Leesburg

History

Prior to European settlement, the area around Leesburg was occupied by various Native American tribes. In 1670, John Lederer (1670) testified that the entire Piedmont region had once been occupied by the "Tacci, alias Dogi", but that the Siouan tribes, driven from the northwest, had occupied it for 400 years. In 1699, the Algonquian Piscataway (Conoy) moved to an island in the Potomac in the environs of Leesburg, and were there when the first known Europeans visited what is now Loudoun County. What later became Old Carolina Road and is present-day U.S. Route 15 was a major route of travel between north and south for Native tribes. According to local historians, a pitched battle was fought near present-day Leesburg between the warring Catawba and Lenape tribes, neither of whom lived in the area. A war party of Lenape had traveled from their home in New Jersey and neighboring regions, all the way to South Carolina to inflict a blow on their distant enemies, the Catawba. As they were returning northward, a party of Catawbas overtook them before they reached the Potomac River, but were defeated in a pitched battle south of Leesburg. The surviving Lenape buried their dead in a huge burial mound, and early settlers reported that they would return to this mound to honor their dead on the anniversary of this battle for many years thereafter. The date of this conflict is unknown, but it seems the Lenape and Catawba were at war in the 1720s and 1730s. European settlement near Leesburg began in the late 1730s as Tidewater planters moved into the area from the south and east, establishing large farms and plantations. Many of the First Families of Virginia were among those to settle in the area, including the Carters, Lees and Masons. The genesis of Leesburg occurred sometime…

Geography

Leesburg is located northeast of the center of Loudoun County, Virginia, at (39.1155, −77.5644), It is part of the northern Virginia Piedmont and sits at the base of the easternmost chain of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Catoctin Mountain. The town lies in the Culpeper Basin (an inland sea during the Jurassic period) and is adjacent to the valley of the Potomac River, so that the local relief is less pronounced than in other Virginia Piedmont towns. Elevation in town ranges from about , with the ridge of Catoctin Mountain rising to just west of the town limits. The Town Branch of Tuscarora Creek passes through the center of town, flowing east to Goose Creek, a tributary of the Potomac. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.54%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  51,843
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  46,566
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  36,991
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  36,400
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,860
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  33,033
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  32,040
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  30,788

Largest nearby schools

• INDEPENDENCE HIGH
  High · Ashburn · 2,013 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• RIVERSIDE HIGH
  High · Leesburg · 1,801 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• BRIAR WOODS HIGH
  High · Ashburn · 1,757 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• STONE BRIDGE HIGH
  High · Ashburn · 1,701 students · 13:1 ratio
• BRAMBLETON MIDDLE
  Middle · Ashburn · 1,621 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• POTOMAC FALLS HIGH
  High · Potomac Falls · 1,606 students · 13:1 ratio
• WOODGROVE HIGH
  Other · Purcellville · 1,597 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• BROAD RUN HIGH
  High · Ashburn · 1,583 students · 13.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-10-27
  4 km E of Riverside, Maryland
• M 2.6 — 2021-06-25
  2 km SE of Woodlawn, Maryland
• M 3.03 — 2016-01-17
  3 km NE of Ranson, West Virginia
• M 3.6 — 2010-07-16
  5 km NNW of Barnesville, Maryland