| Acres of Land in Farms. | Per cent of Increase.
|---------+-----------+-------------+---------+----------+------------
Census | | | | Total | Improved | Unimproved
Year. | Total. | Improved. | Unimproved. | Land. | Land. | Land.
-------+---------+-----------+-------------+---------+----------+------------
1900 | 313,902 | 251,874 | 62,028 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 4.8
1890 | 294,896 | 235,703 | 59,193 | [*]1.3 | 1.4 | [*]11.
1880 | 298,869 | 232,391 | 66,478 | 8.2 | 15.1 | [*]10.7
1870 | 276,291 | 201,888 | 74,403 | [*]6.7 | [*]8.3 | [*] 1.9
1860 | 296,142 | 220,266 | 75,876 | .5 | 5.7 | [*] 1.2
1850 | 294,675 | 208,454 | 86,221 | - | - | -
-------+---------+-----------+-------------+---------+----------+------------
[* - Decrease.]
The most striking fact to be noted concerning the reported farm areas
is the comparatively great decrease in the decade 1860 to 1870. This
was, of course, one of the disastrous effects of the Civil War, from
which the South, in general, after more than forty-five years, has not
yet fully recovered, as is shown by the fact that in some of the South
Atlantic states the reported acreage of farm land in 1900 was less
than it was in 1860.
A continuous increase is shown in the area of improved farm land
except in the decade 1860-1870. The decrease in the amount under
cultivation, reported in the census of 1870, was due to conditions
growing out of the change in the system of labor which prevented a
complete rehabilitation of agricultural industry.
Only three other of the 100 Virginia counties reported larger improved
areas in 1900, viz: Fauquier, 291,734 acres; Pittsylvania, 280,456 and
Augusta, 276,459.
TABLE II.--_Number of Farms by Decades: Summary, 1850 to
1900._
1900 1,948
1890 1,818
1880 1,841
1870 1,238
1860 1,207
1850 1,256
Comparison of the number of farms reported in 1850 with the number at
the last census shows an addition in fifty years of 692 farms.
The great increase between 1870 and 1880 is seen at a glance. During
this period the large plantations were steadily undergoing partition,
in consequence of the social and industrial changes in progress after
the Civil War.
TABLE III.--_Farms Classified by Area--1900._
Under 3 acres 22
3 and under 10 acres 155
10 and under 20 acres 171
20 and under 50 acres 246
50 and under 100 acres 264
100 and under 175 acres 396
175 and under 260 acres 324
260 and under 500 acres 274
500 and under 1,000 acres 88
1,000 acres and over 8
TABLE IV.--_Number of Farms of Specified Tenures, June 1,
1900._
Owners 1,116
Part owners 173
Owners and tenants 18
Managers 48
Cash tenants 232
Share tenants 361
-----
Total 1,948
POPULATION.
The persistent high price of Loudoun lands has discouraged increase of
population by immigration. Indeed, in more than eighty-five years,
except for the slight fluctuations of certain decades, there has been
no increase through any medium.
The last census (1900) fixed Loudoun's population at 21,948, of which
number 16,079 were whites, 5,869 negroes, and the remaining 101
foreign born. This aggregate is even less than that shown by the
census of 1820, which gave the county a population of 22,702, or 754
more than in 1900.
The succeeding schedules, giving complete statistics of population for
Loudoun County by the latest and highest authority, were taken from
United States Census reports, collected in 1900 and published in 1902.
_Population, Dwellings, and Families:_
_1900._ _Private Families._
Population 21,948 Number 4,195
Dwellings 4,157 Population 21,690
Families 4,231 Average size 5.2
_Private Families Occupying Owned and Hired and Free and Encumbered
Homes, 1900._
Total private families 4,195
_Farm Homes Owned._ _Other Homes Owned._
Free 959 Free 622
Encumbered 257 Encumbered 147
Unknown 120 Unknown 81
Hired 648 Hired 1,169
Unknown 7 Unknown 185
----- -----
Total 1,991 Total 2,204
_Native and Foreign Born and White and Colored Population, Classified
by Sex, 1900._
_Native born._ _Native White--Foreign Parents._
Male 10,634 Male 114
Female 11,213 Female 121
_Foreign born._ _Foreign White._
Male 59 Male 58
Female 42 Female 42
_Native White--Native Parents._ _Total Colored._
Male 7,583 Male 2,938
Female 8,161 Female 2,931
In 1860, one year before the outbreak of the Civil War, the County
held within its boundaries 21,774 souls: 15,021 white, 5,501 slave,
and 1,252 free colored. In number of slaves at this period Loudoun
ranked thirty-sixth in the list of Virginia counties which then also
included the counties now in West Virginia. This number was
distributed amongst 670 slave-holders in the following proportions:
1 slave 124
2 slaves 84
3 slaves 61
4 slaves 83
5 slaves 46
6 slaves 39
7 slaves 35
8 slaves 27
9 slaves 22
10 and under 15 slaves 80
15 and under 20 slaves 36
20 and under 30 slaves 23
30 and under 40 slaves 4
40 and under 50 slaves 4
50 and under 70 slaves 1
100 and under 200 slaves 1
The following table gives the population of Loudoun County
decennially, from and including the first official census of 1790:
1900 21,948
1890 23,274
1880 23,634
1870 20,929
1860 21,774
1850 22,079
1840 20,431
1830 21,939
1820 22,702
1810 21,338
1800 20,523
1790 18,952
The reports of population by magisterial districts given below, with a
single exception, show an appreciable decrease between the years 1890
and 1900:
----------------------+-------+-------
| 1900. | 1890.
