Businesses Past, Present
and Future Centered in Proposed Historic District |
By KATHLEEN LUCKARD
Member, Round Hill Planning Commission
At the turn of the 20th century, Round Hill businesses provided
services for the surrounding farming community and for the wealthy
visitors from Washington, D.C., who, according to local historian Eugene
Scheel, took the train to Round Hill “to escape the heat, humidity and
threat of disease.”
The summer visitors even spurred entrepreneurial activity, as Round Hill
youngsters would wait at the train station on Friday nights, in hopes of
earning a nickel for carrying someone’s suitcase.
In her book, “A Story of Round Hill,” Round Hill historian and former
resident Ann Whitehead Thomas describes a wide array of early businesses
catering to life’s necessities and niceties, including blacksmiths, a
wheelwright, bank, drug store, dentist, doctor, dressmakers, milliners,
general stores and boarding houses.
Round Hill businesses even provided services for the end of life. “Flave
and Walter Howell took care of all funeral processions in those days,”
Thomas quotes Martha Howell as saying. “Walter provided the casket;
brother Flave, the flowers; and Mr. Lynch’s livery stable across Main
Street, the wagon, or hearse, which was used for all funerals.” The
marble and granite works, of course, could supply artistic tombstones.
Then the train line was extended to Bluemont, and the Blue Ridge Inn,
near Bear’s Den, became the area’s premier summer vacation spot. The
ride from Round Hill took 1½ hours over soggy, flooded Route 7, but the
wagon ride from Bluemont was only half-hour. Round Hill’s heyday as a
tourist destination waned, and over the following decades, so did many
of its businesses.
In the coming weeks, the story of Round Hill’s historic businesses and
residences will be documented by architectural historian and consultant
Maral Kalbian. She has been hired to perform fieldwork as part of the
nomination process to place the Town’s proposed historic district on the
Virginia Landmarks Registry and the National Register of Historic
Places.
In addition to her own photographs and research, Kalbian is also seeking
historic postcards, photographs and any other information that can be
used in the nomination. Please contact the Town Office at 338-7878 if
you have any materials to contribute.
Register designation is strictly honorary and places absolutely no
limitations on what owners may do with their property or their
buildings. However, property owners who renovate structures in the
historic district will have a chance to take advantage of very generous
federal and state preservation tax breaks for commercial enterprises.
Details about the tax credits can be found at
www.dhr.virginia.gov/tax_credits/tax_credit.htm.
Round Hill has recently revised its zoning ordinance for businesses in
the central commercial district, part of the proposed historic district.
Many of the uses allowed in this district echo those of years past,
including banks, florists, general stores, or tailors, while other
possibilities, such as internet or cybercafés, appeal to more modern
sensibilities. The complete list is available at
www.roundhillva.org/Default.asp?Page=208#7.2.
While today’s Round Hill may not want to offer the “complete funeral
experience” of years gone by, old Round Hill may find a new niche in
western Loudoun yet. All it takes is a few entrepreneurs. |
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| Supporting Local Businesses Enhances
Community |
By LISA ZIMMER-CHU
Editor, News aRound the Hill
The bottom line, it’s commonly agreed, is economics. For businesses,
it’s about profit; for customers it’s about cost. But there’s an
emerging concept for measuring success that includes social and
environmental—as well as economic—values and criteria. It provides good
reason for Round Hill residents to “buy local.”
“Triple Bottom Line,” or “People, Planet and Profit” is a model that
considers the complexity of transportation costs to provide and obtain
goods and services. It also acknowledges the reciprocal relationship
between business and community.
“Buying local” is not a new idea, and though consumers are increasingly
seeking locally produced foods, it also applies to other businesses. The
number one reason to buy local, according to Loudoun County Community
Economic Manager Philip Denino, is simply to “support your community.”
Supporting local businesses contributes to economic diversity and helps
preserve a community’s unique character.
Despite that storefront businesses in Round Hill are limited to a
handful of landmarks, the Town has issued 60 licenses to businesses
operating within Town limits, including many that are home-based. The
directory on the Town website (www.roundhillva.org) lists an additional
49 businesses within the 20141/42 zip codes, and also includes
non-profits.
Although the list of local businesses includes rental properties and
contractors working in town, categories also include business services
(i.e. communications and management), personal services (i.e. hair,
lawn, cleaning,) professional services (i.e. medical, real estate,
surveying), retailers (food, antiques, automobile parts, home
accessories, personal items), eateries, various repair services, and
builders/contractors.
If you still want to know the “bottom” line, in 2007 Round Hill
collected $15,600 in Business License fees alone, which are based on
gross receipts, constituting just over 3% of the town’s annual budget.
Additional revenue is paid to the town for personal property for
commercial use (i.e. computers, vehicles, etc.), and is based on
assessments made by the County Commissioner of Revenue.
Aside from the aforementioned 109 businesses, more than 160 employees
spend their workdays in Round Hill, just between the public schools,
Post Office, Town Office, PRCS, fire department, and the Sheriffs
substation. Although Round Hill Elementary School has the most, with
85-90 employees, the largest independent employer has nine.
Town Treasurer Betty Wolford, one of the rare but not wholly unique
people in the situation of both living and working in Round Hill, says
the “benefit is the short commute, and getting to know your
neighbors—not just those who live right here, but everyone who comes in
to the Town Office.” And that’s the triple bottom line.
(To add your business information to the online business directory,
contact the Town Office.) |
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