Willard, Virginia

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Modified 1915 map of Willard area

The former unincorporated community of Willard (also known as Willard Crossroads) was located in what is now a part of Washington Dulles International Airport in the U.S. state of Virginia.

The village was named after Joseph Edward Willard, who was a delegate to the Virginia General Assembly from 1893 to 1901. Even though Willard was located in Loudoun County, he represented Fairfax County, due to the village's location, only 1,500 feet from the county border. Willard owned a 50-acre estate in Fairfax. His father was Joseph Clapp Willard, the owner of the famous Willard Hotel, located in Washington, D.C.

Willard was located at the intersection of Willard Road (now Stonecroft Boulevard) and Sterling Road (now Horsepen Road). This intersection was surrounded by farms, homes, a school, a church, the Willard Store (until 1907), and Blue Ridge Airfield (1938-1951). In the early 1900s, the town of Willard stood west of Floris, north of Pleasant Valley, and south of Farmwell (now Ashburn). Although Willard's heyday was between 1900 and 1910, it was still regarded as a crossroads until 1958, when construction of Washington Dulles International Airport began.

When Dulles was under construction, Willard was demolished to make way for airport terminals and a control tower. Its surroundings were replaced by runways, hangars, a fire station, and parking lots (common in most airports). Blue Ridge Airport was turned into what is now the airport's main parking lot, located inside "Saarinen Circle". Dulles took over 26 square miles of Virginia land from not only Willard, but Chantilly, Pleasant Valley, Sterling, and Ashburn, which shows the immense size of it. By 1962, most traces of old roads and buildings had been wiped out, and airport operations had taken over. However, Willard Road (Stonecroft Boulevard) was kept and is now used for private access and inner-airport transportation, in between Runways 1L/19R and 1R/19L.

[edit] External links

Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.9417775° -77.4338771°
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- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

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	Loudoun County, Virginia
County Seat	Leesburg
Towns	Hamilton \| Hillsboro \| Leesburg \| Lovettsville \| Middleburg \| Purcellville \| Round Hill
Unincorporated communities	Airmont \| Aldie \| Arcola \| Ashburn \| Belmont \| Bloomfield \| Bluemont \| Brambleton \| Britain \| Broadlands Conklin \| Dover \| Dulles \| Elvan \| Eubanks \| Gleedsville \| Georges Mill \| Gilberts Corner \| Howardsville \| Lansdowne Leithtown \| Lenah \| Lincoln \| Loudoun Heights \| Lucketts \| Morrisonville \| Mount Gilead \| Neersville \| Oak Grove \| Oatlands Paeonian Springs \| Paxson \| Philomont \| Potomac Falls \| Potomac Green \| Randolph Corner \| River Creek \| Ryan Saint Louis \| Scattersville \| Silcott Spring \| South Riding \| Sterling \| Sterling Park \| Stewartown \| Stone Ridge \| Stumptown Sycolin \| Taylorstown \| Telegraph Spring \| Trapp \| Unison \| Virts Corner \| Waterford \| Watson \| Waxpool \| Wheatland Willard \| Willisville \| Woodburn
Geography	Between the Hills \| Bull Run \| Bull Run Mountains \| Catoctin Creek \| Catoctin Mountain \| Goose Creek \| Hogback Mountain \| Little River \| Loudoun Valley \| Potomac River \| Short Hill Mountain