Honoring Loudoun Historian Eugene Scheel

By Nancy Spannaus

A standing-room-only crowd gathered at the Waterford Old School on January 4, to honor one of the Loudoun County’s most notable historians, mapmaker Eugene M. Scheel. The gathering had been convened by State Delegate Geary Higgins, who presided over the event.

Eugene Scheel, as presented in Loudoun Living magazine in 2016.

The origin of the celebration, Higgins explained in his opening remarks, was the passage of a resolution of appreciation for Scheel passed by the House of Delegates in May of 2024. While Higgins searched for a timely occasion to present the honor, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors passed a similar resolution recognizing Scheel’s invaluable contributions to Virginia history. So now, here we are, said Higgins, to present these tributes, and more, to Eugene and his wife Annette, who are with us today.

The first tribute was the playing of a five-minute video, which was aired in 2012 by the Loudoun Laurels program. In it, Scheel describes his passion for maps from a very young age, something encouraged by the World War II era in which he grew up. He began his career as a mapmaker with National Geographic, before eventually settling down in Loudoun County to concentrate on local history. His first book, published in 1975, was a Guide to Loudoun, which surveyed the architecture and history of the county, and was often used as an aid to a driving tour. Eight books elaborating on that overview were to follow.

Personal Tributes 

My passion for maps, Scheel said in the Loudoun Laurels interview, is really a passion for stories. I feel compelled to talk to people and saving what they have to say about their lives and the place they live; otherwise, it would be lost.

A series of personal tributes to Scheel’s work were then presented, beginning with Edward Spannaus, vice-president of the Lovettsville Historical Society. Ed emphasized the valuable role which Scheel’s maps and books have played in the Society’s work, particularly his identification of small local communities and cemeteries which have helped unearth previously buried history.

Next spoke Taylor Chamberlin, also a local historian and a long-time family friend of Scheel. Chamberlin reported how Scheel willingly served as a resource to fellow historians like himself, and highlighted his use of oral history, long before it became so popular.

Local historian and former teacher Rich Gillespie next spoke of Scheel’s important role in the historical preservation movement in Loudoun, which he said was one of the most vibrant in the country. Another major contribution was Scheel’s willingness to give classes, which have been part of the training of Loudoun’s teachers for many years. Gillespie’s first class with Scheel was in 1974. Scheel was also willing to break local convention, by, for example, giving classes on the African American experiencs and communities in Loudoun.

Speaker number four was Chuck Pelerin, a local resident who has taken a multitude of classes with Scheel. Gene was a textbook in himself, Pelerin said, and he conveyed his knowledge by taking his classes on field trips around the county.  Every class was an adventure – a fact which Pelerin illustrated with numerous anecdotes about some of the memorable trips.

The last of the planned speakers was Mark Crowley, a local friend who reviewed some different aspects of Scheel’s history, including his career in the Marines, his role on the County Planning Commission, and his devotion to his church, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Leesburg, Virginia.

Wife Annette and Others 

When Higgins opened up the floor for other contributions, others stepped forward to acknowledge Scheel’s roles in their lives. Among them were his daughters Kristin and Gretchen. Kristin read a “resolution” she had put together, which emphasized some of her father’s “radical” approaches: 1) driving a pick-up truck in order to encourage people to talk with him; 2) being an early environmentalist; 3) fighting to save dirt roads; and 4) fighting to save farming in the area.

Gretchen made a brief statement thanking people for coming to honor her father.

The highlight of this portion of the program was Annette Scheel, Gene’s wife of 59 years. Annette regaled the audience with reminiscences of what it was like to be married to Gene, who would always have something interesting to show you on a road trip or in general. People would ask her if it wasn’t difficult to be married to a man so dedicated to his work, but she said no. It was “great fun,” and she was looking forward to “keep on keeping on.”

Annette Scheel addresses the gathering at the Waterford Old School.

The Resolutions

Eugene Scheel is truly a “historian of historians,” stated Catoctin County Supervisor Caleb Kirschner, who took the floor at the end. He truly deserves the honor he’s been given by his fellow historians today.

Higgins concluded the official program with a reading of the October 1 resolution by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, and a brief synopsis of the House of Delegates resolution. The full Loudoun resolution follows:

Recognizing the Outstanding Contributions of Eugene M. Scheel to the History of Loudoun County and the Commonwealth of Virginia

WHEREAS Eugene M. Scheel was born in the Bronx, New York, graduated from Clark University with a bachelor’s degree in Geography, the University of Virginia School of Architecture with a graduate degree in Environmental and Urban Planning, and from Georgetown University with a graduate degree in American Literature and has lived in the historic village of Waterford since 1965; and

WHEREAS Eugene M. Scheel began his career with Rand McNally & Company in Chicago, spent nine years working for National Geographic Magazine, served the United States for eight years as a corporal in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, served the Commonwealth of Virginia under Governor Linwood Holton’s administration and served Loudoun County for eight years on the Loudoun County Planning Commission; and

WHEREAS For nearly 60 years, Eugene M. Scheel has preserved, protected, and chronicled the history of greater Loudoun and Fauquier Counties through his hand-drawn cartography and nine books on Virginia history including his Loudoun Discovered Communities, Corners and Crossroads series covering Eastern Loudoun, Waterford, the German Settlement, Between the Hills, Quaker Country, Loudoun Valley, the Hunt Country and Middleburg; and

WHEREAS Eugene M. Scheel has drawn more than 50 detailed historical maps of the Commonwealth and other states and nations that have been featured in countless journals, magazines, and newspapers ranging from The Washington Post to National Geographic and by the Library of Congress, which holds 31 of Eugene M. Scheel’s maps which are considered to be great cartographic contributions to Virginia history; and

WHEREAS Eugene M. Scheel received Lifetime Service recognition as one of the first Loudoun Laurels in 2008 as a “mapmaker and historian who has spent a lifetime preserving, protecting and chronicling the history of greater Loudoun County, seeking out, researching, and writing the stories of people and places that otherwise would surely have been forgotten or, worse, lost forever.”

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors recognizes the lasting and enduring legacy of Eugene M. Scheel whose contributions will inform future generations about Loudoun County’s incredible history and its heritage.