Willard, Virginia
| Willard, Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated area | |
 Willard & surrounding area, circa 1940, with an overlay of the current Dulles runways | |
  Willard, Virginia Location within the Commonwealth of Virginia | |
| Coordinates: 38°56′25″N 77°27′2″W / 38.94028°N 77.45056°WCoordinates: 38°56′25″N 77°27′2″W / 38.94028°N 77.45056°W | |
| Country |
 United States of America |
| State |
 Virginia |
| County |
 Loudoun |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
The former unincorporated community of Willard (also known as Willard Crossroads) was located in what is now a part of Washington Dulles International Airport in the U.S. state of Virginia.
The village was named after Joseph Edward Willard, a delegate to the Virginia General Assembly from 1893 to 1901, then Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Even though Willard lived in Loudoun County, he represented Fairfax County, due to the village's location, only 1,500 feet (460 m) from the county border. Willard owned a 50-acre (200,000 m2) estate in Fairfax. His father was Joseph Clapp Willard, the owner of the famed Willard Hotel, located in Washington, D.C.
Willard was located at the intersection of Willard Road (now Stonecroft Boulevard) and Sterling Road (now Horsepen Road). This intersection was surrounded by extensive farmland, housing, schools, places of worship, the Willard store (until 1907), and Blue Ridge Airfield (1938–1951). Willard stood west of Floris, north of Pleasant Valley, and south of Farmwell (now Ashburn). Willard was regarded as a crossroads and a distinctive community until construction of Washington Dulles International Airport commenced in 1958.
Approximately 26 square miles (67 km2) of Virginia land from Willard, Chantilly, Pleasant Valley, Sterling, and Ashburn was purchased for construction. By the airport's completion, all remains of civilization prior to 1958 on this land had virtually disappeared, with the only exceptions being a stretch of Willard Rd (used as a service road), as well as three storage outbuildings located between Runways 1C/19C and 1R/19L.
External links
- Scheel, Eugene (November 17, 2002). "Dulles Airport Has Its Roots in Rural Black Community of Willard". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- Freeman, Paul (December 12, 2008). "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Virginia: Loudoun County: Blue Ridge Airport, Chantilly, VA". Paul Freeman. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- Parvez, Gibran (August 10, 2009). "Dulles Area Historical Database - Willard". Gibran Parvez. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
