The area now known as Leesburg was first settled between 1725 and 1730. In 1742, the land of Lord Fairfax’s Fairfax Proprietary was designated Fairfax County then in 1757 Fairfax County was divided and the western portion was deeded to his nephew, John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun. Leesburg, founded in 1758, was named to honor the Lee family of Virginia. Belmont and Coton Hall in Loudoun and Sully, straddling the Fairfax/Loudoun county line, were Lee family estates. Two of the Lees of this era were signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Leesburg and Loudoun County served as the seat of government of the United States for a brief period during the War of 1812 when the British burned Washington. President Madison was a guest of Ludwell Lee at Belmont and the documents of the United States, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, were stored in a safe in the basement of Rokeby, near Leesburg. Today the Leesburg downtown Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places and Leesburg is cited as one of the best preserved and picturesque downtown areas in Virginia.

Tavistock Farms has been an active part of the Leesburg and Loudoun County economy since the early 1800's. The Myers family owned and farmed the property for almost 100 years, from the 1850s until 1950. Beginning in 1950, the property changed hands several times and in December 1986 was sold to a developer, Tavistock Farms General Partnership. In May 1990, The Partnership subdivided the property and began development. After a brief time, both the developer and the funding bank went under and the property was taken over by the Resolution Trust Corporation. During the early 1990’s, the RTC divided the development and sold the information center property at the Sycolin Road entrance and several lots to both developers and individuals.

In December, 1994, Arcadia Development purchased the property and resumed development. Today, all 305 single-family lots are developed and completion of the 213 unit town home portion of the development is well underway with completion of construction planned for the second quarter of 2003.

If you are interested in a property in Tavistock Farms, please contact the Arcadia sales office located on the property at 651 Burnside Terrace (703)771-8281,or visit their web site, www.arcadiabuilding.com. For information on available resale properties, contact your Realtor or visit our business card section for a list of Realtors who are residents of Tavistock Farms.

For more information about the history of the area, visit the historical links on the left side of this page and read the thesis written by Marcee Judd and Earnest Gibson about Tavistock Farms and the Myers family.