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Historic Highway Markers

Application Process

Application (PDF)

In 2006, more than 45 individuals, historical societies and organizations, civic groups, businesses, and local governments sponsored the creation of new historical highway markers for Virginia roadways. Since 1976, the Commonwealth of Virginia has required that a sponsor pay for the manufacture of an approved highway marker. Today that cost is $1,350 (a fee subject to change in 2007, as determined by the foundry that casts the markers). In some jurisdictions, the sponsor also may be responsible for payment of expenses associated with installation of the sign.

The first step in proposing a new marker, however, costs nothing. It simply requires that a sponsor submit an application to DHR.

If you have an idea for a potential marker honoring an historical person, place, event, or institution in Virginia, be sure that the topic meets the first criterion: It must have significance beyond the local level and extend, at the very least, to a regional level within the state (e.g. the Shenandoah Valley, Northern Virginia, Tidewater, etc.). For additional guidance and information about topic eligibility, see "Highway Marker Criteria" on the webpage Important Information for Marker Sponsors.  

Once an application is received by the department for a proposed new marker, the staff will determine if the marker fulfills the required eligibility. If the topic qualifies, the proposed marker's text likely will be edited by DHR staff in consultation with our external advisory and editorial committee as well as the sponsor to create a mutually agreed upon text. The goal during this process is to write a concise, polished, and historically accurate marker. After this phase is completed, DHR staff must then present the proposed marker to the Board of Historic Resources, which is authorized to approve state historical highway markers.

Department staff present proposed markers to the Board of Historic Resources during each of the board's quarterly meetings, held in March, June, September, and December. For staff to place a proposed marker on the agenda of a board meeting, the sponsor must deliver a marker application to the department several months in advance of each meeting. The application deadlines shown below allow time for DHR staff to evaluate each marker in consultation with the editorial and advisory committee and revise the marker text, as necessary, prior to submitting the marker to the Board of Historic Resources. (Please note that the schedule for presenting a marker to the board also is affected by variable factors such as staff work load, other agency projects, and the number of markers under consideration at any one time.):

For the March board meeting, the marker application deadline is December 1.
For the June board meeting, March 1.
For the September board meeting, June 1.
For the December board meeting, September 1.

Once a marker is approved by the board, a district representative from the Virginia Department of Transportation will meet with the sponsor to determine a suitable roadside site for placing the marker in the public right-of-way.

For a more detailed description of the marker-application process, refer to the Important Information for Marker Sponsors.

If you have any questions about the application process after reviewing the marker criteria and procedures, please contact Francine Archer (804 367-2323, ext. 120) or Kelly Spradley-Kurowski (804 367-2323, ext. 103).