Inventory of Confederate & Segregationist Symbols

In September 2020, the Board of Supervisors initiated an inventory of Confederate and segregationist symbols in Loudoun County. 

Members of the public were invited to participate in an informational informal inventory of roads, buildings, signs and other public infrastructure that memorialize Confederate and segregationist figures or history in Loudoun County by submitting such sites through an online mapping tool.

Since the review was completed in July 2021, the Board has approved measures to address, change or prohibit the current and future naming of county roads after Confederate or segregationist figures, symbols or slogans

Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park
At its January 18, 2022 meeting, the Board of Supervisors directed the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) to submit a new name for Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park in the Lansdowne community. The park’s name references nearby grist mills, which were named for Elizabeth Clapham, the wife of local landowner and slaveholder Samuel Clapham. After his death, those enslaved persons were held by Elizabeth.

PRCS has initiated the public process to rename the park, which includes opportunities for the public to provide input. Those interested in proposing a name should submit their recommendations by email to PRCS. The deadline for submissions is Monday, February 7, 2022. 

Jeb Stuart Road and Fort Johnston Road
The county’s inventory also identified Jeb Stuart Road, located in the Philomont area, which has been named for Confederate General James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart since 1962, and Fort Johnston Road, just west of the Town of Leesburg, which references a Civil War-era fort named for Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. In November  2021, the Board approved moving forward on renaming these two roads.

In addition, the county will engage the Town of Round Hill in a coordinated effort to rename streets identified in the inventory that are located within the Hillwood Estates subdivision, because portions of some of these roads fall outside of Loudoun County’s jurisdiction. 

Future Naming
In November 2021, the board initiated the process for amending the county’s General Naming Standards ordinance to include a section that prohibits using Confederate and segregationist names for future county roads and to pursue the renaming of existing or reserved street names that are in violation of these new criteria.

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