Signs have started going up in Loudoun County reflecting a return to the historic names of Route 7 and Highway 50.
The restored names are Leesburg Pike for Route 7 and Little River Turnpike for Highway 50. The names became official again this past week.
The roads were long known by these names, but in the 1968, local leaders changed Route 7 to the Harry Byrd Highway. In 1982, Highway 50 became the John Mosby Highway.
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to change the road names back to the original ones in late 2021 as a part of a review of Confederate and segreationist symbols in the county.
Mosby was a Confederate military officer. Byrd was a Virginia governor who was vehemently opposed to Black students and White students attending schools together.
So far, roughly 75 smaller, blue rectangular signs have gone up with the new names — primarily at intersections without traffic lights.
Larger overhead green streets signs should begin appearing in mid-October.