Columbus Day 2019: What's Open, What's Closed In Ashburn

ASHBURN, VA — Ashburn and other Loudoun County communities will recognize the federal holiday Columbus Day on Monday, Oct. 14. Government offices, schools and other services will be closed. Other services may be open or run on a different schedule.

Here's a look at what's open and closed around Ashburn:

Loudoun County Offices: All county offices will be closed Oct. 14.

Loudoun County Schools: No school for students.

Post Offices: Closed on Oct. 14. No mail will be delivered.

County Courts: All Loudoun County courts will be closed Oct. 14.

State Courts: Circuit Court, General District Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court are closed Oct. 14.

Loudoun County Transit: Loudoun County Transit will operate a significantly reduced schedule on Columbus Day. View Columbus Day service schedules online.

Metrorail: The Metrorail system will be open 5 a.m.-11:30 p.m. and operate on a Saturday schedule on Oct. 14. Parking will be free at all Metro parking facilities, and off-peak fares will be in effect all day.

Metrobus: Buses will operate on a Saturday and supplemental schedule on Oct. 14. See bus timetables.

Virginia Railway Express: VRE does not operate on Columbus Day. For more information, visit www.vre.org.

Libraries: All Loudoun County Public Library branches are closed Oct. 14.

Recreation and Community Centers: The Claude Moore and Dulles South Recreation Centers will be open normal hours from 5 a.m. to 9:15 p.m.; however, when Loudoun County Public Schools have a scheduled day off, the leisure pool features at both facilities follow weekend hours of 11 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Slide hours are subject to change. Please call ahead for the day's hours.

Historic Sites and Museums: The Loudoun County Visitor's Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 14.

Trash Collection: Loudoun County does not offer curbside trash pickup. Check with your independent provider about trash collection.

Landfill/Recycling: The Loudoun County Landfill and Recycling Drop-Off Center will be open normal hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The History of Columbus Day

President Benjamin Harrison organized the first Columbus Day celebration in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus landing in the Americas. A little over 40 years later, in 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt made Columbus Day a national holiday.

In recent years, a collection of states and cities have chosen to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, including: Minnesota, Vermont, San Francisco and Cincinnati.

A recent poll from College Pulse, a data and survey analytics company, found that 79 percent of 1,500 college students polled favored replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

On average, 88 percent of the students who identified as Democrats supported the name change, and only 22 percent of Republicans polled were in favor of swapping the names.