It started with a stylized ribbon of a river. In the end, it was a boy with a hoop and a reference to George Washington as a youth.
After searching for a sign design that personifies "Stafford," "boyhood" and "18th century," a Board
The design, prominently displaying a silhouette of a tri-corner-hatted youth rol-ling a hoop, will to go to the supervisors Feb. 17. While approval is expected, the county's tight budget situation could delay implementation. Committee members had hoped test versions of the signs would go up this spring.
Meanwhile, higher levels of approval also will be necessary, for safety clearances and suitability, from the Virginia Department of Transportation and he Federal Highway Administration.
But as the Wayfinder group gave the project and design their final OK, committee member and Supervisor Paul Milde said he hoped for speedy implementation.
"These signs will increase tourist interest in Stafford County," he said. "And that translates into tourism dollars."
The design is by Frazier Associates, a Staunton-based firm whose recent projects include the road signage for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown and a similar wayfinding program for Loudoun County. The company's signs in the Williamsburg-Jamestown-Yorktown triangle closely resemble the designs for Stafford, including the colors.
More than 30 attractions in Stafford are on the list of tourist draws for various signs, including historical, recreational and educational highlights. The destinations also will include local wineries, as well as the Marine museum and base at Quantico.
The Wayfinder Committee has 14 members, including two from the Board of Supervisors, Stafford's tourist manager, the director of planning and zoning, and representatives of Frazier, VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration. Aside from safety, clarity and placement, the committee also looked for a "brand."
The initial concepts emphasized the two rivers bracketing Stafford, illustrated by schematic ribbons of light blue, with large areas of green for the county's open spaces and colonial blue for contrast, plus a spot of maroon or red to attract the visitor's eye to the sign's message written in white. There were debates about what that message should be.
After more than half a dozen meetings and a dozen variations, no consensus could be reached. Then, a miracle of timing happened.
Last July, the archaeologists at Ferry Farm in southern Stafford found the remains of Washington's boyhood home, where he lived from the ages of 6 to 19. The "brand" was born.
Over the summer, Frazier added the slogan "George Washington's Boyhood Home" to the design and also toyed with including a bust silhouette of the Founding Father. Then someone discovered the sketch of a boy rolling a hoop. It said "youth" and "colonial times" and, yes, fun. The man from VDOT reflected the general reaction: "I think this has real originality to it."
Last week it all came together. Gone was the green. The river had been reduced to a thin stream curving across the sign's upper left, dividing a banner of maroon from the sign's colonial blue body, with "Stafford County" and the boyhood home slogan in white. And, in a lighter blue silhouette on the right, the hoop roller rolled.
After one of the briefest meetings of the committee , half an hour, the design was done.
Hugh Muir: 540/735-1975
Email: hmuir@freelancestar.com