At least two different railroad stations stood where you are now standing. When the Alexandra, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad (later the W&OD) arrived in 1860, the aptly named crossroads of Farmwell became one of the many rail stops that served agrarian Loudoun County. In 1896, after an ash tree caught fire and supposedly burned for a week, Farmwell changed its name to Ashburn.
Loudoun County had more than 1,200 farms at the time. The railroad transported the cash crops of wheat, corn, and oats as well as livestock and dairy products. By 1891, early morning trains through Farmwell carried some 4,000 gallons of milk to Washington each day.
Not all milk reached its destination. Certain crewmen sometimes churned milk into butter during the trip, sold it at the next stop, kept the money, and discarded the empty milk cans in Goose Creek.
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