Guest blog by Preservation Manager, Lauren Murphy.
Happy Preservation Month!
The National Parks Service (NPS) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) recognize May as National Historic Preservation Month and communities across the country join in to bring awareness to the importance of heritage resources, landmarks, and cultural sites to our collective history.
The celebration began in 1973 as National Preservation Week, less than a decade after the adoption of the National Historic Preservation Act. The joint resolution of Congress was signed by then-president Richard Nixon, and First Lady Patricia Nixon hosted the third annual NTHP awards that year as well, highlighting the resolution. Eventually the week was expanded to a full month to support additional opportunities for heritage tourism and events surrounding historic preservation.
Community celebrations vary across the United States but this year, many focus on the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. In Leesburg, Preservation Month was celebrated with the second annual Preservation Day, hosted by the Town’s Preservation Division in the Department of Community Development.
Preservation Day began in 2025 to spread information about and for the promotion of the Leesburg Old and Historic District. This year’s sessions focused on the basics of the Historic District program, architecture at the time of the signing of the Declaration, upcoming Leesburg 250th plans, and a hands-on historic masonry experience.
During the final session, Senior Planner Heather Schmidt offered attendees the opportunity to recreate historic bonding patterns in small groups and demonstrated the porosity of historic brick and why that is a positive, but cautionary tale. All brick, but especially historic brick, has excellent water wicking abilities which allow the material to absorb water and dry itself out over time. When installed at the right thickness, the brick prevents that absorbed water from entering the building it protects. This also means that contemporary products, like cement mortar, can prevent the brick from doing that job and trap moisture inside the brick which leads to failure (spalling) and water damage.
Attendees were also able to observe the contents of traditional lime mortar thanks to the generous lending library of supplies from Cochran’s Stone Masonry (based in Lincoln, VA). The lime mortar is made with ingredients found locally – sand, lime, and water – and differs from building to building. Similarly, bricks were also formed from the local clay and soil which is why bricks in Leesburg might be different colorations amongst themselves and might be entirely different from brick in other regions of Virginia or other states.
The overarching goal of Preservation Day is to draw attention to the importance of historic preservation and support the historic district in Leesburg, not unlike National Preservation Month. The Leesburg Old and Historic District was adopted by the Town Council in 1963 and is the oldest historic district in Loudoun County. It is also one of the oldest in Virginia and pre-dates the National Historic Preservation Act.
Today, the Preservation Division is a team of three within the Department of Community Development. Property owners in Leesburg work with the Preservation Division to make appropriate exterior changes to properties in the district which could include minor actions like fences, signage, or patios and larger actions like additions, new construction, and material replacements. There are nearly 1000 properties in the Leesburg Old and Historic District and the district is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. There are also three National Historic Landmarks in Town – Dodona Manor, home of General George C. Marshall; the Charles Hamilton Houston courthouse; and portions of the site of the 1861 Battle of Balls Bluff (which also stretches into Loudoun County).
To learn more about Leesburg’s historic resources, the district, or the work of the Preservation team, please visit our website at www.leesburgva.gov/preservation and continue to support the local businesses of the Historic Downtown who help to keep our district a thriving destination for residents and visitors alike.