You may download a Self-Guided
Trail Walking Tour brochure (or pick up one at the trailhead
behind Waterford’s Old Mill) to learn about the cultural
and natural history of the Farm. As you hike the trail, you
will understand the relationship of the Farm to the growth
of the village, and why this property is so important to
Waterford’s status as one of America’s National
Historic Landmarks.
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The Phillips Farm
History
The rolling vistas of farmland surrounding Waterford have
been part of the village’s visual history for hundreds of
years. Walking in the village today, you see rural field patterns
that would be very familiar to villagers in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.
In 2003, the Phillips Farm, 144 acres
of farmland southwest of the village, was slated to be subdivided
into multiple lots. Had that development occurred, destroying the
pastoral viewshed beyond the South Fork of the Catoctin Creek,
Waterford’s National
Historic Landmark status would have been seriously jeopardized.
The Waterford Foundation and its many supporters secured nearly
$4 million to purchase the Phillips Farm. It is now preserved as
open space in agricultural use forever, through a conservation
easement held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. A copy of the
easement is available upon request from the Foundation office.
Education and Management
The opportunities on the Farm to further
our understanding of this region’s agrarian past are numerous
and fascinating. Protection of the site’s natural resources
and agricultural use of the Farm are requirements of the conservation
easement. Much of the Farm is leased to a local farmer for haymaking.
In 2008 the Waterford Foundation released a Management
and Land Use Plan carefully developed over a two-year period to ensure responsible
stewardship of the Farm in accordance with the requirements of
the conservation easement. Protection of the site’s natural
resources and support of agricultural uses of the Farm, key requirements
of the easement, are highlighted. So is its historic significance
to the area. The plan also contains directions to the Farm, an
Access Policy, and Rules of the Trail for visitors. A copy of the
complete plan is available upon request from the Foundation office.
One educational goal for the Farm is the promotion of habitat
restoration and water quality. In collaboration with the Loudoun
Wildlife Conservancy, a demonstration project on the South Fork
of the Catoctin Creek began in spring 2008, and volunteers continue
to return to the Farm several times each year. The project consists
of planting a riparian buffer to protect the environmentally fragile
Catoctin Creek watershed, as well as an effort to control invasive
plant species on the Farm (such as multiflora rose and tree of
heaven). Water quality monitoring is another part of the effort.
Bird and butterfly counts and guided nature walks have added to
the property’s
public outreach programs.
Check the calendar on the foundation home page to learn about upcoming
educational events on the Farm.
Interpretive Trail
 |
Visitors
can walk the new interpretive (shown in red) along the south
fork of Catoctin Creek., west of the village. |
In September 2009 an interpretive trail officially opened. Trail
markers and a brochure detail the natural and cultural history
on the property, with numbered posts corresponding to points of
interest. This trail project was funded by a generous grant from
the Peter M. Howard Memorial Fund through the Piedmont Community
Foundation and the volunteer efforts of Rob Hale, John Souders,
and Committee Chair Mimi Westervelt.
We welcome visitors and ask their help in preserving this special
place. You may download a Self-Guided
Trail Walking Tour brochure (or pick up one at the trailhead behind Waterford’s Old Mill)
to learn about the cultural and natural history of the Farm. As
you hike the trail, you will understand the relationship of the
Farm to the growth of the village, and why this property is so
important to Waterford’s status as one of America’s
National Historic Landmarks.
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