HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5 - Fredericksburg Plan 3dY•.�'
d o
r,
i
n
HISTORIC
PRESERVATION
PLAN
r
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG,
VIRGINIA
.LUNE 2010
HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLAN
for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia
Prepared in conjunction with the
City of Fredericksburg Comprehensive Plan
Prepared by:
Historic Preservation Task Force
Planning Commission
and City Staff
City of Fredericksburg
P.O. Box 7447
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22404
June 2010
Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Mission
The City will continue to recognize, protect, and interpret significant architectural,
historical, and archaeological resources that are part of the community's heritage. The
purpose of the Fredericksburg Preservation Plan is to outline goals and initiatives to help
fulfill this mission (see Appendix A for a complete glossary of terms used in this
document).
The Scope
The plan
• Recognizes that the perpetuation of our cultural resources is essential to
maintaining a vibrant community that retains its character, sustains its quality of
life, and provides for its long-term economic well being as it continues to evolve.
• Includes the entire city, not just the Old and Historic Fredericksburg District.
• Focuses on multiple types of historic and cultural properties: buildings, structures,
objects, sites, and districts.
• Recognizes the resource limits of the City and identifies alternative resources to
assist in the implementation of the plan's goals.
• Goes beyond preserving our history and includes education and interpretation
components to encourage both tourism and a better quality of life for residents.
• Should be considered as a companion document to the City of Fredericksburg
Comprehensive Plan.
• Most importantly, the basis of the plan is the idea that the City's history continues
to evolve and the preservation requirements will need to change with it.
Key Issues
Issue 1:Historic Properties Inventory
The success of the Preservation Plan is predicated on the City's ability to inventory
historic properties, including both above- and below-ground resources.
Issue 2:Battlefield and Civil War Site Preservation
The park should be preserved in settings that enhance the visitor experience, and park-
identified viewsheds should be enhanced in order to promote understanding and
appreciation of the stories the park has to tell.
i
Executive Summary
Issue 3:Zoning
The preservation of historic buildings and streetscapes requires an eye towards the
historic context of each property as an entity of its own time and place. As such, zoning
laws should be amended to allow Fredericksburg zoning requirements to be more
context-driven when dealing with historic properties and neighborhoods to avoid out-of-
character development and retain neighborhood cohesion and theme.
Issue 4: Enforcement
Although the establishment of the Historic District in 1972 put in place the basic tools to
advance preservation in the city, the use of these tools has been limited to specific
boundaries. The consistent enforcement of the Maintenance Code and Historic District
Ordinance is primary objective and the city should provide the necessary resources to
implement this effort city wide.
Issue 5:Protection
Protection includes those policies, procedures, and actions that reduce or negate adverse
effects on the Historic District and other historic properties throughout the city.
Issue 6:Incentives
In order to help promulgate preservation activities in Fredericksburg, it is imperative that
the City and other local preservation groups establish a set of initiates to promote the
rehabilitation, restoration, repair, and investigation of historic properties.
Issue 7:Education and Community Outreach
In order for these resources to be respected and preserved, their story must be understood
by city employees and be presented in a meaningful way to visitors and residents.
ii
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................iv
PREFACE: HISTORIC PRESERVATION TASK FORCE MISSION STATEMENT....v
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1
SECTION 2: FREDERICKSBURG'S HISTORIC CHARACTER.................................. 4
Physiography................................................................................................................... 4
Prehistoric and Historic Development............................................................................ 4
SECTION 3: PREVIOUS PRESERVATION EFFORTS AT THE FEDERAL, STATE
ANDLOCAL LEVEL........................................................................................................ 6
Preservation's Early Years: Primarily Private................................................................ 6
The Federal Government Expands Its Role.................................................................... 7
StatePrograms ................................................................................................................ 8
Local-Level Preservation.............................................................................................. 10
Preservation in Fredericksburg: A Contextual Narrative.............................................. 12
SECTION 4: FREDERICKSBURG PRESERVATION PLAN: BASIC TENANTS, KEY
ISSUES & RECOMMENDED INITIATIVES ............................................................... 19
Basic Purpose and Principals........................................................................................ 19
PlanOversight............................................................................................................... 20
Issues, Goals, Initiatives and Intended Outcomes ........................................................ 21
SECTION 5: IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................... 38
Developing an Archaeological Plan.............................................................................. 38
Coordinating Public Sector Responsibilities ................................................................ 39
Coordinating with the National Park Service ............................................................... 39
SECTION 6: SUGGESTED REFERENCES.................................................................. 40
APPENDIX A: DEFINITIONS/GLOSSARY................................................................ 45
APPENDIX B: SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR'S STANDARDS FOR
PRESERVATION PROFESSIONALS............................................................................ 57
APPENDIX C: FREDERICKSBURG STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL OF
DEMOLITION, REMOVAL OR RELCOCATION........................................................ 59
APPENDIX D: FREDERICKSBURG HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX abatement
GUIDELINES................................................................................................................... 62
APPENDIX E: PLAN REVIEW GROUP DETAILS..................................................... 63
APPENDIX F: A BRIEF HISTORY OF FREDERICKSBURG.................................... 64
PrehistoricPeriod.......................................................................................................... 64
HistoricPeriod.............................................................................................................. 65
iii
Acknowledgements
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Fredericksburg Historic Preservation Plan was developed by the 2007-2010 Historic
Preservation Task Force. The group was appointed by Mayor Thomas Tomzak and
Fredericksburg City Council to develop a plan to help guide preservation activities in our
community. As such, the Task Force representatives cover a wide range of city residents.
