Eighteen years ago, on December 19, 1989, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the $13.75 million purchase of a 357-acre tract of land in Sterling that had formerly been owned by Dr. Claude Moore.

At that time, it was the largest acquisition of parkand the county had ever made.

Now known as Claude Moore Park, the property includes the last undeveloped section of historic Vestal's Gap Road, which runs across the park. The land includes parts of two land grants that were made by Lord Fairfax in 1729. The Lanesville House, built in the late 1700s, was used as a post office and as an ordinary by travelers on Vestal’s Gap Road.

Dr. Moore had purchased the property in 1941. In 1975, he donated the land to the National Wildlife Federation, which owned the property until 1986, managing it as a wildlife education facility.

In 1986, the National Wildlife Federation sold the property to the development firm of Miller and Smith for $8.5 million. However, in 1987, Loudoun County voters approved a $15 million bond referendum to purchase the property, and the county began to take steps to acquire it for use as parkland.

A conceptual plan filed by the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation in January 1989 called for a portion of the parkland to be used as a nature preserve, and the remainder for active recreational purposes and a community recreation center. After the parkland was purchased by the county, a volunteer group known as Friends of Claude Moore Park formed to help open the park on weekends.

Claude Moore Park now includes a Sportsplex with four lighted baseball fields and three lighted softball fields as well as a lighted football field and unlighted practice field. The fields are used primarily for softball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, football, and flag football programs.

The nature area has 11 miles of hiking trails and hosts many diverse habitats, including wetlands, meadows and forests. It also includes the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, Visitor Center, Education Center, Frogshackle Nature Center, amphitheater, two picnic pavilions, two fishing ponds and an 1860s log cabin.

In March 2007, the county celebrated the grand opening of the 20,000-plus square-foot Claude Moore Recreation Center, which is located in the park. The center boasts a 50-meter competition swimming pool and a leisure pool with giant water slide and hot tub spa. It also features a 10,000 square-foot gymnasium, an aerobic center, and a “teen space.”

Sources: Loudoun Times-Mirror

Loudoun County press releases

Loudoun County website, www.loudoun.gov

Loudoun Overview

Image: Members of the Board of Supervisors tour Claude Moore Park property, summer 1994, photo by Jim Barnes

This is one of a series of weekly releases from the Loudoun County Office of Public Information during 2007, highlighting landmark events in the Loudoun County government over its 250-year history.