Editing Middletown, Virginia (section)

== History ==
{{Main|Middletown Historic District (Middletown, Virginia)}}
Middletown was chartered on May 4, 1796. Some of the first documentation of early Middletown dates back to the late 18th century and is attributed to Dr. Peter Senseney and his wife Magdelen, two German settlers who had migrated from Pennsylvania. The town was originally known as "Senseney Town", a piece of land within the 17th century Fairfax Grant and gifted to the allies for siding with England during the [[English Civil War|civil war]] in the 1600s.<ref name="lee1">{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Anne Carter |title=Buildings of Virginia: Valley, Piedmont, Southside and Southwest |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-8139-3565-2 |pages=49–50}}</ref>

[[Belle Grove Plantation (Middletown, Virginia)|Belle Grove Plantation]], about a mile southwest of Middletown, was first settled in about 1750, and its historic [[Federal architecture|Federal]]-style [[Plantation house|manor house]] was completed in 1797. Middletown was the site of numerous military operations in the [[American Civil War]] including the [[Battle of Cedar Creek]], fought just south of the town. The area where this battle occurred has been protected as part of the [[Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park]]. Because the town was founded long before the Civil War, its [[antebellum Virginia|antebellum]] history is extensive, as evidenced by the fact that Middletown's Wayside Inn purports to be the longest continuously running [[inn]] in America. [[Wayside Theatre]], also located in Middletown, was one of Virginia's oldest professional live theaters (opened 1963, closed 2013). The town is home to [[Laurel Ridge Community College]].

In addition to Belle Grove Plantation, [[Long Meadow (Middletown, Virginia)|Long Meadow]], the [[Middletown Historic District (Middletown, Virginia)|Middletown Historic District]], [[Fort Bowman]], [[Monte Vista (Middletown, Virginia)|Monte Vista]], [[Old Forge Farm (Middletown, Virginia)|Old Forge Farm]], and [[St. Thomas Chapel]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. In 2012 the town of Middletown elected the youngest mayor in Virginia history at the age of 24, Charles Hamilton Harbaugh IV. He was reelected in 2016.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>