Between the Hills

Between the Hills is a sub-valley of the greater Loudoun Valley in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Geography

The Between the Hills valley encompasses the area of the Loudoun Valley that lies west of Short Hill Mountain and east of the Blue Ridge Mountain. The area includes the communities of Neersville and Loudoun Heights.

Between the Hills can be divided into two sections; the upper and lower valley. The upper valley encompasses the area north of the Hillsboro Gap in the Short Hill, while the lower valley encompasses the area south of the gap.

The valley ranges from 2.5mi wide at its largest, just south of the Hillsboro gap to 1.4mi wide at its smallest, east of Purcell Knob and is approximately 11mi long.

The main waterways of Between the Hills are the North Fork of the Catoctin Creek which drains the lower valley before flowing through the Hillsboro gap into the Catoctin Valley and Piney Run which drains the upper valley and flows north through the valley directly to the Potomac River.

Transportation

State Route 671, Harpers Ferry Road, is the main road in the valley, running north-south through the upper valley from its southern terminus at Virginia State Route 9, Charles Town Pike, west of Hillsboro, to its northern terminus at U.S. Route 340, south of the Sandy Hook bridge over the Potomac River and east of Harpers Ferry. State Route 719, Stony Point-Woodgrove road runs north-south through the lower valley from Hillsboro to Woodgrove. The Charlestown pike bisects the valley, running southeast-northwest from the Hillsboro Gap to Keyes Gap in the Blue Ridge.

History

During the American Civil War, a Between the Hills resident, John Mobberly, gained notoriety as a Confederate guerrilla. During the last two years of the war, he successfully disputed control of the area through his daring exploits, until his assassination outside of Neersville in April 1865. In late November-early December much of the Between the Hills valley was put to the torch by Union cavalry during The Burning Raid, including Potts Mill, the ruins of which can be seen from off Stony Point Road.

References

Scheel, Eugene M. "Loudoun Discovered: Communitites, Cornors and Crossroads, Vol V. Waterford, The German Settlement and Between the Hills." The Friends of the Thomas Balch Library; Leesburg, Virginia 2002.