Catoctin Valley

The Catoctin Valley is a sub-valley of the Loudoun Valley in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Geography

The Catoctin Valley encompasses the part of the Loudoun Valley east of the Short Hill Mountain and west of Catoctin Mountain. Its northern border is the Potomac River, while its southern border is an intangible line running from the southern terminus of the Short Hill to the base of Catoctin Montain, located approximately two miles north of Virginia State Route 7.

The valley contains the communities of Waterford, Lovettsville, Wheatland, Morrisonville and Taylorstown.

The valley is approximately 7mi. wide and 11mi wide.

The valley is drained by the Catoctin Creek and its tributaries.

Transportation

Virginia State Route 287, the Berlin Turnpike, is the major road through the valley, running north-south from the Potomac River to Virginia State Route 7. Virginia State Route 9 runs east-west across the very southern portion of the valley.

History

The valley was settled in the 1730's by German and Quaker immigrants who migrated south from southern Pennsylvania. They established small self-sufficient farms centered around small mill villages. They brought with them and employed few if any slaves. This region of Loudoun stood in stark contrast to the southern Louduon Valley and areas east of the Catoctin Mountain, where plantation-style farming was established by English settlers moving north out of Tidewater Virginia. During this American Civil War, due to the peoples disinclination for the use of slaves and their strong economic ties to Maryland, this area of Loudoun was strongly Unionist in sentiment. As a result, early in the war, fierce partisan fighting broke out between the areas Unionist soldiers, the Loudoun Rangers and the county's pro-Confederate soldiers, at The Fight at Waterford.