Today, Loudoun County is a thriving and expanding county of more than 400,000 people. It is renowned for its breathtaking scenery, vibrant history, diverse business opportunities, comfortable neighborhoods, and top-notch public services. Loudoun County is a regional, national and international leader in economic success and quality of life. The county's landscape is characterized by a series of parallel chains of hills and mountains that are rounded in shape and gradually descend into the plains.
This gives the area a great deal of diversity and beauty. In 1899, Loudoun was the third largest producer of corn in Virginia with 46,248 acres and the highest producer of corn with 1,538,860 bushels. The county is also known for its low crime rate compared to other jurisdictions in the national capital area. A SmartAsset study found that Loudoun residents get more for their money than people in any other Virginia county and it ranks 80th out of 3000 counties across the country.
Loudoun County was also a major supporter of the principles on which Virginia's withdrawal from the Union was based. In March of that year, the Judges of the Loudoun County Court recommended a list of militia officers to the governor. The first permanent settlements in Loudoun began between 1725 and 1730 when immigrants obtained ninety-nine-year leases on the land at two shillings per 100 acres. In 1900, Tazewell topped the list of Virginia counties in both number and weight of sheared fleeces, followed by Loudoun with 15,893 fleeces and an unwashed weight of 87,440 pounds.
The geology of more than half of Loudoun County has been thoroughly studied by Arthur Keith in his work entitled “Geology of the Catoctin Belt” published by the United States Geological Survey. During the Civil War, Colonel Mosby's partisan operations were mainly limited to Loudoun and Fauquier Counties as well as Blue Ridge which served as a refuge when he was outnumbered. Loudoun County is home to 313,90,216 acres of some of the best farmland in Virginia. It is an eminently diversified region that offers a first-class quality of life.
