Paeonian Springs Historic District
Also known as: Vdhr #053-5072
Why it's listed
Paeonian Springs is a small village in western Loudoun County, Virginia, laid out in 1890 by the Paeonian Springs Company, led by Theodore and John Milton. The founders aimed to bottle and sell water from a natural spring promoted for its healing properties, shipping it by rail to Washington and drawing summer visitors. Roughly 180 lots were platted, though only a handful were built on. The community thrived for about thirty years before federal food and drug regulation and the automobile led to its decline. The district covers about 47 acres and includes 59 contributing resources, mostly dwellings dating from about 1880 to 1910. They range from vernacular I-houses and side-passage houses to Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Craftsman examples. Surviving landmarks include the former bottling plant, two former boardinghouses, a former school and the public springhouse. The train station is gone, but the village retains its late-19th-century character and architectural integrity.
Significance in brief: The district is listed under Criteria A and C for Architecture and Social history. It preserves a largely intact late-19th and early-20th-century village laid out by the Paeonian Springs Company to market healing spring water and attract summer visitors by rail. Its dwellings, former boardinghouses, former bottling plant and other buildings show popular styles and vernacular forms of the period.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06000352, listed May 1, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Area inc. parts of Berry Bramble Ln., Catoctin Ridge St., Charles Town Pike, Highland Circle, and Simpson Circle, Paeonian Springs |
|---|---|
| County | Loudoun County |
| Listed | May 1, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000352 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1880-1955 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian (Queen Anne, Gothic Revival); Colonial Revival; Tudor Revival; Bungalow/Craftsman; I-house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mostly residential today. The former hotels, schools, stores and bottling plant have closed and been adapted to new uses; the community still has a post office, and the railroad line is now a bike path. |
| Acreage | 47 |
| Coordinates | 39.14867, -77.61719 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06000352.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14713036
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.