group , the National League for Good Roads , and then a surprising ally joined the cause — railroad companies . Railroads saw road improvements as a good way to get people and products to their rail stations , and began sending “ Good Roads ” trains to rural stations to build a mile or two of macadamized road away from the station into the countryside .
All across Loudoun in the period before World War I , farmers began to form local clubs to share information and promote local agrarian interests . Macadamizing the county ’ s roads was high on the list of things they lobbied for . In 1915 , at the monthly meeting of the Lovettsville Club , the topic
of discussion was deciding which would be most beneficial to the local farmers — an electric supply to the area or improved public roads with a bridge at Brunswick , enabling access to the rail station there . The farmers chose the road and bridge over electricity .
Gradually , in the first part of the 20th century our old dirt roads began to sport drainage ditches , crowns and a surface of gravel . Those improved roads were better for the motor cars that revolutionized transportation , and later , they appealed to the revival of carriage driving , this time as a sport .
Nationally , according to Paula Bliss , the owner of a local driving horse training business , carriage driving as an equestrian sport is now a fast-growing discipline . “ In our immediate area ,” she says , “ there are several U . S . team members and dozens of high-performance drivers .”
Bliss has tapped into a synergy between her business and other rural enterprises ; most of her clients live either out of Loudoun County or in its eastern half , and come to enjoy western Loudoun ’ s amenities along with their horses . “ Some rent B & Bs over the weekend , and almost all of them are members of various winery clubs ,” she says , “ so that has been an interesting selling point for me .”
“ The overwhelming beauty of our area is best seen from a carriage !” says Bliss . “ As I drive , I think of how many generations have used our roads the way I do .” Horse-drawn vehicles have travelled Loudoun ’ s roads for centuries and it is the two-hundred-year-old surfacing technology that makes it such a pleasure today .
Emily Houston lives on a small horse farm in Paeonian Springs and serves on the boards of the Loudoun County Equine Alliance , Save Rural Loudoun , the Waterford Foundation and America ’ s Routes , a non-profit working to preserve Loudoun ’ s unpaved roads .
30 wander I fall • winter 2022
Photos : Douglas Graham
Paula Bliss and Lisette Graham drive along Purcellville Road near the Town of Hillsboro ; inset : Paula cares for one of her horses after a workout along the historic gravel roads of western Loudoun County .