Community Development

Historic and Cultural Resources

Historic and Cultural Resources abound in Fauquier County. They are our primary records of a unique past shaped by nature, politics, economics, and human actions. For almost 10,000 years, this terrain was home to Native Americans; their lives and advancements are largely recorded as archaeological artifacts within the earth itself. When Europeans settled this area approximately 300 years ago, they began a process of rapid transformation of the landscape with farming and the construction of buildings, considered today as part of the historic resources stock. Many historic places and buildings from the County’s early years have survived largely intact within the agricultural economy up through the mid-19th century, but have become increasingly threatened by post-World War II suburban development extending outwards from Washington D.C. Several citizen and County efforts are underway to document and protect these limited resources, now recognized as historically significant due to their scarcity and intact condition.

Historic Maps ◊ Civil War Education ◊ Preservation Groups & Projects

National Register Historic Districts

Main Street, Remington: Built in 1918 for Luther Allison as a post office and grocery
store. It was the post office until 1957, now a variety store with apartments above.

Historic Maps reveal a lot about our past. They can confirm a hunch we have about the location of a cemetery, as well as show us the locations of old stores, villages and old road beds. For any novice or expert, consulting historic maps is a crucial first step in conducting sound historic research.

Visit our collection today to start your journey.

Extract from Fauquier County 1914 Map identifies the village of Upperville

Civil War Education

A Fauquier County brochure commemorates the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War titled: Strategic Battlefield Sites of the Civil War.

In 2006, Fauquier County initiated a long-term, citizen-based planning effort to document its significant Civil War resources. The initial focus was on twelve battlefields included in the top 384 most important battles of the Civil War, as determined by Congress in the late 1990s. In 2007, the County obtained a grant from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (ABBP) for a comprehensive, public education project to build and strengthen the capacity of community-level preservation planning involving property owners, interested citizens, and historians.

Civil War image The grant, as well as donations from local organizations, helped to fund an all-day event at Fauquier High School, entitled Bivouacs and Battlefields in March 2009 Volunteers from an ad-hoc group, named the Battlefield Support Committee, helped organize the event. The group remains dedicated to offering educational tools to the community about all aspects of Civil Was history.

Over 200 people attended presentations by historians, visited a soldier’s encampment, spoke with local preservation groups, and enjoyed viewing period-artwork by local school children. Brochures on each nationally-significant battlefield can be downloaded to give you a flavor of what significant events took place right here on Fauquier County soil.

The ABPP recently completed a statewide survey of Virginia’s most significant battlefields, including those in Fauquier County. (http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/CWSII/CWSIIStateReportVA.htm).

A Fauquier Farm with deep roots: shrouded by the distant trees are
buildings that survived the Civil War. This was "Dr. Hamilton's"
place west of Remington, which was used as General Meade's
headquarters during the war.

Preservation Groups & Projects Thanks to the creativity and enthusiasm of Fauquier County’s citizens and preservation groups, a number of notable projects are underway. You can make a difference in your community by participating in one of many groups listed below, or even form your own. We love to hear about your local preservation efforts!

Citizen-based planning efforts, documentation, recognition programs, and increased levels of land preservation will undoubtedly continue to strengthen protection of historic resources. Statistics indicate that the County is steadily losing its historic building stock. According to the U.S. Census, between 1940 and 2000, the County experienced a loss of almost 35% of its 5,296 pre-1940 residential buildings. The County also lost a considerable number of its historical barns, silos, and other agricultural outbuildings during this same fifty year period. Another 150 historic homes were demolished or came off the tax rolls between 2000 and 2006.

Local Preservation Groups:

Auburn Battlefield Committee
Brandy Station Foundation
Buckland Preservation Society
Citizens for Fauquier County
Confederacy Black Horse Chapter
Evergreen Shade
Fauquier Historical Society
Fauquier County Architectural Review Board
Mosby’s Confederacy Tours
Mosby Heritage Area Association
Mosby Players
Piedmont Environmental Council
Remington Community Partnership
Turn the Mill around Campaign
United Daughters of the Confederacy

1866 train depot.
The Remington Community Partnership sought and received grant funds to relocate this 1866 train depot, saving it from demolition.

View of Cobbler Mountain in the Leeds Manor Rural Historic District, a citizen-funded project.

Documenting the Past, Preserving a Place In the 1980s, Fauquier County enacted zoning and land use policies to protect the County’s rural heritage from intrusive suburban development. In turn, these public measures have fostered increased amounts of private land preservation initiatives and historic property stewardship.

Years later, the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors appointed a citizens committee to develop a set of recommended historic preservation policies. In September 2001, the Board passed a resolution requesting that key elements of the citizens’, Fauquier County, Virginia Historic Resource Preservation Plan be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan. The Board began to immediately implement the plan. They commissioned a multi-year documentation project to place twenty-one of the County’s villages and towns on the Virginia Landmarks and National Registers. This program is being complimented with National Register nominations for rural historic districts throughout the County.

There are many areas of the county that remain undocumented. Local historians and property owners who are interested in leading a documentation effort in their neighborhood or would like to contribute financially to document a particular area should contact the Planning Office for technical assistance.

National Register Historic Districts and Virginia Landmarks Register Districts identify the County’s most distinguished set of historic resources. Fauquier County is proud of its twenty-one nationally-significant areas. These resources provide local residents a high quality of life, as well as attract tourists. The nominations documenting the historical information on each district and other properties listed on the National Register may be obtained from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources web site.

Federal and State Rehabilitation Tax Credits are available to property owners of individually listed National Register Properties, as well as contributing resources within National Register Historic Districts for residential and commercial buildings. Please contact the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

View Historic Districts in Fauquier County