Beyond Purcellville
The trail ends here but the story does not. The founders of the Alexandria, Loudoun, & Hampshire (later the W&OD) sought to rival the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for the coal of West Virginia and the trade of the Ohio Valley. By 1900 the railroad finally reached Snickersville, seven miles west of here, but never continued across the Blue Ridge. Snickersville's name was promptly changed to Bluemont to capitalize on a niche the founders never envisioned: the resort trade.
The hill towns of western Loudoun County provided an escape from summer heat. In 1914 you could pay one dollar for a 2 1/2-hour train ride from Washington to Bluemont. Another dollar got you a motor coach tour that featured views of the Loudoun Valley to the west. Business thrived until the 1930s when automobiles became widely available and tastes in tourism changed. In 1939 service to Bluemont ended, the tracks were torn up, and the right-of-way sold.
Marker is at the intersection of North 21st Street (County Route 690) and North 23rd Street on North 21st Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
