The entire village and surrounding countryside is a National Historic Landmark District, noted for its well-preserved 18th and 19th-century character.

[6] Amos Janney died in 1747, leaving his estate to his sixteen-year-old son, Mahlon, who replaced the original log mill with a two-story structure.

The village continued to grow, and in 1780, 12 acres (49,000 m2) on the south side of Main Street were subdivided into 15 lots, upon which shops and homes were built.

[7] By the start of the Civil War, the population of Waterford remained largely Quaker.

Waterford was the scene of a fierce fight between the county's Unionist and Confederate partisan units, the Loudoun Rangers and White's Rebels, respectively.

[12] Waterford and a significant portion of its surrounding countryside were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

This places the Waterford Historic District on the same level of significance as Independence Hall, Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg.