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Finally some good news. These 65 acres represent the bulk of the 68 total 'core' battlefield acres which have been preserved at Williamsburg. We've only got 380 left which have yet to be developed upon. Keep the pressure up. Governor McAuliffe:"Very few people associated this place with the Civil War, but today I believe that will change,”
Drew
With the stroke of a pen Tuesday morning, 65 acres in Upper York County that represent some of the last undeveloped land where the Civil War’s Battle of Williamsburg was fought were set aside for preservation.The land, which runs parallel to Interstate 64 from near the Water Country USA exit (242) to near where Queens Creek Road ends, was owned by Busch Properties – a branch of Anheuser Busch. The Anheuser Busch Foundation donated the land Tuesday to the Civil War Trust at a ceremony at Kingsmill Resort.
Those 65 acres will be turned over to the Williamsburg Land Conservancy for management.Gov. Terry McAuliffe attended Tuesday’s announcement of the donation, telling a crowd gathered at Kingsmill Resort the donation came together when a “good corporate citizen,” dedicated preservation groups and state resources coalesced.“Very few people associated this place with the Civil War, but today I believe that will change,” the governor said, noting he hopes to see a new tourist destination established on the land.
A joint news release from the Civil War Trust and Anheuser Busch says the trust sees the property as the “anchor” for a future Williamsburg Battlefield Park, a place that could serve as a tribute to the 1862 Civil War battle largely overshadowed in the Historic Triangle by the colonial era and the Revolutionary War.McAuliffe said so-called heritage tourists — those who visit a place because of its cultural and historical heritage — spend more money and stay longer than other tourists, with figures from the Virginia Tourism Corporation showing heritage tourists spend an average of $671 compared to $421 for average tourists.
“As governor, I love it,” he said of the above average expenditures from heritage tourists.In an interview with WYDaily following the announcement, McAuliffe said the state played an integral part in bringing preservation-minded groups and Busch Properties together.He said he believes the donation of the land to the Civil War Trust represents a “huge opportunity” to increase tourism in the area, and he plans to remain active in promoting heritage tourism in the Historic Triangle and surrounding region.
The governor pointed to President Barack Obama’s proposal for the federal government’s next budget that would include up to $32 million in funding for land conservation projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. That proposal also seeks funds to establish trails and historical parks and for the preservation of Civil War battlefields, according to a February news release from McAuliffe’s office.McAuliffe said he is excited to make some “major announcements” in the coming months regarding preservation opportunities in the Chesapeake Bay area.
But for Tuesday, the announcement of the donation by Busch Properties was front and center. Rick Shippey, the senior general manager at the Anheuser Busch Brewery in James City County, said his company was “very proud” to donate the land to the Civil War Trust.He said his company hopes one day the land can be used to teach future generations about the Civil War rather than sitting in squalor. The land is currently defined by a small pond, ravines and mature woods. There are also some utilities that cut through it.
Jim Lighthizer, the president of the Civil War Trust, said McAuliffe’s office and the state government has been “as good of if not the best” out of any the trust has worked with in the U.S. Founded in 1987, the Trust is a national nonprofit that has helped preserve more than 40,000 acres of battlefields across the country.“Land preservation isn’t an accident,” Lighthizer said. “It happens because local groups agitate.”
He pointed to the Williamsburg Battlefield Association, a local group committed to preserving the last undeveloped land associated with the battle. Its website notes 342 acres are already preserved and about 400 undeveloped acres remain out of the 10,369 acres where the fight took place.“I’d like to challenge you to help get those preserved, too,” Drew Gruber, a member of the association, told the attendees at Tuesday’s announcement.Gruber said members of his group have engaged in a grassroots effort for years to get the land protected. They have contacted their representatives in political bodies from local boards of supervisors through the General Assembly, used social media and supported a bid to get the battlefield added to Preservation Virginia’s list of the most endangered historic places in the commonwealth.
