Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Use Restrictions

No physical characteristics affect use of this material.

Preferred Citation

Marcia de Garmo Loudoun County Development Collection (M 104), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA

Acquisition Information

2013.077

Biographical Information

Marcia de Garmo was born to George T. and Kathleen Bell in Washington, DC. George T. Bell was a businessman who also served as a special assistant to President Richard Nixon. Marcia [Bell] de Garmo attended the Potomac and Madeira schools in McLean, Virginia and Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In 1963, she married George J. de Garmo, and together they had two children.

In 1994, the de Garmos relocated from Washington, DC to a rural property in Aldie, VA owned by Marcia's family. At this time, Marcia de Garmo began volunteering with a number of organizations working to stop the rapid development of Loudoun County and to preserve its rural character. She was a founder of the Sustainable Loudoun Network, Co-Founder of the Voters to Stop Sprawl, President of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Board Member of the Piedmont Defense Fund, Steering Committee Member of the Route 50 Corridor Coalition, and an active member of a number of other established and ad hoc conservation organizations. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, de Garmo worked with these organizations to improve traffic congestion, amend zoning regulations, reduce pollution, hinder the residential and commercial development of open space and farm land in Loudoun County, as well as to elect "smart growth" candidates to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and other offices.

Scope and Content

The collection contains materials created and collected by Marcia de Garmo in the course of her volunteer work with numerous local and regional conservation organizations. The collection is divided into two series.

Series I Organizations, 1993-2003, n.d.

The first series contains materials related to organizations in which de Garmo held leadership or membership roles. The materials in this series are related to the administration, management, and everyday work of the organizations. Included are meeting agenda and minutes, financial records, correspondence, membership lists, fundraising materials, promotional materials, notes and other documents. The organizations represented include: Coalition for Leesburg's Future, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Loudoun County Taxpayer Alliance, Piedmont Defense Fund, Piedmont Environmental Council, Route 50 Corridor Coalition, Sustainable Loudoun Network, Virginia League of Conservation Voters, and Voters to Stop Sprawl. These are not the formal records of the organizations. They are materials that de Garmo collected and created in the course of her volunteer work. As such, they are not complete or comprehensive records. Additionally, because many of the organizations had interrelated missions, staffs and budgets, some of the materials pertain to more than one group. For example, Voters to Stop Sprawl was the political action committee formed by Sustainable Loudoun Network and these two organizations held joint meetings. Although efforts have been made to associate the materials with the most relevant organization whenever possible, information relating to both organizations may be found in both locations.

Series II Advocacy, 1933-2008, n.d.

The second series contains documents related to the advocacy of conservation and development issues independent of specific organizations. They consist primarily of research materials, including correspondence, reports, publications, and clippings. In many cases, there is overlap between the materials contained in this series and materials relating to the organizations in Series I. For example, materials related to transportation issues may be found in Series II (Transportation) as well as in Series I (Route 50 Corridor Coalition), among others. Series II is organized by topic. The topics included are: Development Projects; Land Use and Zoning; Loudoun County Government; Transportation; Urban Sprawl and Smart Growth; and Water. The final topic contains de Garmo's notes, which touch on a number of different issues simultaneously. Materials are arranged chronologically within each folder.

Related Material

Preservation Society of Loudoun County Collection (M 068); unpublished papers including: “Brief Summary of the History of Land Use Planning in Loudoun County,” by unknown author; “By-pass Middleburg A Subject of Debate,” by Sandra McGushin; “Maryland and Virginia Bypass Alternatives Review Committee Report and Resolution”; “Rural vs. Suburbia: A Question of Controversy in Loudoun County Virginia,” by Christine E. Gates.

Related search terms include: Cities and towns-Growth; Land Use--Virginia; Sustainable development; League of Conservation Voters; Piedmont Environmental Council

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Marcia de Garmo Loudoun County Development Collection (M 104), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Washington Post. “Marcia Jean Bell—George DeGarmo III.” June 19, 1963.

Washington Post. “George Bell, 60, Ex-Aide to Nixon.” March 15, 1973.