Delaplane, Virginia

Delaplane is an unincorporated community in northern Fauquier County, Virginia, approximately 50 miles (80 km) due west of Washington, D.C. Delaplane is situated along U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 50, and Interstate 66; bordering Upperville, Virginia to the north, Hume, Virginia to the south, Paris, Virginia to the west, and Rectortown, Virginia to the east. Delaplane, Virginia has a ZIP Code of 20144.

Delaplane, Virginia
unincorporated community
Cobbler Mountains viewed from Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane
Delaplane, Virginia
Coordinates: 38°54′54″N 77°55′13″W
Country United States
State Virginia
CountyFauquier County
Nearest cityWashington, D.C.
50 miles (80 km)

History

Located in the heart of Virginia's famous Piedmont Hunt Country, Delaplane was originally known as Piedmont Station, a small village formed around a stop on the Manassas Gap Railroad. In 1874 it was renamed in honor of W. E. Delaplane,[1] a prominent businessman who generously restored operations at the local general store which had faltered in the aftermath of the American Civil War.

In 1861 General Stonewall Jackson marched his troops from Winchester to the Piedmont Station train depot, where they loaded onto rail cars headed for the First Battle of Manassas. This marked the first time a railroad had been used to move troops into battle.

Delaplane encompasses some of North America's oldest fox hunting territory, and from 1932 to 1945 Delaplane's Cobbler Mountain range hosted many of General George S. Patton's fabled escapades with his Cobbler Fox Hounds club. Patton was Master of fox hounds until his military transfer to Hawaii in 1935, and the club was disbanded ten years later upon receiving news of his untimely death in Heidelberg, Germany. Today Piedmont Fox Hounds based in The Plains, the oldest fox hunting club in the United States, still hunts Delaplane's rustic, stone wall lined terrain; as do Orange County Hunt based in Middleburg and Old Dominion Hounds.

In 1975 local resident and philanthropist Paul Mellon donated a 1,132-acre tract of land in Delaplane to the Commonwealth of Virginia creating Sky Meadows State Park which hosts the Delaplane Strawberry Festival sponsored by historic Emmanuel Episcopal Church every Memorial Day. The tract's previous owner, the late Sir Robert Hadow, was a Consul General from Great Britain and originally named the parcel Skye Farm after the island in Scotland which the area reminded him of. In 1991 Paul Mellon presented an additional 462-acre adjoining tract as a gift to the park. This tract, renamed the Lost Mountain Bridle Trail Area, was originally surveyed by George Washington and purchased by Washington from his client Lord Fairfax. More recently, in his memoirs Virginia Senator John Warner fondly recalls childhood summers spent working at Hill Crest Farm in Delaplane, while on break from St. Albans School in nearby Washington, D.C.

Village of Paris, northwest of Delaplane

Folk sculptor Steve Ashby lived in Delaplane for his entire life.[2]

Points of interest

Today the village of Delaplane remains home to Emmanuel Episcopal Church, an antique shop, and a working post office. Nearby towns of Upperville, Middleburg, and Marshall also provide commercial services to Delaplane's widely spaced residents.

Delaplane's proximity to Washington, D.C., as well as a remarkably well preserved 19th century agricultural heritage, gave rise to numerous and expansive country estates; many of which are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places such as Mount Bleak House, Moreland, Oak Hill, an early home of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States,[3] Ashleigh, Belle Grove, and Woodside.

Although Delaplane's farming community is historically associated with champion Black Angus cattle, Delaplane today comprises almost two-thirds of the Middleburg American Viticultural Area, with the Delaplane zip code encompassing more working vineyards than any other on the east coast of the United States.

Along with Sky Meadows State Park, Delaplane is home to the G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area, the Crooked Run Valley Rural Historic District, and Goose Creek, a designated Virginia State Scenic River. Delaplane Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in February 2004. The state-funded Virginia Outdoors Foundation along with private conservation groups such as the Piedmont Environmental Council have helped place the vast predominance of Delaplane's privately held land into perpetual conservation easement. These efforts, coupled with Delaplane's ensconcement within northern Fauquier County's most restrictive "RC" (Rural Conservation) zoning district, have imposed strict limits on development, and fostered the growth of local, family oriented farm-to-table efforts such as Hollin Farms and Valley View Farm that participate in the Piedmont Environmental Council's Buy Fresh Buy Local program.

Notes
  1. Delaplane Historic District NRHP nomination form prepared by Maral Kalbian and Margaret Peters. July 30, 2003. Section 8, p.17. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  2. Gerard C. Wertkin (2 August 2004). Encyclopedia of American Folk Art. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-95614-1.
  3. Journey through Hallowed Ground – Oak Hill at nps.gov. Accessed 2011-09-03.
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Wineries and vineyards
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