“We’re going to use this as a springboard to keep pursuing the conversation with municipal leaders and representatives,” he said. “We are hoping to work very closely with the trust and the conservancy to make this parcel accessible to the public and to interpret it. We would like to be part of that conversation.”The Battle of Williamsburg was mostly fought on May 5, 1862. Union troops engaged entrenched Confederates at land that stretches from Water Country USA to Quarterpath Park.The Confederates had been withdrawing up the Peninsula as the Union advanced, and after the fight at Williamsburg — in which about 4,000 people were killed, wounded or went missing — the Confederates continued their withdrawal to Richmond.
Decades of heavy development in the Historic Triangle has paved over much of the land where the battle was fought. The fight was centered around the area where Pocahontas and Merrimac trails run parallel near Magruder Elementary School.Gruber said the land that has been donated to the Trust served as the site of a preliminary engagement between cavalry on May 4, 1862 and that infantry on both sides clashed on May 4 and 5 on the land.The land is situated in York County’s first electoral district, which is represented on its board of supervisors by Walt Zaremba.“I think [the preservation] is wonderful,” Zaremba said. “It adds to the county and the region’s history. Since we are so history-oriented, it can’t be bad to have another destination for visitors.”
The newly donated land is not the only tract at the heart of conversations in the past few years concerning preservation of the Williamsburg battlefield. An approximately 250-acre parcel next to the land was at the forefront of land-use talks when York County updated its comprehensive plan in 2013. Those 250 acres have not yet been preserved.Del. Monty Mason (D-93), whose district encompasses the brewery but not the donated land, called Anheuser Busch a “great corporate citizen.”“I am so appreciative for them stepping up to the plate,” he said, noting the contributions by nonprofits like the Williamsburg Battlefield Association, the Civil War Trust and the Williamsburg Land Conservancy.
Caren Schumacher, the executive director of the conservancy, said this is the first time her group has taken custody of land involved in the Civil War. The nonprofit conservancy is responsible for permanently protecting about 6,250 acres of land in and around the Historic Triangle.“This is a very special day,” said Travis Crayosky, the chairman of the conservancy’s board of directors. “[The donation] is a great reflection of the corporate citizenship of Anheuser Busch and the conservancy and Civil War Trust coming together to do something.”
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Finally some good news. These 65 acres represent the bulk of the 68 total 'core' battlefield acres which have been preserved at Williamsburg. We've only got 380 left which have yet to be developed upon. Keep the pressure up. Governor McAuliffe:"Very few people associated this place with the Civil War, but today I believe that will change,”
Drew
With the stroke of a pen Tuesday morning, 65 acres in Upper York County that represent some of the last undeveloped land where the Civil War’s Battle of Williamsburg was fought were set aside for preservation.The land, which runs parallel to Interstate 64 from near the Water Country USA exit (242) to near where Queens Creek Road ends, was owned by Busch Properties – a branch of Anheuser Busch. The Anheuser Busch Foundation donated the land Tuesday to the Civil War Trust at a ceremony at Kingsmill Resort.
Those 65 acres will be turned over to the Williamsburg Land Conservancy for management.Gov. Terry McAuliffe attended Tuesday’s announcement of the donation, telling a crowd gathered at Kingsmill Resort the donation came together when a “good corporate citizen,” dedicated preservation groups and state resources coalesced.“Very few people associated this place with the Civil War, but today I believe that will change,” the governor said, noting he hopes to see a new tourist destination established on the land.
A joint news release from the Civil War Trust and Anheuser Busch says the trust sees the property as the “anchor” for a future Williamsburg Battlefield Park, a place that could serve as a tribute to the 1862 Civil War battle largely overshadowed in the Historic Triangle by the colonial era and the Revolutionary War.McAuliffe said so-called heritage tourists — those who visit a place because of its cultural and historical heritage — spend more money and stay longer than other tourists, with figures from the Virginia Tourism Corporation showing heritage tourists spend an average of $671 compared to $421 for average tourists.
“As governor, I love it,” he said of the above average expenditures from heritage tourists.In an interview with WYDaily following the announcement, McAuliffe said the state played an integral part in bringing preservation-minded groups and Busch Properties together.He said he believes the donation of the land to the Civil War Trust represents a “huge opportunity” to increase tourism in the area, and he plans to remain active in promoting heritage tourism in the Historic Triangle and surrounding region.
