Help rename Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has directed the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services to submit a new name for Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park in the Lansdowne community. The park’s name references nearby grist mills, which were named for Elizabeth Clapham, the wife of local landowner and slaveholder Samuel Clapham. After his death, those enslaved persons were held by Elizabeth.

PRCS is initiating the public process to rename the park, which includes opportunities for the public to provide input. Those interested in proposing a name should submit their recommendations by email to prcs@loudoun.gov. The deadline for submissions is Monday, Feb. 7.

The name suggestions are scheduled to be reviewed by the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Board on Feb. 10. Recommendations for a new name for the park will then be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for consideration at the Board’s business meeting Feb. 15.

Renaming Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park is among several projects that have resulted from the Board’s September 2020 decision to inventory and review Confederate and segregationist symbols in the county.