Upperville, Virginia

Upperville is a stone village on Route 50 at the point where Fauquier and Loudoun counties meet, in the middle of the best-known horse country in Virginia. The village is a few blocks. The market around it is measured in acres.

Two counties, one address

The county line runs through here, and the Upperville mailing address covers land in both Fauquier and Loudoun. Which side a property sits on decides the school division, the tax rate, and whose zoning and land use rules apply. It is the first question about any listing, not a detail to check later.

The village

A short run of stone and frame buildings along Route 50 holds shops, an inn, and Trinity Episcopal Church, the village landmark. It is small deliberately, and easements around it mean it will stay that way. Groceries and services are in Middleburg east, or Marshall and Warrenton south.

Horse country

Just outside the village, the Upperville Colt and Horse Show has run since the 1850s and is generally described as the oldest horse show in the country. Barns, rings, training facilities, trails, and the hunts are the working infrastructure of this area, and they are what much of the land is bought for. Zulla and Crenshaw Road hold farms and training operations; Route 50 west toward Paris climbs to the Blue Ridge with long views.

What you are actually buying

An estate purchase here is a land purchase, and the documents matter more than the house:

• the conservation easement, recorded with the deed, which permanently sets what can be built, subdivided, or altered, and runs with the land whoever owns it;
• the water supply, whether well, spring, or both, and its tested flow;
• the septic and drainfield capacity, and the size of dwelling it is permitted for;
• any land use taxation enrollment, and what a change of use would cost in roll-back taxes;
• the county.

Schools

Fauquier’s side generally runs through the Fauquier High School pyramid; the Loudoun side through Loudoun County Public Schools. Bus rides are long either way. Confirm the county first, then the assignment.

Getting around

Route 50 runs east to Middleburg and west over Ashby Gap into the Shenandoah Valley; Route 17 crosses at Paris. There is no rail or bus. Dulles is roughly forty-five minutes east.

Buying or selling here

Few transactions, often quiet, and each one particular. Buyers should expect a longer process and should spend it on the easement, the water, and the county rather than on comparables that do not really exist. Sellers with the documentation prepared — easement, survey, water tests, septic permit, land use status — reach a far wider set of the small pool of buyers who work in this market.