The Historic Preservation Task Force team included:
City Council: Matt Kelly, Chair of the Task Force; Councilor, Ward III
Kerry Devine, Vice Mayor; Councilor, At Large
George Solley; Councilor, Ward II
Members: Kerri S. Bartle
Barbara G. Fant
Kitty Farley
Carol Kramer
Owen Lindauer
Sean Maroney
Roy McAfee
James McGhee
Beatrice Paolucci
Vic Ramoneda
Russ Smith
Susan Spears
Joe Wilson
The Task Force wishes to particularly thank the City Planning Commission, City
Planning Department, the City Building and Development Services Department, and the
City Attorney for their assistance during this process. In particular, Ray Ocel, Erik
Nelson, John Walsh, Kathleen Dooley, and Beverly Cameron were instrumental to the
completion of this document.
All images and figures within this document, unless otherwise cited, are from the
collection of Dovetail Cultural Resource Group in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
iv
Preface Mission Statement
PREFA CE:
THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION TASK FORCE
MISSION STATEMENT
The City of Fredericksburg's (City) historic and cultural resources span our nation's
history, ranging from prehistoric settlements to colonial dwellings and stores, Civil War
battlegrounds to postbellum urban growth, and emerging suburb anization. Some
resources have yet to be discovered, while others need to be reevaluated as new
information comes to light. Fredericksburg's distinctive character, evident in its built
environment and archaeological sites, is a result of these intermingled histories.
Our city has a life that has already spanned many generations, and it is understood that
each generation is a steward of what has been left in its care. We accept the challenge to
alter the city's fabric with respect and dignity, not only to the past, but to future
generations as well. We recognize the richness and diversity of our cultural heritage. We
desire to live in and bequeath a city that integrates our buildings, objects, structures, sites,
and districts with those of the past. For these reasons and more, we have created a
preservation plan for the City of Fredericksburg.
v
Preface Mission Statement
vi
Section 1 Introduction
SECTION 1:
INTRODUCTION
Fredericksburg is located in north-central Virginia, approximately half way between the
state capital of Richmond and our nation's capital, Washington D.C. The community lies
at the fall line of the Rappahannock Rivera natural resource that has provided centuries
of nourishment, enrichment, work, and play. From Native American tribes to colonial
settlers and servants and from Civil War soldiers to today's D.C. commuters, each
generation has left behind an indelible, tangible mark on the city. The resulting fabric is
vibrant, rich, and multifaceted. The Fredericksburg Preservation Plan was thus created in
recognition of the significance of our past and also the shifting ideologies and needs of
our future.
�&Ies
Virginia and the City of Fredericksburg.
The Preservation Plan should be viewed as a component of the larger City of
Fredericksburg Comprehensive Plan. The adopted Comprehensive Plan (September 25,
2007) noted that Fredericksburg contains an impressive array of historic architecture.
There is no concentration of any one architectural style, however, but rather a diverse set
of buildings that reflects the continuity of an enduring community. The Historic District,
located adjacent to the Rappahannock River, is also the central business district,
surrounded by residential neighborhoods. Both areas provide an inviting context for
continued construction and activity. The Comprehensive Plan notes that an early
appraisal of the City's historic buildings recognized that not all of these resources should
be considered as contributing to the Historic District. While it is critical to protect the
City's historic resources, the Comprehensive Plan also notes that many buildings would
benefit from appropriate rehabilitation, including removal of incompatible improvements.
1
Section 1 Introduction
In addition, many infill opportunities exist where compatible new construction would
contribute to the dynamics of an active and growing community. Moreover, historic
resources exist in abundance outside of the Historic District—resources that help give
Fredericksburg its unique identity and sense of place.
IQQ
k .
'�. , .. ,' k� �� ,�.,, '�P�+v�n.`,e�r "� iw � 1"•� e� " �' IL C r i��� of����
'l"� 7q,,,�� I-75 � '. Y u ,gyp Jar✓;: '� �� �"uti�,io�'� �IiT x r �7�V,K
1
f - l v1'h "&��l d � 1 ' � + I y � ,5•�
v
&n'+-
;m i e- 0 ��' � .� -✓ '� " � y�yd �d° `6�r 1 N P� kr y. � py �y � ,.
