Ashburn, Virginia


Ashburn is a census-designated place in Loudoun County, Virginia. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 43,511. It is northwest of Washington, D.C. and part of the Washington metropolitan area.
The majority of the world's Internet traffic passes through Ashburn.

History

Ashburn was originally called Farmwell after a nearby mansion of that name owned by George Lee III. The name "Farmwell" first appeared in George Lee's October 1802 will and was used to describe the plantation he inherited from his father, Thomas Ludwell Lee II. A section of Farmwell plantation west of Ashburn Road, a tract, was purchased in 1841 as a summer home by John Janney, a Quaker lawyer who nearly became Vice President of the United States. Janney called the property Ashburn Farm; the name's first known appearance in writing is 1870 when he sold the property. It is likely he named the farm after family friends whose name was "Ashburn".
The Belmont Manor House and Janelia are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Ashburn is located at and its average elevation is above sea level. According to the 2010 United States Census, the CDP has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Ashburn is located between Washington Dulles International Airport and Leesburg, the county seat of Loudoun County.

Subdivisions

The Ashburn area consists of many major and minor subdivisions such as Ashbrook, Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village, the Courts and Ridges at Ashburn, Belmont Greene, Belmont Country Club, Brambleton, Broadlands, Preserve at Goose Creek, One Loudoun, Goose Creek Village North and South, and the Village of Waxpool.

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau defines Ashburn as a census-designated place. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 43,511 residents, while the larger ZIP Code Tabulation Area for Ashburn's 20147 ZIP code contained 54,086 people.
Many of its residents commute into Washington, D.C. and the surrounding suburbs such as Tysons Corner and Reston to their places of employment. The median household income as of 2009 was $100,719. Median age in Ashburn is 31.6. Ashburn's population is made up of 49% males and 51% females. The racial makeup of the CDP is White, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, Hispanic, and Other race. The total number of households accounted for in Ashburn was 22,555. The median household size is 2.9 persons. 98% percent of Ashburn residents have a high school degree. Some 42 percent of Ashburn's population holds a four-year bachelor's degree; 18 percent holds graduate degrees.
Homeowners formed 80 percent of the population. In addition, renters made up 13% of the population. There were 7% properties available as vacancies. The median age of housing was 5.0 years. The median housing value is at $345,000.

Economy

Located within the Dulles Technology Corridor, Ashburn is home to many high-tech businesses. World Trade Center Dulles Airport is the second World Trade Center in the state. Verizon Business has a major office in Ashburn at the location replacing MCI WorldCom's headquarters after its acquisition. Ashburn is also home to government contractor Telos, and Amazon Web Services’s us-east-1 region of cloud computing resources. Loudoun County houses over 60 massive data centers, with many housing the cloud operations of Amazon Web Services.
The George Washington University's Virginia Science and Technology Campus and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus are located in Ashburn. Redskins Park, the training camp for the Washington Football Team of the National Football League, is also located in Ashburn. The Wikimedia Foundation has its primary data center in Ashburn.
EADS North America, renamed Airbus Group, Inc., a defense contractor headed by former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, has a second location in Ashburn in addition to the main office in Herndon, Virginia.

Government

Federal

The United States Postal Service operates the Ashburn Post Office. The National Transportation Safety Board operates the Ashburn Aviation Field Office in Ashburn; it is the regional headquarters of the NTSB Aviation Eastern Region.

Education

Colleges and universities

and Strayer University have campuses in Ashburn. In December 2009, it was announced that George Mason University is planning to set up a campus in Ashburn, to be located at Exit 6 off the Dulles Greenway.

Primary and secondary schools

Educational institutions in Ashburn are operated by the Loudoun County Public Schools.
Ashburn's elementary schools include Ashburn Elementary School, Belmont Station Elementary School, Cedar Lane Elementary School, Creighton's Corner Elementary, Discovery Elementary School, Dominion Trail Elementary School, Hillside Elementary School, Legacy Elementary School, Mill Run Elementary School, Moorefield Station Elementary School, Newton-Lee Elementary School, Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School, Sanders Corner Elementary School, Steuart W. Weller Elementary School, and Sycolin Creek Elementary School. Ashburn's public middle schools include Eagle Ridge Middle School, Farmwell Station Middle School, Stone Hill Middle School, Brambleton Middle School, and Trailside Middle School. Public high schools in Ashburn include Briar Woods High School, Broad Run High School, Stone Bridge High School, Riverside High School, and Rock Ridge High School.
There are six private schools in Ashburn: Ideal Schools High School, St. Theresa Catholic School, Virginia Academy, Leport School, The Loudoun Country Day School, and County Christian School.

Media

Media covering Ashburn include Leesburg Today, and the Loudoun Times-Mirror.

Infrastructure

Washington Metro

When the second phase of the Washington Metro Silver Line is completed, Ashburn will be served by two metro stations: the Loudoun Gateway Metrorail Station, and the Ashburn Metrorail Station. The Silver Line will enter Ashburn in the middle median of the 267 Toll Road, after passing through Dulles Airport. The first stop in Ashburn will be the Loudoun Gateway station, and phase 2 of the Silver Line will end at the Ashburn station. Currently, the Silver Line to Dulles International Airport and the two Ashburn stops in Loudoun County, Virginia, is expected to open on or about July 6, 2020, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Emergency services

Ashburn's fire and emergency medical services are provided by a combination of the volunteers of Ashburn Volunteer Fire-Rescue Department and the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue & Emergency Management. AVFRD is a company under LCFR, and serves Ashburn with Stations 6 and 22, which is located next to Loudoun Hospital. LCFR operates the 24-7 career Moorefield Station 23, the first of its kind in the county. The Ashburn area is served by the Inova Ashburn Healthplex Emergency Room at the corner of the Dulles Greenway and Loudoun County Parkway as well as Inova Loudoun Hospital, located less than from Ashburn in neighboring Lansdowne, and by larger hospitals in the Washington suburbs and city.

Sports and entertainment center

One Loudoun, a new multimillion-dollar residential, sports, and entertainment development designed to be the downtown area of Loudoun County, and contains the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, restaurants, and housing.

Notable people