Middleburg, Virginia

History

The town was established in 1787 by American Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel and Virginia 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.

From the early 1900s, Middleburg began welcoming visitors who participated in foxhunting and steeplechasing. The village soon earned a reputation as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital", attracting prominent visitors from across the U.S. Middleburg is the home of the 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) National Sporting Library research center for horse and field sports, which publishes Thoroughbred Heritage on the Internet. A new addition is being made to include an art gallery and museum.

In 1961, civil rights activists pressed John F. Kennedy on local segregation issues during his residency outside town.

The Middleburg Historic District, comprising the 19th-century center of town, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The oldest building in town, the Red Fox Inn, was originally established in 1728 by Joseph Chinn as Chinn's Ordinary and is billed as the oldest continually operated inn in the U.S. Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are Benton, the Burrland Farm Historic District, Green Pastures, Huntland, Mill House, Gen. William Mitchell House, Much Haddam, Unison Historic District, and Welbourne.

Geography

Middleburg is located at 38°58′6″N 77°44′15″W (38.968411, -77.737631).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square mile (1.5 km²), all land. The elevation is 486 feet.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 632 people, 322 households, and 171 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,083.8 people per square mile (420.7/km²). There were 364 housing units at an average density of 624.2 per square mile (242.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 76.58% White, 20.25% African American, 0.16% Asian, 1.27% from other races, and 1.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.27% of the population.

There were 322 households out of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.57.

In the town, the population was spread out with 16.9% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 72.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,625, and the median income for a family was $60,313. Males had a median income of $41,875 versus $32,708 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,643. About 6.7% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

Middleburg was named as the location of the mysterious crop circles in the horror film spoof Scary Movie 3 (2003). The film shows an actual map of the Middleburg area, complete with actual surrounding towns and Route 15 pictured on the map.

The New Hampshire scenes in the season three "Manchester" episodes of The West Wing were filmed in Middleburg.

Notable people

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