PEC’s Gilberts Corner Farmers Market

Posted on by PEC

At the gateway to Virginia’s rural Piedmont region

Aerial view of Gilberts Corner. Photo by Hugh Kenny.
Aerial view of Gilberts Corner. Photo by Hugh Kenny.

The Gilberts Corner Farmers Market sits at the intersections of Route 15 and Route 50 in Loudoun County, about 1 mile east of Aldie, Virginia. For years, it has operated as a popular weekend destination to pick up authentic french pastries, locally famous barbecue, kettle corn, Maine lobster rolls, fresh vegetables and meat, ice cream, and Christmas trees during the holidays. It has also been the site of Wegmeyer Farms strawberries and pick-your-own sunflower patch.

In 2019, The Piedmont Environmental Council proudly announced our new ownership of the market and set forth with plans to enhance its history as a place to find local food and fiber. We started by entering into a long-term agreement with local farmer, Tyler Wegmeyer, who runs his family’s strawberry and pick-your-own sunflower operation there. The market now features over a dozen local farm and food stands and prepared food vendors.

Visitor Information

Hours: Saturday and Sunday | 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. *Open year-round!

Address: 39958 John Mosby Hwy Aldie, VA 20105

Vendors list:

For up-to-date information about the vendors and hours, check the Gilberts Corner Farmers Market’s Facebook page  or Instagram account.

For questions about the market or if you’re interested in becoming a vendor, please contact Jen Wilkins, Gilberts Corner Farmers Market Manager at jwilkins@pecva.org or by phone at 540-347-2334 ext. 7055.

Collage
Photos by Marco Sanchez.

A Special Place

PEC's Roundabout Meadows and surrounding properties panorama.
Looking southwest over PEC’s Roundabout Meadows and surrounding properties from Watson Road. Photo by Hugh Kenny.

The landscape in and around the intersection of U.S. Route 15 and U.S. Route 50 in Loudoun County—known locally as Gilberts Corner—has long been recognized as a special place. A crossroads of stories that arc across America’s history: stories about the leaders, battles, and roads that have helped shape the nation; an entry point to Virginia’s rural Piedmont region, recognized as one of the most scenic and historic landscapes in America; and part of a larger natural environment of fields, forests, and water resources that provide and protect a critical public drinking water supply for Northern Virginia.

The farmers market is just one piece of the 340+ acres of land at Gilberts Corner that PEC has spent nearly 25 years protecting with help from local citizens, community organizations, and NOVA Parks. The area has become an access point to outdoor recreation, natural resource conservation and restoration, local food production in service to others and historic preservation. It serves to highlight the bounty and beauty of the rural Virginia Piedmont just steps from the residential suburbs of Loudoun County.

Gilberts Corner also features a variety of other resources:

roundabout meadows mini map
Map by Watsun Randolph, PEC.
  • PEC’s Roundabout Meadows property made up of our:
    • Community Farm – fresh food grown at the farm is donated to families in need through Loudoun Hunger Relief. Learn about volunteer opportunities >>
    • Pasture Restoration & Water Quality Improvement Project – while PEC continues to lease land to local farmers to graze cattle, we’ve also implemented a series of best management practices such as stream exclusion fencing, establishing riparian buffers and installing alternative watering sources for livestock.Undertaken with assistance from the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, these practices have dramatically improved water quality in Howser’s Branch and its stream tributaries. Cleaning up the streams is just part of a larger land and water stewardship project at Roundabout Meadows to restore natural resources and improve agricultural productivity.
    • Old Carolina Road Trail – PEC and NOVA Parks opened a public trail in 2019 on the roadbed that was once the Old Carolina Road. Undertaken in collaboration with the Fauquier & Loudoun Garden Club, parking and access to the trail is found at NOVA Park’s Mt. Zion Historic Park. The pedestrian-only trail allows visitors to immerse themselves in the quiet beauty of this historic landscape.
    • Wetland Preserve – a walk down the Old Carolina Road Trail leads to the entrance to PEC’s 11-acre wetland and wildlife preserve at the southeast corner of Roundabout Meadows. The out and back trail takes you through the preserve’s open fields and around a majestic oak grove to Howser’s Branch streambank. Formerly pastureland, PEC created the preserve after excluding livestock from this sensitive wetland area as part of our clean stream project in 2016. Now we are watching as many native plants return. For the latest news, check out the Gilberts Corner inaturalist page.
  • Gilberts Corner Regional Park – offering hiking trails and views of the Bull Run Mountains. Managed by NOVA Parks.
  • Mt. Zion Historic Park – featuring the Mt. Zion Old School Baptist Church built in 1851, a Civil War cemetery and the Old Carolina Road which was an American Indian trail used by early colonists as a north-south route through Loudoun County and beyond. Managed by NOVA Parks.

Questions?

For questions about the property and surrounding landscape, contact Dana Melby, PEC’s Gilberts Corner Farm & Land Manager at dmelby@pecva.org.