The Loudoun Museum had a surprising beginning and continues on a rich journey. In the mid 1960’s, The Town of Leesburg needed to make room for more parking and planned to pull down a former dry cleaners. Hidden under the siding, they discovered Stephen Donaldson’s silversmith shop, a log cabin dating to as early as 1764. Along with this, the Town later bought two additional buildings that ultimately formed the Museum complex.
From the start, in 1967, there was huge pride in the fledgling organization. Individuals felt they could make contributions to preserving and documenting the County’s history by either lending their artifacts or donating them outright. Over the years, the Museum has built up an extraordinarily diverse collection that includes:
- Archives: Documents signed by George Washington and James Monroe and letters exchanged between freed slaves writing home from Liberia to their former masters
- Maps: 1853 Yardley Taylor map of Loudoun County
- Fine Arts: Landscape by Loudoun artist Lucien Whiting Powell; family portraits of Loudoun residents with unique stories to tell
- Photographs, Postcards: Loudoun then AND now
- Textiles: 19th Century Quaker friendship quilt; Civil War era gowns; early schoolgirl samplers; hand-woven coverlets
- Furniture and Tools: 18th Century tall clock; the Edwards collection from a 19th Century Ashburn area farm; 19th Century tool box and tools
- Machinery: Cash register from Raflos ladies wear store; early 20th Century business machines; natural gas-powered iron
- Toys: 19th Century dolls, banks, and more
As noted in a recent article printed in Leesburg Today, board member Don Ashbaugh and Curator Alana Blumenthal praise the quality of the collection. “I suspect the collection is one of the best for a community that’s this small; it shows confidence in the Museum and pride in the county”, Ashbaugh said. Blumenthal agreed, calling it “above and beyond what one would expect from a local museum.” She also praised the high level of curatorial management over the years and said it would be hard to find a comparable level of curatorial expertise in a local museum.
To ensure the long-term stability of The Loudoun Museum for future generations, the Board and staff of the Loudoun Museum are working on many exciting projects that will help the Museum move forward. New fundraising opportunities, an expansion of traveling exhibits, and a massive push to increase web presence are all exciting steps in this next phase.
Portions of this content are courtesy of Margaret Morton and Leesburg Today.
The Loudoun Museum is supported by funding from the Virginia Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
