The pictures of Oak Hill in the body of the book and that of the meeting of the Middleburg Hunt on its spacious lawns, reproduced on the dust-jacket, are from the extensive collections of Mr. Frank C. Littleton. The original of the portrait of General George Rust of Rockland (1788-1857), builder of that cherished family seat in 1822, belongs to and is in the possession of a grandson, Mr. John Y. Rust of San Angelo, Texas, but a carefully executed copy hangs on Rockland's walls. During the two administrations of President Andrew Jackson, General Rust was in command of the United States Arsenal at nearby Harper's Ferry and for many years he was one of the most respected and influential of the County's citizens. The photograph of the original portrait herein used I owe to another grandson, Mr. E. Marshall Rust of Leesburg and Washington, as I do the picture of Rockland itself and that of the old John Janney residence in Leesburg, later so long the home of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Edwards, the latter a sister of Mr. Rust. They were all photographed in this masterly fashion by Miss Frances Benjamin Johnston of Washington. The pictures of Foxcroft, Oak Hill and the old Valley Bank in Leesburg are from the Pictorial Archives of Early American Architecture in the Division of Fine Arts of the Library of Congress and the negatives are also the work of Miss Johnston. Reproduction of the portrait of Nicholas Cresswell, the Journalist, is due to the courtesy of the Dial Press, of New York, publishers of the American edition of his journal. The original portrait is owned by Mr. Samuel Thorneley of Drayton House, near Chichester, West Sussex, England, a descendant of Cresswell's younger brother, Joseph Cresswell. The map of Loudoun is based on that prepared by Mr. Oscar L. Emerick in 1923, and is used by his kind permission. And now, gentle reader, step with me into the pleasant land of Loudoun. HARRISON WILLIAMS. Roxbury Hall Near Leesburg, Virginia March, 1938. CONTENTS PREFACE vii THE EARLIER INDIANS 1 ENGLAND ACQUIRES VIRGINIA 10 THE PASSING OF THE INDIANS 20 SETTLEMENT 31 THE MELTING POT 43 ROADS AND BOUNDARIES 60 SPECULATION AND DEVELOPMENT 72 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 83 ORGANIZATION OF LOUDOUN AND THE FOUNDING OF LEESBURG 97 ADOLESCENCE 114 REVOLUTION 123 THE STORY OF JOHN CHAMPE 142 EARLY FEDERAL PERIOD 159 MATURITY 182