Upperville is a small unincorporated town in Fauquier County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, United States, along

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C., near the Loudoun County line. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was originally named Carrstown by first settler Josephus Carr. Through an 1819 Act passed by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1 ...

, the name was changed to Upperville.

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth ...

wrote of Upperville in his sardonic 1961 poem ''Upon Learning That a Town Exists Called Upperville''.

History

Upperville has been designated as the Upperville Historic District and is a Virginia Historic Landmark that is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. Also listed are Blue Ridge Farm,

Oakley Oakley may refer to: Places Antarctica *Oakley Glacier United Kingdom * Oakley, Bedfordshire, England *Oakley, Buckinghamshire, England *Oakley, Dorset, England *Oakley, Fife, Scotland * Oakley, Gloucestershire, England * Oakley, Hampshire, En ...

, and Rose Hill Farm. Situated eight miles to the west of Middleburg, the Upperville/Middleburg area is home to a number of prominent

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics i ...

farms and country estates. Part of Virginia's famous Piedmont horse country, the

Upperville Colt & Horse Show The Upperville Colt & Horse Show is the oldest horse show in America. Started in 1853 by Colonel Richard Henry Dulany, the show was designed to showcase and improve local breeding stock in Northern Virginia. Colonel Dulany continued to run the show ...

was conceived by

Colonel Richard Henry Dulany Colonel Richard Henry Dulany (August 10, 1820 – October 31, 1906) was an American equestrian. Early life Richard Henry Dulany was born on August 10, 1820, in Unison, Loudoun County, Virginia. He was the son of John Peyton Dulany and Mary Ann D ...

and first held in 1853. It remains the oldest such event in America. A Dulany family member owned Oakley Farm. It was the site of two battles during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. Near Upperville,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

n Henry T. Oxnard built a

operation in 1903 that he named Blue Ridge Farm. Purchased by

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Cary Travers Grayson in 1928, members of the Grayson family still own the property which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Over the years, others who came to live in the area included heiress Isabel Dodge Sloane, who built the highly successful Brookmeade Stud, Llangollen estate where Liz Whitney Tippett lived for nearly six decades,

Bertram Bertram may refer to: Places * Bertram, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia *Bertram, Iowa, United States, a city * Bertram, Texas, United States, a city * Bertram Building, a historic building in Austin, Texas * Bertram Glacier, Palmer ...

and Diana Firestone'sbr>Newstead Farm
Sandy Lerner's, and the very prestigious Rokeby Farm of

Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/ breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hal ...

. It was Mellon who donated the money to build Trinity Episcopal Church in 1960 which is at the center of the small community's social activities. For two days each year more than ten horse farms and centers in Upperville and Middleburg open their gates to visitors. Since 1960, the Hunt Country Stable Tour has raised money for the outreach programs of Trinity Episcopal Church.

Notable people

* Sandy Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems, lives in Upperville, owning and operating a farm there. * Jill Holtzman Vogel,

Virginia State Senator The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

who with her husband owns a mansion in Upperville.A $7.25 million fixer-upper: Turning Bunny Mellon’s private art museum into a home
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References

External links

Upperville.com

Story and Photos of Upperville by William T. Semple
(PDF) {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Fauquier County, Virginia Former municipalities in Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links