��,j ,�'y t.",,Ja � � r .ra• 'v � ✓�a�Cdr Wt ¢�hqy � � J Io � c qo
i
, �.
VA
If
My
Rt I
�5 ` � 454`t �ry wnA 1, fid. '7"� . 1 4 Y f �Y log ✓ II C i
�r� �'rbk rr?�xm�'`F Pt 9 a� �,.' iv Phu w� '�r`�� ✓ s II ' \ � �� p
w��r :J" f� 11� Ie F3W �fC+ �Q s 0 °�. r'' r ,✓ `ue'�S N W � i u �y 'K "4
Fredericksburg,Virginia,U.S.G.S. 7.5-minute Quadrangle.
The Comprehensive Plan contains a thorough list of current and proposed preservation
policies (see Comprehensive Plan, pp. 75-76). This Preservation Plan was developed as a
guide to augment this list and help identify steps that can be taken to protect certain
values that define the character of the City of Fredericksburg and that are rooted it is
history and traditions. The plan, developed between 2007 and 2010, highlights the
present state of preservation in our community and outlines a series of preservation-
related issues to be addressed by city representatives, city staff, and city residents. The
2
Section 1 Introduction
issues, and related goals and initiatives to address each issue, are organized based on
relative priority. However, the plan is designed as a guideline and a checklist for various
future preservation initiatives. It does not provide specific details on all actions needed to
complete (or the content thereof) the various ordinances, overlays, and other
modifications needed to achieve our preservation goals, as it is believed that each of these
goals are multi-faceted, nuanced topic that warrant individual scrutiny. This plan is only a
basic foundation. More detailed ordinances, plans, and guidelines are required to build on
the ideas presented in this document.
The plan also provides guidance on the oversight of the plan itself to assure that the
initiatives set forth within this document are being adequately attended. Fredericksburg's
distinctive character, portrayed in its built environment and archaeological sites, is an
amalgam of our history. The concepts that are presented in the Preservation Plan are
equally multifaceted and highlight the meaningful and varied texture of our community.
3
Section 1 Introduction
Section 2 History
SECTION 2:
FREDERICKSB UR G'S HISTORIC CHARACTER
The character of Fredericksburg is defined by both its natural setting and its historic
context. This section presents an abbreviated description of its physiography and its
prehistory and history to provide background data for the ensuing plan. See Appendix F
(p. 64) for an extended narrative on the area's prehistoric and historic context.
Physiography
Fredericksburg is within the transition area between the Virginia Piedmont and the
Coastal Plain. The terrain is bisected by the Rappahannock River and is characterized by
moderately broad ridges, steep bluffs, and both narrow and moderately wide floodplains.
Land elevations range between 25 and 250 feet above mean sea level. The city's
watersheds are drained by a combination of natural streams and human-formed channels.
The Rappahannock River, running along Fredericksburg's northern and eastern
boundary, flows east to west. The fall line marks the western boundary of the Coastal
Plain sediments. In the Coastal Plain and Piedmont uplands area, crystalline igneous and
metamorphic rocks of the pre-Cretaceous, are overlain by sand, sandstone, silt, clay, and
gravels. Rocky outcrops occur and many have been quarried. Soils are typically deep and
well drained and fall generally to the east.
Prehistoric and Historic Development
Although many people think of the English settlement at Jamestown in 1607 as the first
successful settlement in what is today Virginia, Native American groups have been living
throughout the region for thousands of years. The earliest Native inhabitants, known as
Paleoindians, lived in small, nomadic bands focused on hunting caribou, elk, deer, and
now extinct mega-fauna. They lived in the Fredericksburg region over 10,000 years ago.
Subsequent Archaic-period tribes had a generally larger population and began to create
seasonal camps, a first nod towards permanent settlement. They used ground-stone tools
to hunt and began to exploit the area's waterways for fish. The later Woodland groups
began to plant crops, use pottery, and establish long-term settlements. These Woodland
period tribes were living along the Rappahannock and other tributaries when John Smith
and other European explorers began to move westward from Jamestown.
During the seventeenth century, tobacco and slavery came to dominate life among the
new European settlers in the colony. The Chesapeake Bay plantations had strong
commercial ties to England and were served by the region's many navigable rivers. As
the Virginia colony grew beyond the Tidewater, there developed a need for places to
exchange materials and goods. Larger trade centers were established at the falls of major
waterways, to serve the Colony's interior reaches. The fall line was as far upstream as
4
Section 2 History
vessels could navigate, and the falls themselves provided a source of power for local
industries. Fall line settlements included Petersburg on the Appomattox River, Richmond
on the James, and Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock. Water-powered mills served
agricultural needs and eventually drove manufacturing enterprises. Roads within this
network, however, remained abysmal.
