Waterford sits in western Loudoun County, about 47 miles northwest of Washington and seven miles from Leesburg, and the locals will correct you if you call it a town. It’s a village, roughly 1,500 people, and the majority of its buildings date to before 1840.
That isn’t an accident of history. A Quaker named Amos Janney arrived from Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1733 and built a grist mill and saw mill on Catoctin Creek. The village grew into the second largest commercial center in Loudoun County—until the railroads bypassed it, and development simply stopped.
Among storybook villages across America, few are preserved this completely. In 1970 Waterford and 1,420 surrounding acres were designated a National Historic Landmark, and the Waterford Foundation has since protected the properties through more than sixty open space and facade easements.
Then comes the first weekend of October, when the whole place opens up.
What to Expect in Fall
The 82nd Waterford Fair takes place October 2 through 4, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. It’s Virginia’s oldest juried crafts fair, running since 1943, and its motto is An Autumn Celebration of Americana…