----------------------+-------+-------
Broad Run district | 3,309 | 3,463
Jefferson district | 3,106 | 3,307
Leesburg district | 4,299 | 4,246
Lovettsville district | 3,104 | 3,210
Mercer district | 4,010 | 4,570
Mt. Gilead district | 4,120 | 4,478
----------------------+-------+-------
The following incorporated towns for the same period are charged with
a corresponding decrease in the number of their inhabitants:
-------------+-------+-------
| 1900. | 1890.
-------------+-------+-------
Hamilton | 364 | 407
Hillsboro | 131 | 156
Leesburg | 1,513 | 1,650
Lovettsville | 97 |
Middleburg | 296 | 429
Waterford | 383 | 385
-------------+-------+-------
These circumstances of fluctuation and actual decrease might appear
singular if it could not be shown that practically the same conditions
obtain elsewhere in the State and Union, or wherever agriculture is
the dominant industry. Especially is this true of the counties of
Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William, and Fairfax, in Virginia, and
Jefferson, in West Virginia. All these farming communities adjoin
Loudoun and exhibit what might be called corresponding fluctuations of
population between the above-named periods.
A decrease then in the population of any of these districts is
obviously due, in a large measure, to the partial or total failure of
the crops which causes the migration of a portion of the population to
large cities or other parts of the country. If the failure occurs
immediately preceding a census, the decrease shown will, of course, be
large.
As another contributing cause, it can be positively stated that the
disfavor in which agriculture is held by the young men of Loudoun, who
seek less arduous and more lucrative employment in the great cities of
the East, is, in part, responsible, if not for the depletion,
certainly for the stagnation of the county's population.
The white population of Loudoun County in 1880, 1890, and 1900 was as
follows:
_Census._ _Population._
1880 16,391
1890 16,696--305 increase.
1900 16,079--617 decrease.
The negro population of Loudoun County for the same periods was:
_Census._ _Population._
1880 7,243
1890 6,578--665 decrease.
1900 5,869--709 decrease.
The figures show that the negro population has steadily decreased,
while the white population increased from 1880 to 1890, and decreased
from 1890 to 1900. The proportion of decrease for the negroes was much
greater than for the whites. As the occupations of the negroes are
almost entirely farming and domestic services, crop failures
necessarily cause migration to other localities, and as Washington and
Baltimore are not far distant and offer higher wages and sometimes
more attractive occupations, there can be no doubt that the decrease
is principally due to the migration to those cities.
INDUSTRIES.
Agriculture, in many of its important branches, is by far Loudoun's
leading industry, and is being annually benefited by the application
of new methods in cultivation and harvesting. The farmers are thrifty
and happy and many of them prosperous.
During the Civil War agriculture received a serious set-back, as the
County was devastated by the contending armies, but by hard work and
intelligent management of the people the section has again been put
upon a prosperous footing.
The agricultural methods in use throughout the County are very
uniform, notwithstanding the fact that there are a comparatively large
number of soil types in the area.
A system of general farming, with few variations, is practiced,
although some of the soils are much better adapted to the purpose than
are other soils of the area. The system of rotation practiced consists
of drilling in wheat and timothy seed together on the corn stubble in
the fall, and sowing clover in the following spring. The wheat is
harvested in the early summer, leaving the timothy and clover, which,
after obtaining a good growth, is grazed or cut the next year for hay.
This land is then plowed, and the following spring corn is planted, to
be followed by wheat again the next fall, thus completing the
rotation.
