Virginia

Small Virginia Town Wants Its Own ZIP Code Again

A small town in Virginia is campaigning the U.S. Postal Service to give it its own ZIP code.

The town of Hillsboro in Loudoun County is so small, it lost its ZIP code 13 years ago.

Two minutes is all the time you need to pass right by, but then you’d miss the 130 people who call it home – people quick to share a smile and a hand.

“They’re the type of people where you can borrow a cup of sugar,” resident Ronda Powell said.

“We’re all just trying to make sure we’re helping each other out,” 868 Vineyards owner Chris Charron said.

But they don’t like sharing ZIP code with neighboring Purcellville.

“This whole area is Hillsboro, and we do not like the name Purcellville,” resident Belle Ware said.

“There’s a point of pride in having your identity,” Mayor Roger Vance said.

He is leading the ZIP code campaign and sending a petition to the U.S. Postal Service.

Not having five unique causes a number of problems, residents say.

“It’s frustrating, in the age of GPS, that they can get misdirected to Purcellville,” resident Claudia Forbes said.

Fire trucks get lost from time to time, residents say. So do potential customers for local stores.

At the 868 Vineyards, it’s been a problem for years.

“Having to give the Purcellville address, people don’t know where we are,” Charron said.

The same year Hillsboro lost its ZIP code, its beloved post office closed its doors.

“It was a place to get the news and to meet your neighbors and talk,” Vance said.

While it may be easier to just pop outside to get the mail instead of trekking all the way to the post office, the people of Hillsboro prefer to go the extra mile.

“It just makes you feel more a part of the town,” said Powell, who owns a Hillsboro brewery.

At the elementary school, working together is something they teach their youngest.

“We learn in first grade about communities and the town we live in,” Hillsboro Charter Academy teacher Tiffany Miller said. “We all work together to not only make the school a success, but also what we have going on in town.”

USPS has the final say on a Hillsboro ZIP code, but if the answer is no, the town can always appeal and try again.

Hillsboro holds its Independence Day the Hillsboro Way parade July 1. Route 9 will be closed from 8:30 to 10 a.m. for the event.

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