Crebs is born here
  7. 1871Born hereLucy Minnigerode is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1909In the archiveMiddleburg Races, (Va.)
  10. 1913BuiltShiloh Baptist Church is built
  11. 1923In the archiveMiddleburg Fox Hounds meeting
  12. 1930In the archiveFoxcroft School
  13. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1963Born hereMary Pat Wilson is born here
  15. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 833
  16. 1976LandmarkGen. William Mitchell House named a National Historic Landmark
On the map

Middleburg on the map, 1933 to 1977

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

Middleburg on the 1933 USGS mapMiddleburg on the 1946 USGS mapMiddleburg on the 1968 USGS mapMiddleburg on the 1977 USGS map1933Middleburg 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 Middleburg.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Middleburg Races, (Va.)
Retake this viewMiddleburg Races, (Va.), 1909

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Middleburg’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

9 famous people were born in Middleburg

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John M. CrebsAmerican politician · b. 1830
Lucy MinnigerodeAmerican nurse · b. 1871
John Leadley DaggAmerican theologian and minister · b. 1794
M
Mary Pat WilsonPuerto Rican alpine skier · b. 1963
C
Colin ShutlerAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
K
Kevin WilsonPuerto Rican skier · b. 1959
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Middleburg’s post office has been open since 1797.

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Middleburg
Emmanuel Episcopal ChurchEmmanuel Middleburg MemorialMemorialSharonSolon

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

Help out

Finish Middleburg’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMiddleburg Races, (Va.): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Middleburg’s history

What year was Middleburg founded?

In 1787, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Middleburg’s post office opened in 1797, and the census of 1880 counted 419 people here.

What is on the National Register in Middleburg?

6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Gen. William Mitchell House (a National Historic Landmark since 1976), and 2 historic districts, the Middleburg Historic District and the Burrland Farm Historic District, with 149 contributing buildings. 161 historic buildings in all.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (16), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.