Loudoun's gently sweeping hills and broad valleys support great herds
of cattle and flocks of sheep, and yield immense crops of corn, wheat,
oats, and other cereals. More corn is produced and probably more live
stock marketed by Loudoun than by any other of the 100 counties of
Virginia.
The wheat is either sold for shipment or ground into flour by the many
mills of the County, which mainly supply the home demand. The surplus
is shipped chiefly to Washington and Baltimore. The major portion of
the corn is used locally for feeding beef cattle, dairy stock, and
work animals. Hay is shipped in large quantities and the rye, oats,
and buckwheat are mostly consumed at home. Considerable pork is
fattened in the County and many hundred head of cattle are annually
grazed to supply the Washington and Baltimore markets.
A Government statistician was responsible for the following statement,
based, no doubt, on the creditable showing made by Loudoun in the
census of 1880: "Taken as a whole, probably the best farming in the
State is now done in this (Loudoun) County." Of Virginia counties, it
stood, at that time, first in the production of corn, butter, eggs,
and wool, and in numbers of milch cows and sheep, and second only to
Fauquier in the number of its stock cattle.
The breeding of superior stock and horses is an important branch of
the County's agricultural activities. A contributor to _Country Life
in America_, in an article entitled "Country Life in Loudoun County,"
says of it: "And the raising of animals is here not the fad of men of
wealth who would play at country life. It is a serious business,
productive of actual profit and a deep-seated satisfaction as
continuous and well grounded as I have ever seen taken by men in their
vocation."
The wealthier class of citizens of course specialize, each according
to his personal choice. One, with 1,500 acres, all told, does a large
dairying business and raises registered Dorset horn sheep, large white
Yorkshire swine, registered Guernsey cattle, and Percheron horses.
Another, with a like acreage, specializes in hackneys. A third, on his
300 or more acres, raises thoroughbreds and Irish hunters. A fourth,
with 1,000 acres, fattens cattle for market and breeds Percheron
horses, thoroughbreds, hackneys, and cattle. A fifth, owning several
thousand acres, fattens cattle for export. A half dozen others, on
farms ranging from 200 to 1,000 acres, raise thoroughbreds or draft
animals. These are the specialties; on all the farms mentioned the
owners have their secondary interests.
Some of the farmers whose capital will not permit the purchasing of
high-priced breeding stock, have long been engaged in the business of
finishing cattle for the market, animals being shipped from Tennessee,
West Virginia, and elsewhere to be fattened on the wonderful grasses
of Loudoun County. These steers are pastured from several months to
two years, or according to their condition and the rapidity with which
they fatten.
Sheep are to be found on most every large farm and are kept for both
wool and mutton. Buyers visit these farms early in the winter and
contract to take the lambs at a certain time in the spring, paying a
price based on their live weight. When far enough advanced they are
collected and shipped to eastern markets.
The rapid growth of near-by cities and the development of
transportation facilities have exerted a great influence in the
progress of the dairy industry in Loudoun County, increasing the
demand for dairy produce, making possible the delivery of such
produce in said cities at a profit to the farmer, and thereby inducing
many to adopt dairy farming as a specialty instead of following it as
incidental to general agriculture.
The dairy cows in Loudoun, June 1, 1900, numbered 8,563, of which
7,882, or 92 per cent were on farms, and 681, or 8 per cent, were in
barns and enclosures elsewhere.
If the number of dairy cows, June 1, 1900, be taken as a basis, the
five most important Virginia counties arranged in order of rank are as
follows: _Loudoun_, 8,563; Augusta, 7,898; Rockingham, 7,312; Bedford,
6,951; and Washington, 6,792.
If prime consideration be given to the gallons of milk produced on
farms only in 1899, the counties rank in the following order:
_Loudoun_, 3,736,382; Fairfax, 3,310,990; Bedford, 3,244,800;
Rockingham, 3,141,906; and Augusta, 2,993,928.
If greatest weight be given to the farm value of dairy produce, the
order is as follows: Fairfax, $301,007; Henrico, $247,428; _Loudoun_,
$242,221; Pittsylvania, $200,174, and Bedford, $194,560.
From every point of view but the last, Loudoun ranked as the leading
dairy county of Virginia. The relative rank of other near competitors
varied according to the basis of arrangement. The value of dairy
produce is materially influenced by nearness to markets and also by
the average production per farm, and these factors assisted in
modifying the rank of Loudoun with reference to farm values of dairy
produce.
The good prices obtained for apples during recent years have led some
to plant this fruit on a larger scale than heretofore, and the result
is so far quite gratifying. Apples do well on most of the soils of
Loudoun. The best are sold to buyers who ship to large markets. The
poorer qualities are kept for home consumption, used for cider and fed
to hogs. Pears are grown in small quantities throughout the County.
