The Plains is a small incorporated town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 245 as of the 2020 census, up from 217 at the 2010 census. It is centered on the intersection of VA 55 (John Marshall Highway) and VA 245 (Old Tavern Road). The town of The Plains is situated off I-66. As of November 2024, the mayor of The Plains is Lori Sisson.

History

In the 18th century, the Colony of Virginia progressively expanded westward and allowed Europeans to begin to construct settlements in the area. Before and during the Civil War, the area was called "White Plains" on maps and a Post Office was named "The Plains" in 1831. A two-story house, with a blacksmith's shop above, was built in 1852. During the Civil War, John S. Mosby and his Mosby's Raiders used The Plains as part of their raiding area they controlled. The Plains was incorporated as a town in 1910.

Geography

The Plains is located in northeastern Fauquier County at (38.862698, -77.775464). VA 55 leads southeast to Gainesville and west to Marshall. VA 245 leads southwest to I-66 at Exit 31. I-66 leads east to Washington, D.C., and west to Front Royal.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the census

Archwood Green Barns Farmer's Market features fresh, homemade and local products. Hours are Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. beginning the last Sunday in April through the 2nd Sunday in November. It is open the first two Sundays in December for the "Christmas on the Farm" show.

A museum exhibit, "Footprint to Change", is located at 4243 Loudoun Avenue near the train tracks that go through town. The building houses the Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County offices, library and archives as well as the museum.

Long Branch Baptist Church (est. 1786), the third oldest Baptist church in Virginia, lies north of The Plains in the unincorporated area called Halfway. The evangelist William Broaddus, founder of Southwestern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, was pastor there in the 1830s. His nephew John Broadus is often called "the father of homiletics" (preaching).

Wakefield School, a pre-school through Grade 12 independent school, is located just south of the town limits.

Actor Robert Duvall once owned a restaurant in The Plains called "The Rail Stop", named after the Norfolk Southern B-Line, which runs through the town. He made his residence north of town at his Byrnley Farm.

The town is also home to a seasonal corn maze owned and operated by a family in Charlottesville.

The National Association of Rocketry held NARAM-50 there in the summer of 2008.

The Masonic lodge was organized on a site near the present post office. The Plains Lodge U.D. held its first meeting on December 29, 1898, and continued to work "Under Dispensation" until the Grand Lodge of Virginia met in Alexandria on December 15, 1899, and issued the lodge a charter under the name of Cochran Lodge No. 271.

Beverley Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and most of the town was listed as The Plains Historic District in 2014.

Transportation

Highways directly serving The Plains include Virginia State Route 55 and Virginia State Route 245. SR 55 extends east and west, serving as a local service road to nearby I-66, while SR 245 provides the most direct connection to I-66 from The Plains.

<gallery mode="packed">

File:2018-10-11 13 07 39 View east along Virginia State Route 55 (Main Street) between Stuart Street and Bragg Street in The Plains, Fauquier County, Virginia.jpg|View east along SR 55 approaching SR 245

Image:CarterHotel-8368.jpg|Carter Hotel next to Norfolk Southern RR tracks

Image:HighSchool-8384.jpg|Old High School at west end of town

Image:TrainDepot-brick-8394.jpg|Train depot - brick

Image:TrainDepot-frame-8410.jpg|Train depot - frame

Image:FormerJail-8415.jpg|Former jail

</gallery>

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Fauquier County, Virginia
  • Virginia Plain

References

  • Town of The Plains official website
  • virginia.org website
  • Great Meadows
  • Virginia Gold Cup
  • Fauquier County tourism website
  • Cochran Lodge No. 271 A.F. & A.M.