Paeonian Springs

In all of Loudoun County, there is just one small road sign pointing to Paeonian Springs. That sign on the westbound side of Route 9, a few miles west of Leesburg, shows the way to a village that isn't all that different from the way it was at the turn of the century, although the Washington & Old Dominion railroad no longer makes eight stops a day there on its way to and from Washington. With its restored Victorian houses, country cottages, gravel roads and open spaces, the hamlet looks much as it did when it was a summer retreat for heat-weary city dwellers.

The development of Paeonian Springs began in 1871 with the arrival of the Washington & Ohio Railroad, which later became the Washington & Old Dominion. In 1890, a group of local developers placed advertisements publicizing a new resort town near the Blue Ridge Mountains. By 1901 there were three hotels, or boarding houses, a downtown section that extended from the train depot, and a village green. By 1912, a boardwalk linked the depot with the post office, a confectionery store, a mill, a blacksmith shop, a wheelwright shop and a staples store. The area began its decline in the 1920s.

The Paeonian Springs Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.