Peaches do well on most of the soils, but yield irregularly on account
of frosts. All indigenous vegetables succeed well, but are mostly
grown for home consumption, market gardens being conspicuously scarce.
Hosts of summer boarders give to Loudoun a large transient population
requiring for its accommodation numerous hotels and countless boarding
houses. This trade brings considerable money into the County and is a
factor in its prosperity not to be ignored.
Scattered over Loudoun may be found great numbers of small industries,
many of them employing steam, water, or motor power. These comprise
grist mills, grain elevators, quarries, canneries, packing houses, saw
mills, an artificial ice plant, and miscellaneous enterprises. Though
comparatively insignificant taken singly, viewed collectively they
show an aggregate of energy and thrift wholly commendable.
Several of Loudoun's more important enterprises were launched
subsequent to the last general census and this circumstance renders
its reports of manufactures, at no time complete or entirely reliable,
of uncertain value as a symposium of the County's manufacturing
interests at the present time. However, they are the latest reports
obtainable and constitute the only official statistical exhibit of
this subordinate source of wealth. They afford at least a partial
insight into the present status of the manufacturing interests of
Loudoun and, to this end, are reprinted below:
Number of establishments 164
Number of proprietors and firm members 197
Capital: Expenses:
Land $25,957 Fuel and rent of power
Buildings 79,350 and heat $8,811
Machinery, etc 104,402 Miscellaneous 12,935
Cash and sundries 141,548 Cost of materials used 424,538
-------- --------
Total $351,257 Total $446,284
Value of products $638,136
FARM VALUES.
The tables appearing under this and the two succeeding kindred
headings were constructed from the latest general census reports, and
are a most complete and trustworthy statistical exhibit of the
agricultural resources and products of Loudoun County. TABLE
I.--_Value of all farm property, including implements and
machinery and live stock, with increase and decrease, and per cent of
increase and decrease, by decades: Summary 1850 to 1900._
--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------
Census | Value of | Increase in | Per cent | Average
year. | all farm | decade. | of | value per
| property. | | increase. | farm.
--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------
1900 | $11,056,109 00 | $971,459 00 | 9.6 | $5,675 62
1890 | 10,084,650 00 | [#]729,731 00 | [#]6.7 | 5,547 11
1880 | 10,814,381 00 | [#]1,437,636 00 | [#]11.7 | 5,874 19
1870[##]| 12,252,017 00 | 323,187 00 | 2.7 | 9,896 62
1860 | 11,928,830 00 | 2,446,073 00 | 25.7 | 9,883 04
1850 | 9,482,757 00 | | | 7,549 97
--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------
[##: Values in gold.]
[#: Decrease.]
An especially great increase in the total value of farm property will
be noted in the decade from 1850 to 1860. Then followed the Civil War
with its great destruction of farm property, and from this disaster
the County did not fully recover before 1890.
The average value per acre of all farm property in Loudoun increased
from $32.18 in 1850 to $35.22 in 1890.
TABLE II.--_Value of farms with improvements, including
buildings, with increase and per cent of increase, by decades: Summary
1850 to 1900._
--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+---------
Census | Value of | Increase in | Per cent | Average | Average
year. | farms. | decade. | of | value per | value
| | | increase. | farm. |per Acre.
--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+---------
1900 | $9,138,560 00 | $518,830 00 | 6.0 | $4,691 25 | $29 11
1890 | 8,619,730 00 | [#]911,524 00 | [#]9.6 | 4,741 33 | 29 23
1880 | 9,531,254 00 | [#]1,345,752 00 | [#]12.4 | 5,177 22 | 31 89
1870[##]| 10,877,006 00 | 368,795 00 | 3.5 | 8,785 95 | 39 37
1860 | 10,508,211 00 | 2,158,840 00 | 25.9 | 8,706 06 | 35 48
1850 | 8,349,371 00 | | | 6,647 59 | 28 33
--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+----------
[##: Values in gold.]
[#: Decrease.]
In 1900 there were only two counties of Virginia with higher farm
values than Loudoun. They were Rockingham, with $11,984,440, and
Augusta, with $11,464,120.
