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The East Woods adjoins the Madison Landmark Forest. |
By CLINT SCHEMMER
Some of western Orange County's prettiest landscape has just been set aside for future generations to enjoy.
Private groups and the State of Virginia are permanently protecting more than a square mile of historic property--on several different parcels--around Montpelier, home of President James Madison and his wife, Dolley.
In a public-private partnership, the Piedmont Environmental Council, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the state Department of Historic Resources worked together to buy conservation easements on four parts of Montpelier from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and The Montpelier Foundation. They total more than 700 acres.
PEC President Chris Miller said the council was "thrilled to work with [Montpelier and the trust] to protect this critical historic resource."
Miller noted that Montpelier inspired Madison and his thinking about the U.S. Constitution, which he crafted, and the future of the new nation. The estate is the heart of the Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District and part of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area. The historic site draws more than 100,000 visitors each year.
The Montpelier Foundation, an arm of the National Trust, is the steward of the Madisons' home, which just underwent a 5-year-long, $24 million restoration to its appearance at the time the family lived there after leaving the White House.
"These four easements at Montpelier--protecting streams, forests, a Civil War encampment and the home of one of James Madison's former slaves, George Gilmore--demonstrate the power of collaboration between conservationists and preservationists," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Proceeds from the sale of the easements will go toward Montpelier's endowment, Moe said.
The deal was seven years in the making, said Orange resident Jack Snyder, vice chairman of the PEC board.
"We hope that the National Trust's and Montpelier Foundation's obvious dedication to preserving rural Orange County will help spur other landowners in the area to consider conservation options for their property," Snyder said. "In the past 20 years, more than 2,000 acres immediately surrounding Montpelier have been placed into conservation easement."
The easements will protect cultural assets, water quality in local streams, the forested backdrop to the Montpelier mansion, and the surrounding countryside, the groups said.
Virginia Outdoors Foundation Chairman Hank Hartz said the new lands adjoin 8,500 acres already held in easement by VOF. With the new properties' addition, a block of more than 9,000 acres within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, nearly all of it in the Madison-Barbour Historic District, is protected in perpetuity, Hartz said.
PEC bought the four easements using private donations and a $700,000 grant from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Their purchase this month met a grant deadline, but the PEC and Montpelier Foundation will continue to raise the money needed to cover the easements' cost.
Kathleen S. Kilpatrick, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, praised the action.
"Taken together, these four easements preserve and protect an amazing complement of diverse and outstanding resources, and we are proud to be a partner in ensuring that they are passed along for the future."
pecva.org montpelier.org preservationnation.org virginiaoutdoorsfoundation.org
Clint Schemmer: 540/368-5029
Email: cschemmer@freelancestar.com
| Easements will preserve four distinct areas of the sprawling Montpelier estate: The East Woods--A 200-acre tract, adjacent to the Madison Landmark Forest, a nationally recognized old-growth Piedmont forest already protected by an easement. Chicken Mountain--A forested 245-acre natural landmark in the Somerset area. Gilmore Farm--Nineteen acres where George Gilmore, an emancipated slave at Montpelier, lived with his wife, Polly, and their eight children. Visitors can see their restored cabin on tours of Montpelier and its grounds. Civil War Encampment--Next to the Gilmore Farm. The 245-acre tract was occupied during the winter of 1863-64 by troops in Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, before they fought in the Battle of the Wilderness. It is the largest documented, intact encampment site in the nation, according to the state Department of Historic Resources. |
