New Names Approved For Routes 7 And 50 In Loudoun County

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — New names are coming to Route 7 and Route 50 in Loudoun County, the county board of supervisors announced.

Route 7 is currently named Harry Bird Highway in Loudoun County, and Route 50 is called John Mosby Highway. Harry Bird Highway will become Leesburg Pike, while John Mosby Highway will be renamed Little River Turnpike.

County officials said the new designations will honor the names traditionally used for the roads. Route 7 and Route 50 were both developed as transportation and trade routes in the early 1800s between Alexandria and the Shenandoah Valley.

In September 2020, supervisors asked for an inventory of Confederate and segregationist symbols and names that were still in use in the county. Harry Bird Highway and John Mosby Highway were among the items that were recommended for renaming.

Koran Saines is the Board of Supervisors Vice Chair and represents the Sterling district. "People who supported the enslavement of others and the segregation of Americans should not continue to be honored today by having roads and facilities named after them or statues on display to pay tribute to them," Saines said. "The Board recommended these name changes and is taking additional steps to rename other features in the county that are within our purview because it is the right thing to do to demonstrate Loudoun is known as a moral and inclusive community."

The renaming will apply to the roads in unincorporated areas of the county, but will not affect the county's towns.

The new roadway names will be sent to the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board in early 2022 for final approval, officials said.

Loudoun County used a taskforce, which consisted of community members and members of the Heritage Commission, to research names and engage the public.

In Loudoun County, Route 7 was named for Harry Byrd, a former governor of Virginia who opposed the integration of schools. Route 50 was named for John Mosby, a colonel in the Confederate army.

More name changes are going to be considered in the near future, county officials said. In January, supervisors plan to consider changing the name of Kephart Bridge Landing. George Kephart, who the landing is named for, profited off of trading enslaved people, according to the county's researchers.

Loudoun County also plans to move forward with a process to rename Jeb Stuart Road in the Philomont area.

More information about the county's Confederate symbols registry and renaming efforts can be found online.

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