Leesburg

Leesburg is 33 miles (53 km) west-northwest of Washington, D.C., along the base of Catoctin Mountain and close to the Potomac River. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. In the War of 1812 it was a refuge for important federal documents evacuated from Washington, DC, and in the Civil War, it changed hands several times. Its population was 48,250 as of the 2020 Census and an estimated 48,908 in 2021. It is Virginia's largest incorporated town within a county (rather than being an independent city). It has undergone considerable growth and development over the last 30 years, transforming from a small, rural, Piedmont town to a suburban bedroom community for commuters to the national capital. The name change was passed by an Act of Assembly in 1758. Francis Lightfoot Lee and Phillip Ludwell Lee, two of Thomas' sons, were early town trustees. Leesburg was renamed to honor the influential Thomas Lee, who lived in Loudoun County and brought up his son Francis. The town is not named, as is sometimes thought, for Robert E Lee (Thomas' great-grandnephew). It is named after the town's first postmaster, William Lees, who founded the town of Leesberg in 1740. Leeesburg was named after William Leese, who was a member of the Lees family.

Toponym

Leesburg is the primary city name, but also Lansdowne are acceptable city names or spellings, Lucketts on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is Town of Leesburg. Leesburg may have been named to honor the influential Thomas Lee or more generally for the Lee family. The name change was passed by an Act of Assembly in 1758. Francis Lightfoot Lee and Phillip Ludwell Lee, two of Thomas' sons, were early town trustees. The town is not named, as is sometimes thought, for Robert E. Lee (Thomas' great-grandnephew). The name Leesburg was adopted by a vote of the town's residents in 1757. It was named after the town of Leesberg, Germany, which was founded in 1708. The current name of Leeesburg, Pennsylvania, was adopted in 1759 by a ballot of the residents of Leakesburg. The vote was approved by a majority of the citizens of Leeksburg, and the town was named for the town in 1760. It is located on the banks of the Rappahannock River, which flows into the Ohio River. It has a population of about 2,000 and was once known as "Leesberg" or "Leesburg-on-the-Ohio" The town's name was changed to "Leeesburg" after a vote by the town council in 1756. It now has a name of its own: Leesburger, which means "the town of the Lees" in German. It also means "leesburg" in English. The city's name means "town of the lees" and "the lee" in French.

History

Prior to European settlement, the area around Leesburg was occupied by various Native American tribes. In 1699, the Algonquian Piscataway (Conoy) moved to an island in the Potomac in the environs of Leesberg. Early settlers reported that they would return to this mound to honor their dead on the anniversary of this battle for many years thereafter. Early in the American Civil War, the town was the site of the Battle of Ball's Bluff, a small but significant Confederate victory. The town served as a temporary haven for the United States government and its archives when it was forced to flee Washington in the face of the British Army during the War of 1812. In 1889, 14-year-old African-American Orion Anderson was killed by a white mob at the town's freight depot. In the 20th century, Leesburgh was the home of General George C. Marshall during the World War II. It was renamed to honor the influential Thomas Lee and not, as is popular belief, his son Francis Lightfoot Lee who lived in Loudoun and brought up the bill to establish Leessburg. When the post office was established in Leesburgh in 1803 the branch was named "Leesburgh"; the "h" persisted until 1894. The Battle of Hill Hill was fought just north of the town prior to its occupation by Robert E. Lee in September 1862. Some people consider the local courthouse among the few local courthouses in Virginia not burned the few years after the Civil War (1861-1865).

Geography

Leesburg is located northeast of the center of Loudoun County at 39°7N 77°33W (39.109, 77.558), It is part of the northern Virginia Piedmont and sits at the base of the easternmost chain of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Catoctin Mountain. The town lies in the Culpeper Basin (an inland sea during the Jurassic period) and is adjacent to the valley of the Potomac River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.4 square miles (32 km²), of which 0.06 sq miles (0.16 km²) is water. The Town Branch of Tuscarora Creek passes through the center and flows east to Goose Creek, a tributary of the potomac. The elevation in town ranges from about 350 to 400 feet (110 to 120 m) with the ridge of Cat octin Mountain rising to 670 feet (200 m) just west of the town limits. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of Leesburg at 1,071 in 2010, down from 1,081 in 2000, when the population was 1,091. It is located in the northern part of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountain range, and is located near the eastern tip of the Appalachian Mountains. The area is largely flat, with the exception of a few hills that rise to the east and west of town. It has a population of about 1,000.

Demographics

Census estimates as of July 1, 2018, showed the population of Leesburg at 53,917 people. According to the 2010 census, there were 42,616 people including 14,441 households, and 10,522 families residing in the town. By age, the population was 30.7% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median income for the town was $68,861, and the median income of the families was $78,111 (these figures had risen to $87,346 and $105,260 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income. of $51,267 versus $35,717 for females. The per capita income was $30,116. About 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of. those age 65 or over. The town is located on the U.S. Turnpike, which runs through the center of the city. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state, with a population of 2.2 million. The city is home to a large military base, which was built in the 1950s and 1960s. It has a large airport, which opened in the 1970s.