Following independence from Britain, the nation's attention turned increasingly
westward. The Piedmont's agricultural base grew, but the roads that connected these
emerging markets to the towns on the fall line remained poor. During the first half of the
nineteenth century, various interests attempted to construct canals, turnpikes, and
railroads, to provide critical transportation links, but without adequate state support most
of these improvements continued to be marginal.
The Northern Coastal Region also played a prominent role during the Civil War.
Railroads constructed just a few years earlier, on a north-south axis, effectively linked the
two warring capitols of Washington D.C. and Richmond. The iron rails provided the
logistical infrastructure to field enormous armies. Between 1862 and 1864, the
Rappahannock River became the dividing line between the Union Army of the Potomac
and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. During this period, these massive armies
fought at Fredericksbug, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court
House.
Following the Civil War, there were few changes in the Northern Coastal Region. The
eastward-flowing rivers kept places like the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula
oriented to the Chesapeake Bay. Tobacco farming continued to give way to wheat and
produce, and a growing seafood industry thrived. A variety of investors also revived
milling and manufacturing operations, where waterpower remained an economic
constant.
This industrial pattern began to change in the early-twentieth century. Improved
roadways, to accommodate motorcars and trucks, eventually removed an almost
exclusive reliance on railways and river shipping. Electrical power, even if water-
generated, reduced the need to locate actual industries along waterways, where they were
constantly prone to flood damage. As north-south highways established links to other
economic regions, only Richmond retained its east-west orientation between the interior
reaches and Virginia's primary seaports to the east.
Changing political conditions also resulted in a permanent military presence in the
region. Overseas conflicts drew the nation's attention to Europe, and the Marine Corps
established a base at Quantico during World War I for training. The Army set up Camp
A.P. Hill during World War IL Since that time, the region's demographics also changed
as the Northern Virginia suburbs steadily extended south, supplanting the rural
environment with houses and retail center.
5
Section 3 Preservation Law
SECTION 3:
PREVIOUS PRESERVATION EFFORTS AT THE
FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL
This plan is by no means the first effort to preserve Fredericksburg's historic and cultural
resources. The city has a long history of planning for, and preserving, historic buildings,
landscapes, objects, structures, burying grounds, and other resources. These efforts have
been carried out at the private level by preservation-minded citizens and organizations, as
well as at the public level by boards, commissions and departments of City government.
A good Preservation Plan uses existing legislation as a backdrop for proposed
preservation goals, thus providing a foundation of existing guidelines and a framework
for proposed modifications. This section presents a brief discussion on Federal, State, and
Local-level preservation legislation. Specifically, Fredericksburg's past preservation
efforts are discussed to assess their impact on preserving the city's historic and cultural
resources. This assessment is critical in order to: (1) avoid duplication of past efforts; (2)
determine what, if any, past efforts need revisiting; and (3) determine what goals,
initiatives, and outcomes are needed for the future.
Preservation's Early Years: Primarily Private
The private sector initiated historic preservation in the United States, motivated by the
desire to honor the nation's heroes. In 1853, an association of women, horrified at the
neglect and deterioration of George Washington's Mount Vernon, assumed responsibility
to preserve it. Private groups also incorporated to protect other places in the region such
as Stratford Hall (birthplace of Robert E. Lee) and Ferry Farm (boyhood home of George
Washington).
The federal government became involved in preservation nineteen years after the Mount
Vernon Ladies Association formed, but with a focus on landscapes in the West.
Yellowstone National Park came into being through Congressional action in 1872. The
Antiquities Act of 1906 had as its focus protection of Native American sites. Although
the National Park Service was created in 1916, private efforts remained critical to
creating the Great Smoky Mountains and the Grand Tetons National Parks. Despite these
efforts,preservation remained primarily private for the next several decades.
Private enterprise recreated Colonial Williamsburg, beginning in 1926. Williamsburg
evolved through the vision of a wealthy philanthropist, but other communities were
figuring out that preservation of an entire community was the way to retain their historic
character. In 1931, Charleston, South Carolina, introduced the nation's first ordinance
whose scope was preservation of an entire urban district. In 1936, Louisiana amended its
6
Section 3 Preservation Law
state constitution, to allow New Orleans to establish a historic district in that city's
French Quarter.
The idea behind a district was that a collection of buildings was greater than the sum of
its parts. The authority for this type of legislation is the exercise of a jurisdiction's police
power. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas articulated this once quaint notion as
follows:
The concept of the public welfare is broad and inclusive. The values it
represents are spiritual as well as physical, aesthetic as well as monetary.
It is within the power of the legislature to determine that the community
should be beautiful as well as healthy, spacious as well as clean, well-
balanced as well as carefully patrolled.
The Federal Government Expands Its Role
During the Great Depression, the federal government became involved in a great many
preservation activities. The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed roads and trails in
federal parks and performed a significant amount of maintenance. The Historic
American Buildings Survey (1933) initiated the documentation of thousands of
properties. The Historic Sites Act (1935) established an official list of historically
significant properties, which were already being surveyed and documented. The Civil
War battlefields being administered by the War Department were transferred to the
National Park Service.
