Founded around 1733 by Quaker Amos Janney, Waterford grew into Loudoun County's second-largest town by the eve of the Civil War. In 1970, the entire village together with approximately 1,420 acres of surrounding farmland was designated a National Historic Landmark District — one of only a handful in the country to be recognized at that scale. Approximately 64 percent of its 97 homes were built before 1861.

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Properties here come to market rarely, and when they do they appeal to buyers who think in generations. Stone farmhouses, restored mill buildings, and small acreage estates predominate, often protected by conservation easements that ensure the village and its viewshed will look much the same a century from now.