Young Sheila stormed off but returned shortly thereafter. Her

Young Sheila stormed off but returned shortly thereafter. Her mother told her to try again.

“But, Mom, I can’t.”

With that, her mother backhanded her, and that was the last time Sheila Johnson said “can’t.”

“I thought I was going to see stars, and I’ve never used that word again.”

Years later, Johnson - this country’s first AfricanAmerican female billionaire — is asserting her “can-do” attitude throughout the Washington, D.C., metro area, and locally in Middleburg.

She became a billionaire in 1997 when then-husband Robert Johnson sold Black Entertainment Television to Viacom for a reported $2.3 billion. The Johnsons had cofounded BET, but a few years later the two divorced and split the money.

Johnson moved to Middleburg 11 years ago, partly because of her daughter’s passion for horseback riding. Since then, she has opened Market Salamander, offering gourmet specialties. She is about to begin building Salamander Inn & Spa on a 341-acre tract of land she purchased on the outskirts of Middleburg - the former Averill Harriman estate at Snake Hill.

The Middleburg Town Council has voted to bring the land completely within town boundaries, so Johnson can proffer a new water treatment plant.

Several Middleburg and Loudoun County residents have expressed concern over the resort, but Johnson believes it’s the best use for the land.

“[Middleburg] is wonder- ' ful the way it is, but it’s at a point in time where so many other people who have fallen in love with the area want to come out as tourists, and there really is no destination for them to stay,” she said.

Johnson said she remains a driven person who has never been wrong in trusting her instincts. She wants the public to trust her instincts on Salamander.

“I still believe it’s the perfect location,” she said. “This is something that’s going to be done right. The vision is there, the vision is going to be executed, and I’m very excited about it.”