The post-World War II boom led to even more federal involvement in preservation.
Public spending for roads and other infrastructure grew massive, but occasionally caused
damage to places of historic significance. The U.S. Congress chartered the National
Trust for Historic Preservation in 1949, but the federal government's central preservation
law dates to 1966. The National Historic Preservation Act, (NHPA) of that year,
promoted preservation within the context of the modern world. The intent of the
legislation was to protect the nation's heritage as communities grew and developed.
The authority for federal involvement in historic preservation is found in Article 1,
Section 8 of the United States Constitution. Under this provision, Congress is authorized
to levy taxes as well as legislate for the general welfare. A host of federal regulations
make historic preservation part of federal undertakings. The Natural Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 expanded federal responsibilities to include not just historic concerns,
but impact to the natural environment as well. Like the NHPA of 1966, these federal
rules are applicable when federal funding is being used.
The 1966 National Historic Preservation Act made the states partners with the federal
government. The intent was to direct federal funding to the State Historic Preservation
Officer (SHPO), so states could do their own historic preservation surveying and listing.
Federal funds were never adequate, though, and by the 1980s, states were not doing
nominations any longer. Consultants filled that niche. A 1980 amendment to the 1966
7
Section 3 Preservation Law
NHPA created the Certified Local Government Program, continuing the trend of
decentralizing the federal role in preservation. This time, the distribution of responsibility
was beyond the state government to the local level. This step ostensibly brought local
governments into the national preservation program, as the states had been, but local
preservation comes under the auspices of the state governments, rather than any federal
jurisdiction. This difference in jurisdictional authority has profound significance.
Historic districts became more prevalent within older localities. The Bicentennial of the
American Revolution generated tremendous interest in historic preservation and was used
by many jurisdictions as a way to revitalize downtown communities that had been
bypassed and economically devastated by suburban competition (facilitated by the
Federal highway system). Following up on this trend, the National Trust introduced its
Main Street Program in the 1980s. The legality of historic district legislation had been
challenged in court, but a 1978 case (Penn Central v. NYC) affirmed that local
preservation regulation was valid.
The landmark Penn Central case is tremendously significant, but local preservation
should not subsequently be viewed as an extension of federal and state programs. The
public sector consists of three tiers of government—federal, state, and local. Each level
of government has its own function as well as distinct limitations. It is critical that
preservationists understand the inherent strengths and limits of each because most
preservation projects involve all three in some manner.
State Programs
Amendments 9 and 10 of the United States Constitution leave the regulation of land use
up to the states. In this context, the states retain the police power for such things as
zoning, building codes, and historic preservation. To understand preservation at the local
level, it is necessary to understand the legal relationship between a locality and its state
government.
In Virginia, the state enabling legislation is the key to local historic preservation. The
statute is quite brief and simply provides for establishment of a district, a review process,
and an avenue for appeals. In describing the review process, the State Code also
specifies in very broad terms—that the local review of a project is to ensure that it will
be "architecturally compatible" with the historic district's historic landmarks, buildings,
and structures. In the context of the state's authority to exercise the police power for
zoning, building codes, and historic preservation, the local review is a quasi-judicial
process. The local ARB must evaluate applications against an adopted ordinance.
Virginia Department of Historic Resources
In early 1966, the Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia Landmarks
Commission, one of the first preservation offices in the country and pre-dating the NHPA
of 1966 by several months. Since 1989, the SHPO and a professional staff of historians,
architectural historians, and archeologists have comprised the Virginia Department of
8
Section 3 Preservation Law
Historic Resources (DHR), the successor to the Virginia Landmarks Commission based
in Richmond. Code of Virginia Section 10.1-2200 et seq. outlines the general purposes of
the DHR. The SHPO is the director and appointed by the Governor.
Based on the success of the Roanoke regional office established in 1989, DHR added
three additional regional offices in 1995-1996. These offices provide closer coordination
with citizens and local officials and are located in Winchester, Portsmouth, and
Petersburg. The Northern Regional Preservation Office in Stephens City serves the City
of Fredericksburg and surrounding localities.
Two citizen boards assist the DHR in its historic preservation duties, the State Board of
Historic Resources and the State Review Board. The Board of Historic Resources
approves Completed nomination reports for listing on the Virginia Landmarks Register
(and subsequent nomination to the National Register), Historic preservation easements,
and the highway marker program participants. The Governor appoints its members. The
Review Board approves proposed nomination reports for listing on the Virginia
Landmarks Register, and the director of the DHR appoints its members.
