County Has Taken Long, Winding Road To Rename Streets From: The Washington Post | Date: January 4, 2004| Author: Eugene Scheel | Copyright 2004 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post.Copyright information

Road names in Loudoun and Fauquier counties date to the European settlers of the early 18th century. But they weren't used as street addresses until 1988-89 in Loudoun and 1994 in Fauquier. Until then, addresses consisted of a route number -- usually 1, 2 or 3 -- and a mailbox number with as many as three digits.

But the system was confusing, especially in emergencies. Each town, village or district had a Route 1, 2 and 3, so there were many of each across Loudoun and Fauquier. Route n...