Sterling, Virginia is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Loudoun County, with a population of 27,822 as of the 2010 United States Census. Its boundaries are mainly limited to a small area between State Route 28 and State Route 7, apart from the nearby SR 606 and Dulles Town Center. You can reach Herndon in just about 15 minutes.
The United States Postal Service also assigns the address of 'Sterling, Virginia' to a much wider region, including Arcola, Cascades, Countryside, Dulles, Dulles Town Center, Oak Grove, and Sugarland Run.
This 'Greater Sterling' area is home to the Washington Dulles International Airport and the former AOL corporate headquarters, as well as the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office LWX and the Sterling Field Support Center, the National Weather Service's testing and research center for weather instruments.
The story of Sterling Park began in 1962, when it was a 1,762 acre (713 ha) area of large farms. Route 7, also known as Leesburg Pike, ran alongside Jesse Hughes's dairy farm, which had been passed down through the generations of Hughes' family.
Around the same time, Fred Franklin Tavenner occupied the large Sterling Farm at the southwest of Sterling Park, which he had purchased from Albert Shaw Jr., son of Albert B. Shaw, editor and publisher of the American Review of Reviews.
Construction of Dulles International Airport began in 1959, leading to a rise in land prices from an average of $125 per acre ($310/ha) to $500 per acre ($1,200/ha). This prompted Marvin T. Broyhill Jr. and his father to form the Sterling Park Development Corporation in late 1961, and they purchased 1,762 acres (713 ha) in 14 parcels for $2,115,784.
Marvin Broyhill Jr. planned to develop Sterling Park on both sides of Route 28, but Powell B. Harrison refused, preferring the road to remain free of development for easy access to the airport.
As a result, the Broyhill's developed Sterling Park east of Route 28, and had to build their own through road, today's Sterling Boulevard.
They also created a marketing plan to make the homes more affordable to the public - offering air conditioning, lower taxes than in Fairfax County, and a half-hour drive to Washington - though the plan to offer free golf didn't come to fruition.
Initially, the homes in Sterling Park were only available to 'Caucasian' families, until August 1966, when the illegality of this clause became clear. By this point, the population of 'The Park' had reached 5,000.