Two state-wide private agencies also assist in historic preservation matters—the
Preservation Alliance of Virginia, a consortium of historic preservation organizations
throughout Virginia, and the Association for the Protection of Virginia Antiquities
(APVA). The APVA operates four historic properties within Fredericksburg and is thus
extremely active in Fredericksburg-area preservation: the Mary Washington House, the
Rising Sun Tavern, the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, and the St. James House. The
first three are open year-round, while the latter is open on special occasions.
Virginia Landmarks Register
The Virginia Landmarks Register, established in 1966, is an official list of buildings,
structures, districts, objects and sites that constitute the principal historical, architectural
and archaeological resources of the Commonwealth. The intent of the State Register, like
that of the National Register, is to recognize publicly the significance of the listed
properties. Its additional function is to encourage, but not require, local governments and
property owners to consider the registered property's historic, architectural,
archaeological and cultural significance in their planning and decision making.
A property owner, or with the owner's consent, any interested individual or organization,
may nominate individual properties or districts for listing on the Virginia Landmarks
Register. The DHR will provide a nomination packet and evaluate the completed forms to
determine eligibility for listing. As part of the nomination process, County officials, local
preservation groups, and adjacent property owners are notified and afforded the
opportunity to comment. All properties approved for listing on the Virginia Landmarks
Register are, with the property owner's consent, nominated to the National Register.
If determined to be eligible, the property will then be listed on the National Register.
Benefits for owners of property on the State Register include eligibility for: (1) Technical
9
Section 3 Preservation Law
assistance with repair and rehabilitation projects from the professional staff of the
Department of Historic Resources; and (2) State income tax credits for eligible
rehabilitation of listed properties. Unlike the federal income tax credit, the property need
not produce income. The owner of each newly listed property receives an authorization to
purchase an official state plaque that may be affixed to the property.
Easements
Owners of properties that are listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register may also elect to
protect their properties with a historic easement. Historic easements are administered by
the DHR under the Open Space Land Act (Code of Virginia Sections 10.1-1700-1705).
The Board solicits and accepts preservation easements, which prohibit in perpetuity the
inappropriate use or development of scenic and historic land and buildings.
In addition to Historic Easements, Conservation Easements are also available for property
owners. The Code of Virginia 10.1-1009 et seq. authorizes the creation of conservation
easements for the purpose of protecting natural, scenic, or open space values. Easements
may be donated by the landowner to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation or other public
holding agencies, normally through individually negotiated agreements to limit
development, but some ability to subdivide may be retained. The minimum term of the
easement is five years, but in order to qualify for federal tax deductions, must be written
for perpetuity. Local government is not directly involved in creating conservation
easements.
Local-Level Preservation
Through federal legislation, there exists a strict environmental review of state and federal
projects, based on very standardized criteria for determining the significance of historic
resources. There are also state and federal tax credits for private property owners, again
with strict standards for the treatment of historic properties.
State and federal bureaucracies oversee their respective preservation compliance
programs. A cadre of consultants is available for hire, either by government agencies
undertaking specific projects or by private citizens seeking tax credits. In this context,
preservation is either a required part of state and federal projects, for which funding must
be identified, or a potential subsidy that encourages property owners to preserve their
properties as state and federal authorities will allow.
Preservation at the local level, on the other hand, has an entirely different legal basis.
State and federal projects are required, by law, to have a preservation compliance
component. State and federal tax credits provide a strong financial incentive. Local
preservation, however, is imposed at the discretion of the local governing body and
directly affects the activities of voters and constituents in the use of their property.
Local preservation is still undertaken in the manner initiated in 1931, when Charleston,
South Carolina established the nation's first historic district ordinance. In effect, the
10
Section 3 Preservation Law
jurisdiction exercises its police power to require a special type of permit (a Certificate of
Appropriateness) for defined work(exterior alterations visible from a public right of way)
in a designated area (the historic district). The local review board is quasi-judicial and
functions under zoning law. The established federal criteria are often adopted by
localities for their local review process.
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties contain
guidance for four different ways of working with historic buildings. The National Park
Service states that they are "neither technical nor prescriptive," but rather a means to
promote "responsible preservation practices...." The four options are as follows:
1. Preservation: Preservation actively maintains the integrity of a
resource, including stabilization and ongoing maintenance, with a
premium placed on retention of as much historic fabric as possible.
2. Restoration: Restoration of a property entails returning a resource
to the appearance it had in an earlier period. Restoration often
includes the removal of materials from other periods, regardless of
significance. The extent of restoration is usually a matter of
contentious discussion.
3. Reconstruction: Reconstructing something of significance is the
act of reestablishing a resource that no longer exists. The accuracy
of a reconstruction depends on available documentation and the
restorer's ability to remain true to the resource and its initial period
of construction.
4. Rehabilitation: Rehabilitating a building returns it to a
contemporary use, while protecting its significant features.
Rehabilitation is the activity most often undertaken within a local historic district. Unlike
the other three treatment options, rehabilitation does not freeze time. It does not create a
time capsule. IInstead, it allows change, so buildings can be adapted and used. The
Preservation option, however, exerts a powerful influence in how a locality reviews
projects in its historic district.