Education and public services

Leesburg has four public high schools operated by the Loudoun County Public School system. Leesburg is also served by several private schools, including Providence Academy, a K8 non-denominational Christian school. The town is served by a town police department with 90 sworn officers. The fire company can trace its roots back to 1803; the rescue squad was formed in 1952. The LPD has an authorized strength of 90 officers and provides 24/7 patrol service to the town, as well as handling criminal investigations, traffic control, and special operations within the town. The department is completely separate from the Loudou County Sheriff's Office, which is the county's primary law enforcement agency and provides security for the courthouse inLeesburg. The Leesberg Volunteer Fire Company provides fire protection services. The Loudoun county Volunteer Rescue Squad provides rescue and emergency medical services. Both the fire company and rescue squad are volunteer organizations supplemented with partial staffing from the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management. The police department has been in existence since 1758; the county sheriff's office was established in 1758. The city has a population of 3,000; the police department is made up of 90 sworn police officers and has a total strength of 120 officers. It is located on the banks of the Rappahannock River, which runs through the center of the town and into the Shenandoah National Park. The county's main airport is located in the town's downtown area, at the intersection of two roads.

Transportation

The primary highways serving Leesburg include U.S. Route 15, Virginia State Route 7 and Virginia State route 267. US 15 enters Leesberg from the southwest, following King Street, then joins the Leesburgh Bypass. SR 7 enters from the west along Market Street and immediately joins the bypass to pass southwest of downtown. SR 267 functions as a high speed bypass of SR 7 southeast of LeesBURG, but is also a toll road. Loudoun County Transit provides public transportation services in Leesburgh. The city is located on the Virginia-Maryland border and is home to the Virginia Institute of Technology. It is also home to Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and the College of Arts and Sciences, which is located in nearby Roanoke. The town is located near the Dulles Greenway, which runs through the center of the city. It also runs along the Virginia Turnpike, which goes through the city and connects to Washington, D.C. to the east and Washington, DC to the west. The Leesbury River, which flows into the city from the north, is a major water supply source for the town. It flows through the town to the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River to the south and east to the Maryland coast. It has a population of about 2,000. The population of Leeburg is about 1,500, with the majority of its residents living in and around the town center.

Business and industry

Leesburg operates the Leesburg Executive Airport at Godfrey Field, which serves Loudoun County with private and corporate aircraft operations. The airport accounts for nearly $78 million per year in economic impact according to a 2011 study by the Virginia Department of Aviation. It is home (as of 2005) to over 240 aircraft, and hosts 2030 jet operations per day. Market Station contains a number of high-tech and legal offices, retail shops, and restaurants that are housed within seven restored historic buildings. The Xerox Corporation built the National Conference Center, which the government and private business use for meetings and conferences. The top employers in the town are: Iridium Communications Inc. (formerly Iridium Satellite LLC) system of satellites is "guided from the basement of a featureless two-story office building" according to the town's FY 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The town is home to the D.C. and Old Dominion Railroad, which served the town until 1968. It was also the home of the Washington & Old Dominion Railway, which ran from 1883 to 1968. The city is located on the banks of the Rappahannock River, which flows into the Potomac River and into the North Carolina border. It has a population of around 2,000. It also has a post office, postmaster's house, log house, two barns and two gristmills, some of which were reconstructed in or relocated to the site. Leesberg is located in the southeast portion of the Historic District, which contains several structures painted in the yellow and green colors of the stations.

Recreational facilities and events

Ida Lee Park was made possible in 1986 by the donation of Greenwood Farm to the Town of Leesburg. Red Rocks Wilderness Overlook Regional Park contains 67 acres (27 ha) of woodlands and over 2 miles (3.2 km) of trails leading to bluffs along the Potomac River. The Rust Manor House and Nature Sanctuary contains a mansion and a nature reserve that the Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States, Inc., owns and operates. The Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail is a 45-mile (72 km) long rail trail that the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority constructed on the historic W&OD RR's right-of-way. Since 1988, members of the Leesberg Volunteer Fire Company have decorated a piece of fire apparatus with Christmas lights with Santa, Rudolf, and Frosty riding on top of said fire apparatus waving to the people of the town. The town's Flower and Garden Festival is held annually in April in the Historic District, the event includes garden displays, vendors and entertainment. The Halloween Parade is said to be one of the longest-running Halloween parades in the country, the parade includes marching bands from the local high schools, floats made by local businesses, Scout troops and families, etc. It is estimated this event reaches around 30,000 people every year; it is estimated that the parade reaches around 20,000 every year. The Fourth of July Celebration includes a morning parade, a festival at Ida Lee Park and evening fireworks.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia = 42.3. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 47. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Leesburg = 4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 1,057 individuals with a median age of 32.2 age the population grows by 39.95% in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 4,333.17 residents per square mile of area (1,673.07/km²). There are average 2.8 people per household in the 13,983 households with an average household income of $91,502 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 4.00% of the available work force and has dropped -2.00% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 32.00%. The number of physicians in Leesburg per 100,000 population = 168.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Leesburg = 41.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 21.9 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 91. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 200. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 24.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 43, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia which are owned by the occupant = 68.95%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 15 years with median home cost = $349,670 and home appreciation of -0.72%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $9.61 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,369 per student. There are 13 students for each teacher in the school, 124 students for each Librarian and 317 students for each Counselor. 7.40% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 28.15% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 13.22% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).