A new park will soon join the NOVA Parks system. An official deed signed on December 27 finalized the transfer of ownership of an 85-acre park of forests and fields in Leesburg, named Cattail Regional Park, NOVA Parks announced.
The land is located at Edwards Ferry Road and Battlefield Parkway, close to another NOVA Parks–operated park called Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Park.
Cattail Regional Park will be the 36th park in the NOVA Parks system. It contains mature forests, open fields, and an upland bog. NOVA Parks plans to develop trail systems and interpretive signs within the park, plus an entrance and parking lot when the park is open to the public.
The land was a donation from Henry Harris, who grew up on the property. Harris was the nephew of A.V. Symington, who previously donated Temple Hall Farm to NOVA Parks.
“Parkland is one of our most valued public assets. I would like to thank the Harris family for this remarkable gift. Their contributions to our community run very deep,” said Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall.
In addition to its intriguing natural landscape, the park also contains several historical details. One building on the property served as an ordinary in 1776; fortifications were created along Edwards Ferry Road during the Civil War; and, when the public pool in Leesburg closed in the 1960s to avoid integration, the Harris family allowed Black children in the area to swim in their pool at the farm.
“This new park will serve the public for generations to come,” Randall continued, noting that NOVA Parks has added nearly 1,000 acres of new parkland to Loudoun County in the last 10 years.
This park is just one element in NOVA Parks’ strategic plan to expand parkland in the area. Another recent development is the Reservoir Park at Beaverdam, which will open in early 2024.
Feature image courtesy NOVA Parks
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