Local Preservation is Political
Historic overlay zoning embodies a host of inherent conflicts. When property owners
and an ARB meet, the dynamic is the exercise of a jurisdiction's police power within a
context of property rights, freedom of expression, legal aesthetics, economic
development, and the community's history and values. The local context is more
comprehensive than the focus on a single resource.
While state and federal programs address preservation through precise standards, there
are many opinions as to what constitutes historic preservation at the local level. For
some, a historic district is akin to legal covenants that ensure no changes will occur in
their neighborhood. This expectation considers the Preservation option over the
11
Section 3 Preservation Law
Rehabilitation one. This rigid interpretation is not what zoning can deliver, but the idea
is persistent. For others, historic preservation dictates that every building must look
historic (however that individual defines such a term). For yet others, a historic district is
a means to exclude people who are not affluent enough to care for a historic home. The
reality, however, is that most historic districts are a celebration of a community's past
that are unique in their own right and should be considered on an individual basis.
Local Preservation: Managing Change
The ARB's charge is to ensure that the inevitable changes that come to a growing and
active community remain a visible part of its development. An ARB is heavily involved
with the adaptive reuse of privately owned buildings. Revitalization of once active
downtown centers requires that obsolete buildings, such as mills or factories, be used for
something else. The revitalization focus is very much a local goal. It is specified in
virtually every Comprehensive Plan that includes a historic preservation component,
which is then included in virtually every related historic preservation ordinance.
Revitalization is an integral part of local preservation because its economic promise is
cited as the public purpose in virtually every local historic preservation ordinance that
seeks to regulate private property.
Change is what occurs in historic districts. Old building need to be adapted to
contemporary uses or they end up abandoned as economically unfeasible. Historic
preservation that seeks to encapsulate an image rather than realize the dynamic of human
activity will eventually become stagnant and irrelevant.
Preservation in Fredericksburg: A Contextual Narrative
Preservation in the City of Fredericksburg began as primarily a private affair. The
Fredericksburg Ladies Memorials Association took on the task of burying dead
Confederates after the Civil War and, in time, erected memorials. As aforementioned,
the APVA acquired and preserved several properties with Colonial connections. Other
preservation organizations in the area include the Association for the Preservation of
Virginia Antiquities, Friends of the James Monroe Museum, Friends of the
Rappahannock, Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center, Friends of the
Wilderness Battlefield, and George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation. The latter
is a large, privately-funded group who manages Kenmore Plantation in downtown
Fredericksburg and George Washington's Ferry Farm, located in Stafford County,
Virginia just across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg. The group has well-
established archaeological and historical research programs that involve a high level of
education and interpretation.
The Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI) is an educational and advocacy
group that holds preservation easements on a collection of downtown buildings and also
occupies the Lewis Store, which it acquired and preserved. Comprising a group of
dedicated local citizens alarmed by the destruction of several architectural and historical
landmarks in Fredericksburg, the group's mission included protection of the rich cultural
12
Section 3 Preservation Law
heritage of the Fredericksburg area, promotion of interest in and awareness of local
preservation issues, and education of future generations about the benefits of preservation
for our quality of life. The Foundation identified, purchased and stabilized endangered
buildings. However, the group quickly realized that preservation of place needed to go
beyond individual resources to embody a holistic support system of our community.
Today, HFFI continues to lobby for wise and creative public policy concerning the
preservation and economic revitalization of significant properties. The group works with
localities on neighborhood preservation, recording historic properties, and participation
on preservation-related boards and task force groups.
A�
Hugh Mercer Apothecary °
Shop on Caroline Street,
operated by the Association
for the Preservation of
Virginia Antiquities.
ME
Fredericksburg also followed the national trend in preservation and established its own
historic district. As allowed by State enabling legislation, a board of seven citizens,
appointed by the City Council, regulates certain aspects of construction undertaken by
private property owners within the established district. In addition, the City has
developed incentives and other supports for preservation as well as engaged in
identifying historic resources throughout the City. These various activities are described
more fully below:
Historic District
The City adopted its first Historic District Ordinance in 1968. Administration was by an
appointed body called the Board of Historic Buildings. Due to political concerns, though,
the buildings under the administration of the City's oversight were those constructed in
1870 or earlier. New construction thus came under the purview of the Planning
Commission.
13
a
� � W
III
- I III
'Y
1p
lip
AN
C• • • • I In
-• ••• -• • • • •
•ii • • . • • •' • . .•
Section 3 Preservation Law
come to be called the Architectural Review Board. Unfortunately, the revision also
interjected the Planning Commission into the appeals process. The ARB, in effect,
became a subcommittee of the Planning Commission. This expedient was abolished a
few years later and appeals went directly to the elected City Council.
