Broad Run Farms

Broad Run Farms Arial View Broad Run Farms, located in Northeastern Loudoun County, is the oldest planned development in the first modern subdivision in the Virginia Piedmont. It is a neighborhood of approximately 340 homes on 706 acres and is notable for its large lot sizes, diverse houses and semi-rural character. The neighborhood's first family, USAF Col. William and Virginia Fagg and their children, moved into the first home built here on May 2, 1952.

Location

Broad Run Farms is bordered by the Potomac River to the north, Broad Run to the west, the Countryside community to the east and Route 7 to the South. Google Maps. View larger arial photo.

Broad Run Farms Civ ic Association

Unlike most of its neighbor communities, Broad Run Farms has no compulsory Homeowners Association. Instead it has a voluntary Civic Association. Residents are fond of calling it the "Broad Run HOA: Homeowners Opposed to Authority." The BRFCA holds annual get-togethers for Halloween and summer, awards an annual scholarship, coordinates a neighborhood watch group and represents the neighborhood's interests to government representatives. By tradition Association presidents serve for only two years. Meetings are held at 8pm on the second Wednesday of every month at Galilee United Methodist Church.

Hidden Lan e Landfill

Broad Run Farms has access to the County's sewer system, but all properties draw their water from wells. Two wells in Broad Run Farms were found trichloroethylene, or TCE in 1989. TCE can increase the risk of cancer in cases of long-term exposure. The County conducted wider testing in 2005 after other wells tested positive in the intervening years, finding 22 wells contaminated. The source of the TCE is presumed to be the Hidden Lane Landfill located at the neighborhood's eastern border. In 2008, the EPA added the Hidden Lane Landfill to its list of Superfund sites.

Washington Post Profiles

The Washington Post has published two profiles of the Broad Run Farms Community. The articles describe "its "rural atmosphere", "irregular street pattern and treed lots and houses of all sizes, shapes and textures -- frame, brick and concrete block," in a neighborhood "nestled in a corner where the shallow water of Broad Run meets the Potomac River."

"One recent Saturday morning, the clip clop of horse hooves on pavement blended with a chorus of bird songs as teenagers Katie Wenger and Anna Nielsen rode their steeds through the community."

Where in most of Eastern Loudoun "you can't paint your house purple with polka dots", "one Broad Run Farms resident has done just that to his barn. The barn is visible from the path to the community's private boat launch area. Residents point to it as a symbol of the freedom they have to do what they wish with their property"