America’s Routes Fights to Save Loudoun’s Rural Roads

Stone walls flank gravel Millville Road in western Loudoun County.

By Linda Roberts

The bumper sticker on Doug Graham’s car reads, “I love Loudoun’s Rural Roads.” The slogan is the launch pad for Graham’s long-standing passion for keeping unpaved the miles of Loudoun’s gravel roads lacing the western part of the county.

Graham’s love affair with dirt roads peaked in the 1980s when, as a news photographer, he frequently traveled the back roads of the county on assignments.

“I was always fascinated by dirt roads, but I was totally hooked after driving the Old Waterford Road out of Leesburg and found it quaint, charming and visually appealing,” Graham said.

Watching as development began claiming parts of the county, Graham knew those roads would eventually disappear unless action was taken. That concern, coupled with his talents as a photojournalist, led him to consider publishing a book filled with striking images of life along Loudoun’s rural roads.

Fast forward to 2018 when Graham met with a handful of like-minded individuals that included journalist Danielle Nadler, writer and editor Emily Houston, preservationists Jane Covington and Mitch Diamond and historian Richard Gillespie.

The need for an immediate, widespread call to action came to life, and the America’s Routes organization was born. Graham temporarily shelved his book project to focus on the newly founded 501(c)3 organization capable of bringing widespread attention to the looming plight of Loudoun’s rural back roads. The America’s Routes website was launched, with immediate public feedback.

Often the bane of motorists who find the winding, bumpy roads ill-suited to today’s need for speed, the unpaved roads comprise a fragile network of dirt and gravel stretches that piece together some 300 miles of travel and history. It’s believed to be the largest such network in the country.

In collaboration with Jay Korff of ABC News, Graham, a longtime cyclist, hit the road on his bike, along with three days’ worth of camping gear, to embrace firsthand Loudoun’s rural roads. Their intent was to create a video entitled “The Long Road Home,” a documentary depicting life along the gravel roadways. The video quickly caught the attention of area and national media and is now posted on America’s Routes website.

Calls came in from across the country. The video also earned the Edward R. Murrow award in 2019, an Emmy Award and Virginia Press Association honors. Last year Preservation Virginia placed Loudoun’s rural roads on its most endangered list. For the past several years runners, walkers, horseback riders, moms pushing strollers, and farmers moving livestock from one pasture to another were joined by over 500 cyclists for the one-day annual 1725 Gravel Grinder, a long distance bike ride over Loudoun’s rural roads in support of America’s Routes.

Graham, who has “never stopped loving the gravel roads and appreciating their historic value,” is pointing toward another coveted prize. The organization’s small team of directors hopes to qualify for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. That would open up funding for America’s Route to continue its mission to leave the gravel roads unpaved.

Graham is still hoping to produce a book, “Stories from the Road,” and said, “if we lose these roads, we’ll lose our identity. They’re the character of what makes Loudoun unique.”

For additional information on America’s Routes visit americasroutes.com or contact Graham at wgwildlightphotos1@gmail.com or 540-467-2277. Country ZEST & Style | Fall 2021