Project Progress

I have been busy at work researching the "Grubb farm ruins" in Loudoun County, Virginia. Fortunately the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg is a treasure trove of information, as well as help. I've looked through the archives of the Library of Virginia, as well, to study chancery records of one of the land owners in the 1850s. Aerial photographs and old maps have been wonderful in locating the property before I was ever able to set foot on it. Perhaps the most interesting, though, is that I have yet to be able to connect the name Grubb to the property. So far, I've been able to trace the ownership of the parcel of land in Digges Valley back to it's original sale from Lord Fairfax to a Mr. George Atwood in 1737, when the land was still part of Prince William County (Loudoun County formed in 1757 out of Fairfax, which formed out of Prince William County in 1742).

The Grubb family was a large family in Loudoun County that originally came to the colonies from England in the mid-1600s and settled in Delaware. The founding family member's grandson, William Grubb, came to the area in the 1760s. There is a property in present day West Virginia, south of Charles Town, that has been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places and called the William Grubb House. Another branch of the family settled there when William came to present day Loudoun. His progeny prospered during the mid-1800s and were divided by the politics of the Civil War.

At the moment, I'm continuing my research on how the land passed from owner to owner, what the land was used for (agricultural censuses), and if I can find any information on when the structures were built and by whom. I would love to get out to the site in order to take pictures if I'm able to get permission from the current land owner. If I'm not able to reach him before the project is due, another student who did a field study of the site this past summer has kindly said she will send me photos that I can use.