If you were to visit the town of Herndon, Virginia today, you would think of it as any other town. It has a town center, houses, stores, and main streets. What very few people know is that this suburb of Washington D.C. has a deep-rooted history.
Who is Herndon named after? It is named after William Lewis Herndon, the commander of the S.S. Central America, a ship that sank in 1857 in a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean while in route from Panama to New York City. It is said that Commander Herndon saved his crew as he went down and perished with the ship.
It is named for a sea captain, but there is no navigable waterway in the town. How is it named for a sea captain? William Herndon and his wife were born in Virginia. He was born in Fredericksburg, and she was born in Culpeper.
How did the town begin? The town was made possible by the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad. The railroad passed through a region of dairy farms, and the railroad, which later became the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, was used to take the dairy products to the ports of Alexandria, to Washington D.C. and points beyond. It was also a vacation spot and a town where people from points north came to live to escape the extreme cold climates of places like the western part of the state of New York and northern Pennsylvania. Passenger service allowed people to travel to and from Herndon to other parts of the country. The railroad line, however, struggled to keep running during its time. It was last used to send construction supplies to Dulles International Airport. In the year 1968, the railroad line was abandoned, and the rails were taken up. Years later, it was converted into a rail trail. The days of the railroad in Herndon are gone… but not forgotten.
Visit the town of Herndon today, and although the railroad no longer passes through the town, the town remembers its railroad beginnings. The train depot is in its original location, and it is now housing a museum telling not only the history of Herndon as a town built by the railroad, but it has a small area dedicated to William Herndon. Just a short walk from the old train depot is a caboose that was originally from the Norfolk Southern Railroad but painted to the colors of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad. The museum is open on Sunday afternoons from 12:00pm to 3:00pm, and it is operated by the Herndon Historical Society. The Town Center of Herndon is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
You can also pay a visit to Frying Pan Farm Park located two miles south of the Herndon Depot. Frying Pan Farm Park is the site of the Kidwell Farm, a farm that benefited from the arrival of the railroad as many of its products were shipped by the railroad by way of the Herndon Depot. It is the only surviving farm in the Herndon region. It is now operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority, and the farmhouse and barns are open for tours. There is also a small exhibit in the Visitor Center about how the products were shipped by railroad and how the train depot benefited the farm. Although the park is open from dawn to dusk, the farm is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm. The farm is at 2709 West Ox Road, and the Visitor Center is at 2739 West Ox Road in Herndon, Virginia.
The next time you pass through the town of Herndon, Virginia and through the town center, you may want to get out and walk around. Except for the railroad no longer passing through the town, you may feel like nothing has changed.
John Cowgill – Photographs and text Copyright 2022
Another great story about another small town that has so much history. There are many in America, but not enough saved and use the old station for something like this so people can not only see what it was but have an interpreter tell them about it!
I remember seeing traffic on the old W&OD once, in its later years (mid – late 60’s) outside the beltway. That particular day the power was a C&O Alco S-2. I had just assumed that the C&O had taken over the W&OD. It was only years later that I found out that I saw it in the twilight.