The Ralph Stanley Greenway

Ralph Stanley

I first came to Loudoun County in 1937 but I don’t remember much about that year. I was just beginning to focus on my new world. But I do remember the County in the 1940s. My dad thought he was a farmer, but was smart enough to realize that he could not support a family this way, so he continued to practice law in Washington. For as long as I can remember we drove from Washington to our farm just south of Leesburg on Goose Creek and Little River almost every weekend and spent every summer here while my dad commuted to Washington. (Read: All Roads Lead to Home)

I have a vivid memory of every crossroad along Rt. 50, the fastest route until Rt. 7 was improved. We would often stop at Tysons Corner to gas up at the Esso station, the only commercial business there at the time. When taking Rt. 50 we gassed up at Mr. Gilbert’s Esso station.

Many years later in 1980, I started a business in Leesburg and commuted everyday from Chevy Chase, Maryland. So you can understand how excited I was when Ralph Stanley walked into my office in the late 1980s and told me he had a plan.

Ralph was the Father of the Greenway, in my opinion, the finest road in all of Virginia. He was the genius that conceived the idea and brought it to reality. We are all the better for it, even if you never drive on this road. Make a short list of what has had the greatest economic impact on Loudoun County. The Greenway must be close to the top.

Take a short 14-mile drive along this road. You will see commercial, retail, and residential developments. During my early trips to Leesburg, there were only fields and farm roads. Today driving west on your right you will see part of the Information Superhighway, one of the largest server farms that feed the Internet. This high-tech farm, no cows or hay here, is nestled close to the Loudoun County Parkway. This highway opened after the Greenway and connected Rt. 7 to the north and Rt. 50 to the south. Next is the community of Ashburn, which before the Greenway opened, was bankrupt. Pass under bridges that, like the Parkway, connect the northern County to the south. Along these roads pass not just vehicles, but commerce. This commerce flows, not just north and south but west to Leesburg and beyond.

Some believe the Greenway was named for its beauty and its treatment of the environment. When I think of the Greenway I see the color of money - green. It was and is Ralph Stanley’s road. We should all be grateful. He made our lives richer and more enjoyable in every way. It truly is the Ralph Stanley Greenway. It should be named just that.

This is not the first time I have written about this amazing road. If you want to take a trip down memory lane, but not a super highway, read:
What Happened to Free Markets?
Private Highways
Free Markets - part II (Tolls)
The Italian Way