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Biennial Report on Stewardship of
State-Owned Properties.
In 2006, the General Assembly enacted legislation that calls for DHR to
develop two biennial reports, with the option that they might be
combined, on the stewardship of state-owned properties. The reports are
to include a priority list of the Commonwealth’s most significant
state-owned properties that are eligible for, but not designated on, the
Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR); a priority list of significant
state-owned properties, designated on or eligible for the VLR, which are
threatened with the loss of historic integrity or functionality; and
take into account other public interest considerations associated with
landmark designation and the proper care and maintenance of state-owned
property. The 2009 report, submitted (May 1) to the GA and Governor
Timothy M. Kaine, is
now available for public review.
(5-1-2009)
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Ten new historical markers, representing the rich spectrum of
Virginia history, have been approved by the Department of Historic
Resources. They include a sign to commemorate a community founded by
slaves freed by Thomas Jefferson’s cousin, a marker for the oldest
active Jewish cemetery in the South, and one to honor the first
Confederate officer killed in the Civil War. See the
press
release to learn more about the markers and read the text of
each one.
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Eighteen new historic resources approved for listing in the Virginia
Landmarks Register. A Quaker meetinghouse, a Marine Corps general’s
quarters, and two country stores that once catered to Chesapeake Bay
steamboat passengers are among the 18 new listings recently added to the
Virginia Landmarks Register by DHR. Read the
press release
highlighting each resource.
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Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne on December 4 presented Calder
Loth, a senior architectural historian with DHR, the first annual
“Secretary of the Interior Historic Preservation Award.” Loth, who has
worked with the Department of Historic Resources and its predecessor
agency since 1968, received the award during a ceremony at the U.S.
Department of Interior’s headquarters in Washington. See the
press release.
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Battlefield grants awarded: In what is fast becoming an
eleventh-hour battle to preserve some of this nation’s most threatened
hallowed ground in Virginia—from Chancellorsville and Cold Harbor to
Cedar Creek and Appomattox—the Commonwealth is providing much needed
ammunition to frontline organizations defending the state’s Civil War
battlefields. Drawing from a $5.2 million arsenal in the form of the
Civil War Historic Site Preservation Fund, established by the General
Assembly in 2006, DHR is awarding 21 matching grants to save 1,571 acres
of land associated with 15 significant battles. The grants, which
require a 2-to-1 dollar match in private or federal funds, will save key
parcels of land, setting aside acreage that would otherwise be lost in
expanding or uniting previously protected
battlefield lands for added public benefit and educational
opportunities. Preserving these landscapes is crucial to providing
today’s visitors and future generations an historical sense of place at
sites where Union and Confederate soldiers fought in some of this
nation’s bloodiest and most legendary battles. The organizations
receiving funds, which include the
Civil War Preservation Trust, the
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields
Foundation, Trevilian
Station Battlefield Foundation, and the
Richmond Battlefield
Association, will use the matching grants to either purchase parcels
outright or to obtain easement rights on tracts that will remain in
private ownership. DHR press release (including list of battlefields)
here.
(Updated 11-25-08)
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Now available. A Handbook and Resource Guide for Owners of
Virginia's Historic Houses. Authored by Camille Agricola Bowman,
an architectural historian and technical easement advisor with DHR, this
excellent and attractive publication offers valuable information on the
proper stewardship of a historic house as well as plenty of additional
places to turn for expert guidance on various restoration repairs. It's
an indispensible primer for the owner of a historic property. Loaded
with color photographs, the is 64-page book is available from DHR for
$10.00. (Discounts available for multi-copy orders.)
Order form.
(Updated 10-22-08)
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Now available:
Financial Incentives and Opportunities for Historic Preservation and
Archaeology in Virginia: This guide was compiled by DHR's Pam
Schenian, an architectural historian and CLG program coordinator in
DHR's Tidewater Regional Preservation Office. The 54-page document
provides information on preservation funding opportunities that exist
from local, state, and national sources. It provides funding options for
museums, historic sites, homeowners, neighborhoods, localities,
investors, and businesses. For information on DHR-sponsored or
managed funds, visit
Incentives & Grants. (Updated 10-8-08)
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DHR’s report on Richmond’s historic “Burial Ground for Negroes” (ca.
1750-1816). DHR has gathered and assessed evidence about the
location and probable condition of the former Richmond free black and
slave burial ground known as the "Burial Ground for Negroes." The agency
has concluded that the preponderance of evidence from available sources
indicates that the Burial Ground and gallows are located under the north
and south bound lanes of Interstate 95. However, a very small
portion of the Burial Ground also may intrude upon a
parking lot in Shockoe Bottom now owned by Virginia Commonwealth
University. DHR also has concluded that the area likely to contain the
Burial Ground has not been damaged by the recent construction of I-95,
which deposited between 7-10 feet of fill on an area already covered
with 8-10 feet of fill deposited since the middle 19th
century. However, unknown 19th-century disturbance could have
occurred. See the
slave burial ground report (PDF). (Updated 8-7-08)
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Preservation pays. That is the conclusion of an economic
study, “Prosperity through Preservation,” released in January
2008 by the Department of Historic Resources.
Conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Public
Policy, in partnership with DHR, the study finds that
Virginia’s state rehabilitation tax credit program created nearly
$1.6 billion in economic impact in the Commonwealth and supported
just under 11,000 jobs since 1997. The
study determined that from 1997 through June 2007 rehabilitation
state tax credit incentives spurred private investment of nearly
$1.5 billion spent restoring more than 1,200 landmark buildings
throughout Virginia. Significantly, VCU’s analysis, based on a
survey of sponsors of rehabilitation projects, determined that of
the nearly $1.5 billion investment, a full $952 million was tied
directly to projects for which the state tax credits were identified
as an essential
driving force. In other words, without the rehabilitation state tax
credit program, the projects would never have been undertaken.
Read the summary,
Prosperity through Preservation. (Updated 08-4-08)
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DHR formulates and identifies its annual and long-range plans and
goals through three separate documents, all of which are available to
the public: (1) our preservation plan
Putting Virginia's History to Work;
(2) our
Strategic Plan, recently approved by the Governor; and (3) our
Work
Plan. The latter outlines how this agency will
implement the first two plans during the current federal fiscal year
(October 2008 through September 2009). If you have queries about
these plans, please contact Dr.
Catherine Slusser, Deputy Director of DHR, for further
information. (updated 12-15-08)
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The new and updated edition of
A Guidebook
to Virginia's Historical Markers is now available! The book
can be purchased through bookstores, this department, or the
University of
Virginia Press for $19.95. (See this
announcement.)
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The updated and redesigned Second Edition of
First People:
The Early Indians of Virginia (published by the University of
Virginia Press in association with the Department of Historic Resources)
is now available. This engaging 112-page book, with many illustrations,
provides an overview of Virginia Indians, past and present. It's a great
introduction to Virginia Indian history, written for general readers and
students. It can be
ordered ($12.95, plus $3 shipping) from this department,
University of
Virginia Press, or your local bookstore.