Ashburn Farm Real Estate
History of Ashburn Farm
The Ashburn Farm Partnership was created under Virginia law and began development in 1986. Construction started after the concept plan was approved by Loudoun County in 1986. Cavalier Land Development Corp., developers of Ashburn Farm, planned the community to blend with the natural rolling terrain, resulting in winding boulevards and lots of trees.
Thanks to the Ashburn Farm HOA for this information.
Ashburn Farm is north of the Dulles Greenway and bordered by Belmont Ridge Rd to the west, Ashburn Rd to the east, and the W&OD Trail to the north. The majority of the land on which Ashburn Farm is located was originally the Gray Dairy Farm.A windmill was salvaged and restored from the Gray Estate and now stands with the large "Ohio Buckeye" tree.
The first home was purchased in the Summer of 1988. All the roads and utilities were built to Loudoun County and State standards, and have been dedicated to the State of Virginia for continued maintenance. Streets in the Townhouse areas however, are conveyed to and maintained by the Ashburn Farm Association. In addition, individual homeowners are responsible for common driveways and/or pipe stems.
History of Ashburn
Ashburn was originally called Farmwell (alternative names Old Farmwell, Farmwell Station) after a nearby mansion of that name owned by George Lee. The name Farmwell first appeared in George Lee's October, 1802 Last Will and Testament. It was the term used to describe the 1,236 acre plantation he inherited from his father.
Thomas Ludwell Lee II was the cousin of Belmont owner Ludwell Lee and owned an equally magnificent mansion, Coton, on property north of Route 7 now occupied by Xerox Document University and Lansdowne. Thomas inherited his land from father Thomas Ludwell Lee I, who obtained the 4,700 acre tract ("the remainder of all my lands between Goose Creek and Broad Run") from his father, Thomas Lee.
George Lee, originator of the Farmwell name, died in 1805 and his property passed to son Doctor George Lee (1796-1858). Doctor Lee married Sarah Moore Henderson in 1827. Sarah is reputed to have given birth to 23 children, the eldest of which, George III, inherited Farmwell upon his father's death and granted a right of way across the plantation to the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad (later the Washington & Old Dominion) in 1859.
Thanks to the Ashburn Web for this information.
The agricultural village changed into a commercial village when the railroad arrived in 1860 at Farmwell Station, although the Civil War (1861-1865) and the depression which followed delayed the change.
The section of Farmwell plantation west of Ashburn Road, a 580 acre tract, was purchased in 1841 by lawyer and almost vice-president John Janney, a Quaker, as a summer home. He called the property Ashburn Farm (first known written use is 1870 when he sold the property). It is likely he named the farm after family friends named Ashburn.
Local Legend has it that the village, known until then as Farmwell or Farmwell Station, got a new name after lightning struck an ash tree on Senator Stewart's farm in 1896. The ash tree is rumored to have burned and smoldered for a week and attracted spectators from miles around. Since the Post Office had been pressing for a new name for the village (to avoid confusion with Farmville in Prince Edward County), and the Senator was the area's leading citizen, the villagers renamed the village after the ash burn.