The governor pointed to President Barack Obama’s proposal for the federal government’s next budget that would include up to $32 million in funding for land conservation projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. That proposal also seeks funds to establish trails and historical parks and for the preservation of Civil War battlefields, according to a February news release from McAuliffe’s office.McAuliffe said he is excited to make some “major announcements” in the coming months regarding preservation opportunities in the Chesapeake Bay area.
But for Tuesday, the announcement of the donation by Busch Properties was front and center. Rick Shippey, the senior general manager at the Anheuser Busch Brewery in James City County, said his company was “very proud” to donate the land to the Civil War Trust.He said his company hopes one day the land can be used to teach future generations about the Civil War rather than sitting in squalor. The land is currently defined by a small pond, ravines and mature woods. There are also some utilities that cut through it.
Jim Lighthizer, the president of the Civil War Trust, said McAuliffe’s office and the state government has been “as good of if not the best” out of any the trust has worked with in the U.S. Founded in 1987, the Trust is a national nonprofit that has helped preserve more than 40,000 acres of battlefields across the country.“Land preservation isn’t an accident,” Lighthizer said. “It happens because local groups agitate.”
He pointed to the Williamsburg Battlefield Association, a local group committed to preserving the last undeveloped land associated with the battle. Its website notes 342 acres are already preserved and about 400 undeveloped acres remain out of the 10,369 acres where the fight took place.“I’d like to challenge you to help get those preserved, too,” Drew Gruber, a member of the association, told the attendees at Tuesday’s announcement.Gruber said members of his group have engaged in a grassroots effort for years to get the land protected. They have contacted their representatives in political bodies from local boards of supervisors through the General Assembly, used social media and supported a bid to get the battlefield added to Preservation Virginia’s list of the most endangered historic places in the commonwealth.
“We’re going to use this as a springboard to keep pursuing the conversation with municipal leaders and representatives,” he said. “We are hoping to work very closely with the trust and the conservancy to make this parcel accessible to the public and to interpret it. We would like to be part of that conversation.”The Battle of Williamsburg was mostly fought on May 5, 1862. Union troops engaged entrenched Confederates at land that stretches from Water Country USA to Quarterpath Park.The Confederates had been withdrawing up the Peninsula as the Union advanced, and after the fight at Williamsburg — in which about 4,000 people were killed, wounded or went missing — the Confederates continued their withdrawal to Richmond.
Decades of heavy development in the Historic Triangle has paved over much of the land where the battle was fought. The fight was centered around the area where Pocahontas and Merrimac trails run parallel near Magruder Elementary School.Gruber said the land that has been donated to the Trust served as the site of a preliminary engagement between cavalry on May 4, 1862 and that infantry on both sides clashed on May 4 and 5 on the land.The land is situated in York County’s first electoral district, which is represented on its board of supervisors by Walt Zaremba.“I think [the preservation] is wonderful,” Zaremba said. “It adds to the county and the region’s history. Since we are so history-oriented, it can’t be bad to have another destination for visitors.”
The newly donated land is not the only tract at the heart of conversations in the past few years concerning preservation of the Williamsburg battlefield. An approximately 250-acre parcel next to the land was at the forefront of land-use talks when York County updated its comprehensive plan in 2013. Those 250 acres have not yet been preserved.Del. Monty Mason (D-93), whose district encompasses the brewery but not the donated land, called Anheuser Busch a “great corporate citizen.”“I am so appreciative for them stepping up to the plate,” he said, noting the contributions by nonprofits like the Williamsburg Battlefield Association, the Civil War Trust and the Williamsburg Land Conservancy.
Caren Schumacher, the executive director of the conservancy, said this is the first time her group has taken custody of land involved in the Civil War. The nonprofit conservancy is responsible for permanently protecting about 6,250 acres of land in and around the Historic Triangle.“This is a very special day,” said Travis Crayosky, the chairman of the conservancy’s board of directors. “[The donation] is a great reflection of the corporate citizenship of Anheuser Busch and the conservancy and Civil War Trust coming together to do something.”
Attached Files