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I’ll Trade You One Waterford Plat for Two Leven Powells
I’ll Trade You One Waterford Plat for Two Leven Powells
By Laura Longley
Early in the Covid pandemic, the Historic Records Division of the Loudoun County Circuit Court, which maintains county court records dating from the formation of Loudoun County in 1757, couldn’t provide educational tours or visit local schools.
Gary M. Clemens, Clerk, and Eric S. Larson, Historic Records Manager, devised a solution: create Loudoun history trading cards on frequently researched topics.
Inspired by an earlier project—13 “baseball trading cards” about the players and ballfields of Loudoun—they began expanding the card program to encompass Black history, the Loudoun County Courthouse, and plats of Waterford, Leesburg, Aldie, and, most recently, Middleburg.
“They’ve been very popular,” Clemens said. “Eric decides what topics in our current research are most relevant and oversees the content development.”
In the first set of cards, the content was relatively random. “We didn’t really have a theme,” Larson said. “We just picked up on our recent research and made the cards available to teachers and historic sites.”
The first topics included Loudoun Constables & Deputy Sheriffs, 1774 Loudoun Resolves, Preservation Month, the 1937 Loudoun Highway Map, the 1815 Middleburg Plat, and two historic figures — Elizabeth Quisenbury (1898-1998), an influential member of the County-Wide League advocating for better schools for Black children in Loudoun, and Leven Powell (1737-1810 ).
Powell represented Loudoun as an officer in the Revolutionary War and as a politician. A prominent landowner and supporter of the colonial cause, he was commissioned as a major in 1775 with the Loudoun Minutemen, then promoted to Lt. Colonel of the 16th Regiment of Virginia Continentals in 1777.
Falling ill at Valley Forge, Powell retired and returned home where he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He voted for adoption of the Constitution and served as a congressman from 1798-1800. Powell set aside 50 acres of his land to plan the town that became Middleburg.
The Historic Records Division is now focused on the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, which will be celebrated over the next two years, culminating on July 4, 2026. Established 22 years ago, the division currently is putting the finishing touches on a brochure featuring early Revolutionary War records up through the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Loudoun’s Board of Supervisors has been supportive in funding the initiative. Other partners include the Ketoctin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Van Huyck family.
In addition to the trading cards projects and managing countless requests for research guidance, several times a year Larson gives tours sponsored by the Thomas Balch Library. On those tours, he discusses the extent of Loudoun County’s records holdings, where to look for records of births, deaths, marriages, and deeds, and how to use these records in research.
The Historic Records and Deed Research Division maintains county court records dating from the formation of Loudoun County in 1757. Loudoun contains one of the most complete collections of court records in Virginia and is one of only a few of Virginia’s 98 counties whose records have not been destroyed by fire, war, or environmental factors.
Details: Trading cards can be obtained by email at CLERKS-ARCHIVES@loudoun. gov or by phone at 703-737-8775. The office is located at 18 E. Market Street in Leesburg. Hours are Monday- Friday, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m.
