Claude Moore Park Historic Schoolhouse Restored and Open!

The "oldest extant schoolhouse in eastern Loudoun" was recently restored. They had a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Saturday.

Read the full article from the Leesburg Today HERE!

Current Events: Loudoun Might Close 4 Old Schools

Aldie School (2011)

Another budget year, another fight to keep Loudoun's older schools open. Lincoln, Aldie, Hamilton, and Hillsboro. I myself am not in favor of closing the schools. Would they be reopened after the Board of Supervisors gives more money to the school system? What happens to the buildings when they're closed? What would happen to the surrounding community if these schools close? What do the kids get out of this, opened or closed, because that's really what this debate should be centered around, not the budget.

Many of these older schools have been on the chopping blocks for years. It's a favorite topic of boards during budget season. My school, Loudoun County High School, has even been up for consideration at least at one time, with the idea for the building to become a new public schools administration building (back when North Street was used).

Middleburg ES is thankfully off of the list, set to become the area's first charter school (yet still under LCPS supervision). Hillsboro is also thinking of this route. Aldie wants to expand. I haven't read of any plans from Lincoln's community.

My big thing is historical preservation. If they are no longer schools, they should be used in other ways that continue to help their surrounding area out in some capacity. Community Centers have been a popular reuse of school buildings here in Loudoun. Others possibilities could be a small shopping area (each room a different store), a town hall, a museum, or even a more creative attraction. Any adaptive reuse while setting aside a little space to honor the building's original purpose would make me happy.

These buildings have made impacts on the Loudoun community, generation after generation. They still have the ability to teach students. I wish the best for all the schools.


In other news, Superintendent Dr. Hatrick is resigning (old news), and Eric Williams, superintendent of York County (down here in Hampton Roads) will be taking his place (new news). I wish him godspeed (and still crossing my fingers for a Hatrick Elementary)


Some articles I looked at while writing for this article:
Closure threat may become reality for Loudoun's small schools
Aldie, in booming Loudoun, pitches school expansion to keep its village feel
Western Loudoun Families Weary Of Small School Fight
Public Hearing Tuesday On Middleburg School Closure

Mountain Gap in Winter

Passed by Mountain Gap School while heading home from school. Thought it looked great in the snow.

The paint looks very weathered, it needs a new paint job.

Fun fact: Mountain Gap was originally painted white, like most one room schools in Loudoun County. One of its owners before Oatlands bought it painted it red.

Quick Post

Just ran into a webpage for the Loudoun County High School Class of 1963. Along with reunions, they have lots of pictures from the time when they went to LCHS and a really cool video tour of the school from 2003, before LCHS's big makeover renovation in 2005/2006. They also have a link on their homepage, I found, to this blog's post on LCHS's Flag Controversy!

So, thank you for the shout-out, and congratulations on your just-passed 50th anniversary!

Fun Little Project: Update

Loudoun County High School, from Lord Loudoun 1955

Well, it's been a while. A summer passed, and I was barely in Loudoun. It's sad to say it but I've moved on from LCPS history. Nearly a year has gone past when I announced I had a fun secret project. It was supposed to be my major finale... and still will be, mind you. I finished it a long time ago, but it was never published anywhere. I've held off on posting anything, in case the powers-that-be have plans they have not shared with me, but I thought I would at least share what the project is.

Can you keep a secret, Internet? I wrote... a history of Loudoun County High School. I thought it would be terrifying. And it was. An almost 60 year old building? Lots to cover. Not to mention it's my alma mater, so I can't just write completely terribly.

So where is it? It's been given to the school. The 60th is coming up soon (2014!), so it could be they are waiting for that. If the 60th passes and it doesn't appear, I will post it here.

Loudoun County High School is one of the schools that really deserves a history written on it, yet none exists. I hope I did it justice.

News on the Sterling Annex Building

Sterling Annex Building, picture from 2011

[Update August 2023: This school has now been demolished. Check out Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 1]

Former Sterling Annex Property Sold To Belfort*

This news came out in April of this year. This probably spells doom for the former school building / community center.



[* As happened from my first post, the online trail of information for this property keeps disappearing. The Leesburg Today newspaper was bought by the Loudoun Times Mirror. Their online archive of articles has been deleted.]


Read all Sterling Annex Posts:
Sterling Community Center Annex (2012)
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2016 Update
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2017 Update
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2018 Update
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2019 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2020 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2021 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2022 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2023 Update

Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 1

Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 2

Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 3

After Sterling Annex - 2024