Upperville, Virginia

Upperville is a small town in Fauquier County, Virginia, fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C. through which Rt. 50 runs. 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 name was changed to Upperville.

John Updike wrote of Upperville in his 1961 poem "Upon Learning That a Town Exists Called Upperville". [http://www.rosswrites.com/upperville.html]

National Register of Historic Places

Upperville has been designated as a Historic District and is a Virginia Historic Landmark that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Situated eight miles to the west of Middleburg, the Upperville/Middleburg area is home to a number of prominent Thoroughbred horse breeding farms and country estates. Part of Virginia's famous Piedmont horse country, the Upperville Colt & Horse Show was conceived by Colonel Richard Henry Dulany 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 and is listed with the National Register of Historic Places. Near Upperville, Californian Henry T. Oxnard built a horse breeding operation in 1903 that he named Blue Ridge Farm. Purchased by Rear Admiral Cary Travers Grayson in 1928, members of the Grayson family still own the property which too 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 and Diana Firestone's [http://www.newstead.com Newstead Farm] , Sandy Lerner's [http://www.ayrshirefarm.com Ayrshire Farm] , and the very prestigious Rokeby Farm of Paul Mellon. 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. In its 48th year, the Hunt Country Stable Tour raises money for the outreach programs of Trinity Episcopal Church. [http://www.middleburgonline.com/stabletour/]

References

* [http://www.upperville.com/ Upperville.com]
* [http://www.virginiasportsman.com/Upperville.pdf Story and Photos of Upperville by William T. Semple] (PDF)

ee also

* Battle of Upperville