Belmont Ridge has long linked natural and cultural history through Goose Creek, the largest waterway in Loudoun County, and the Luck Stone Quarry beside it. The area took its name from the former Belmont Plantation, owned by Ludwell Lee, who built Belmont Manor House between 1799 and 1802; Lee belonged to the family for which Leesburg was named. The Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad passed through the area in 1859 on its way to Leesburg, but its planned destination in West Virginia was derailed by the Civil War, and poor financing led to numerous ownership changes. The line reached Bluemont in 1900 and went no farther, was abandoned in 1968, and the W&OD Trail was established soon after. In 1884 a small railway station on the east side of Goose Creek served as the disembarkation point for Belmont Park, a short-lived resort praised for refreshing springs, romantic views, winding trails, and boating; that summer, 1,500 excursionists from Washington and Alexandria were said to arrive there by rail in a single day. A later owner of Belmont was Edward McLean, who purchased the property in 1915; his father owned the nearby W&OD Railroad, and his wife, Evalyn McLean, bought the Hope Diamond. In 2017 Loudoun County built a bridge over the W&OD Trail as part of a road widening project for Belmont Ridge Road. The Goose Creek bridge had been the longest and highest span on the W&OD Railroad, boating on Goose Creek had been one of Belmont Park's attractions, and until 1968 the railroad hauled stone from the quarry for use in the Beltway and other Virginia roads.