The Plains, VA

The Plains is a small Fauquier County town centered on the meeting of Virginia Routes 55 and 245, just off Interstate 66. The area began filling with European settlers in the eighteenth century, and older maps called it White Plains. A post office named The Plains was operating by 1831, and the Manassas Gap Railroad arrived in 1852, helping farm goods move through the community. The town incorporated in 1910 after the Civil War period had reshaped its churches, stores, and civic buildings.

Great Meadow gives The Plains a large open-air gathering place just beyond the town streets. The property was created in 1983 when Arthur W. “Nick” Arundel bought an abandoned farm and protected it as permanent open land. It now hosts the Virginia Gold Cup steeplechase, polo, concerts, festivals, and other events; the Gold Cup draws tens of thousands on the first Saturday in May. A Footprint to Change museum exhibit sits near the railroad tracks. The 2020 census counted 245 residents, up from 217 in 2010.