TABLE III.--_Value of land and buildings, with the per cent
of the total represented by the value of buildings, June 1, 1900._
Land and improvements (except buildings) $6,649,690 00
Buildings 2,488,870 00
-------------
Total $9,138,560 00
Per cent in buildings 37.4
TABLE IV.--_Number of farms and number and per cent of those
with buildings, June 1, 1900, with average values of land and
buildings._
Number of farms:
Total 1,948
With buildings 1,933
Per cent with buildings 99.2
Average value of--
Land, per farm $3,414 00
Land, per acre 21 18
Buildings, per farm 1,278 00
Buildings, per farm with buildings 1,288 00
TABLE V.--_Total and average value per farm of farm
implements and machinery, with increase and decrease and per cent of
increase and decrease in the total value, by decades: Summary 1850 to
1900._
--------+---------------+--------------+-------------+-----------
| Value of farm | | |
| implements | Increase | Per cent | Average
Census | and | by | of | value per
year. | machinery. | decade. | increase. | farm.
--------+---------------+--------------+-------------+-----------
1900 | $295,910 00 | $103,000 00 | 53.4 | $151 90
1890 | 192,910 00 | 9,683 00 | 5.3 | 106 11
1880 | 183,227 00 | [#]23,473 00 | [#]11.4 | 99 53
1870[##]| 206,700 00 | [#]31,564 00 | [#]13.2 | 166 96
1860 | 238,264 00 | 42,470 00 | 21.7 | 197 40
1850 | 195,794 00 | | | 155 89
--------+---------------+--------------+-------------+-----------
[##: Values in gold.]
[#: Decrease.]
The percentage of increase was least for the decade 1880 to 1890.
After 1870 the farmers did not, until 1900, report as large
investments in machinery as they did prior to the war.
Only two other Virginia counties reported higher values of farming
implements and machinery in 1900. They were Augusta, with $439,090,
and Rockingham, with $436,340.
LIVE STOCK.
_Values_.
The total value of the live stock _on farms_ only, June 1, 1900, was
$1,621,639, or 14.7 per cent of $11,056,109, the reported value of all
farm property. Of the live stock value, domestic animals, worth
$1,556,935, constituted 96 per cent; poultry, worth $58,276, 3.6 per
cent; and bees, worth $6,428, .4 per cent.
TABLE I.--_Reported value of live stock on farms with
increase and decrease and per cent of increase and decrease, by
decades, and average values per farm and acre._
--------+---------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+----------
Census | Value. | Increase of | Per cent | Average | Average
year. | | value. | of | value per | value
| | | increase. | farm. | per Acre.
--------+---------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+----------
1900 | $1,621,639 00 | $349,629 00 | 27.5 | $832 46 | $5 17
1890 | 1,272,010 00 | 172,110 00 | 15.6 | 699 68 | 4 31
1880 | 1,099,900 00 |[#]68,411 00 | [#] 5.9 | 597 45 | 3 68
1870[##]| 1,168,311 00 |[#]14,044 00 | [#] 1.2 | 943 71 | 4 23
1860 | 1,182,355 00 | 244,763 00 | 26.1 | 979 58 | 3 99
1850 | 937,592 00 | - | - | 746 49 | 3.18
--------+---------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+----------
[##: Values in gold.]
[#: Decrease.]
_Animals Sold and Slaughtered._
The census enumerators and special agents secured reports of the
amounts received from the sale of live animals in 1899, and of the
value of animals slaughtered on farms. With reference to reports of
sales, they were instructed to deduct from the amount received from
sales the amount paid for animals purchased.
TABLE II.--_Receipts from sales of live animals and value of
animals slaughtered on farms, in 1899, with averages and number of
farms reporting._
Farms reporting domestic animals 1,911
Amount of sales $392,852 00
Average amount of sales per farm 205 57
Value of animals slaughtered 109,618 00
Average value of animals slaughtered per farm 57 36
_Neat Cattle._
The total number of neat cattle in Loudoun County reported June 1,
1900, was 30,277, of which 29,432 or 97.2 per cent were on farms, and
845 or 2.8 per cent in barns and inclosures elsewhere.
Fauquier, with 34,098, led all counties in the number of neat cattle,
Loudoun ranking second, with 30,277. In the number of dairy cows,
Loudoun headed the list of Virginia counties with 8,563, or 665 more
than its nearest competitor, Augusta county.
Of calves, Augusta reported 5,476; Rockingham, 5,416; Washington,
4,177, and _Loudoun_, 4,090.
TABLE III.--_Number of Heifers and Cows on Farms, June 1,
1900, with Percentages._
Heifers 1 and under 2 years 1,917
Dairy cows 2 years and over 7,882
Other cows 2 years and over 588
------
Total 10,387
======
Per cent:
Heifers 18.5
Dairy cows 75.9
Other cows 5.6
_Dairy Products._
TABLE IV.--_Gallons of milk produced on farms in 1899, and
gallons sold and estimated gallons consumed on the farm for specified
purposes._