While the City's local historic district was being set up, a historic register nomination
was completed and submitted to the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. In March
of 1971, the State commission voted to place Fredericksburg's Historic District on the
Virginia Landmarks Register and subsequently forwarded the nomination package to the
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In September 1971, the Keeper of the National Register listed Fredericksburg's Historic
District on the National Register of Historic Places. It should be noted that listing on the
two registers provides recognition rather than protection. The regulatory protection of
the hundreds of properties within the Historic District only comes through the local
zoning ordinance.
Over the years, the City has continued to refine its preservation ordinance. In 1998, the
City expanded the boundaries of the Historic District, to include the old Walker-Grant
school and neighborhood, the old mills district, and portions of Washington Avenue. In
2002, the City allowed Bed & Breakfast uses in historic dependencies. In 2007, it
reexamined and revised its demolition procedures. Preservation, however, has not been
limited to the Historic District, but includes many additional components, as outlined
below.
Certified Local Government
The Certified Local Government (CLG) program was meant to include local
governments within the larger federal and state preservation process, but was never
adequately funded to achieve that end. Still, CLG status indicates that a jurisdiction has a
preservation program that meets established professional standards. Fredericksburg
meets all applicable criteria and has been designated a CLG.
Citizen Outreach and Preservation Education
The City recognizes that while it regulates the Historic District, it shares custody of the
community's architectural and historic heritage with its citizens. To better support the
considerable efforts of private property owners, the Planning staff and the ARB
developed a Historic District Handbook. It was first published in 1998 and a second
printing occurred in 2003. This Handbook contains an overview of the City's history, an
explanation of how a historic zoning overlay functions, clear guidance for preservation of
existing buildings as well as criteria for new construction with the Historic District, and
appendices on architectural terms, architectural styles, and more. In addition to this
major work, the City has also provided brochures as a ready reference to citizens on
Historic District procedures as well as identification of city offices where help is to be
found.
15
Section 3 Preservation Law
New Construction Procedures in a Historic Context
In 1995, the ARB reviewed plans for a new building and realized it did not have
sufficient experience to appropriately review new construction. It followed up with an
aggressive training program and procedural discussions, to be able to provide the level of
expertise required to effectively serve the City as the central business district attracted
significant investment. The Historic District Handbook had anticipated this need and
provided an evaluation checklist for new construction and the ARB used this framework
to articulate a consistent process. Other efforts to improve the review of new
construction included an expanded public notice, in 2006, to ensure adjacent property
owners received direct notice.
The ARB also knew that if it had struggled with the issue of new construction then surely
other jurisdictions had the same problem. With a grant made available through the CLG
program, the ARB planned and conducted an Advanced Preservation Workshop, in
February 2008. Over 100 participants, from seventeen Virginia jurisdictions were in
attendance, to hear from legal experts and design professionals on the many nuances of
new construction. In 2009, this workshop received recognition from the Virginia
Downtown Development Association through an Award of Excellence for Organizational
Development. The ARB's development in this regard has helped it to properly review
such large new projects as a municipal parking garage, a new hotel, and other large
developments.
Historic Resources Inventory
A key component of historic preservation is the identification of resources so they can be
protected. Over the years, individual property owners have elected to place their
properties on the State and National Registers. Beginning in the 1980s, the City's
planning staff began to identify historic resources outside of the Historic District. While
resources were noted in files, for future reference, others were included in planning
documents. Specific Civil War resources were listed in a Civil War Sites Trail Plan
(1991). Numerous resources were also included in a revised Comprehensive Plan (2007).
More recently, the City has partnered with the DHR to develop a comprehensive survey
of every property within the Historic District, as well as several hundreds of properties
that are historic, but outside the Historic District.
Neighborhood Conservation
Since most historic properties in Fredericksburg area privately owned, the City has
provided several programs to help with their maintenance. The Commissioner of
Revenue, for instance, has a property tax abatement program that phases in the increased
property taxes that result when a property is improved. This incentive has been very
attractive to investors and home owners and has recently been amended to reflect current
real estate conditions. The City has also hired a Property Maintenance Code Official to
ensure properties are not allowed to deteriorate. A related Rental Property Maintenance
16
Section 3 Preservation Law
Program has also been very successful in helping to ensure properties are maintained.
For those citizens who do not have the means to repair older homes, the City has
developed housing rehabilitation and emergency repair programs, using federal funds
(Community Development Block Grant) to ensure those houses remain safe and sanitary.
Enforcement/Staff Coordination
Preservation has been formally coordinated between the Planning Office and the Building
Official since 1996. That year, the City Council also authorized the Planning staff to
report contractors who willfully violated the Historic District ordinance to the State
Board for Contractors. This simple provision has worked exceptionally well. Liaison
between Planning and the Building Office has also become increasingly effective.
The City Council has also amended the Historic District ordinance to require full review
of City projects within the Historic District. For City projects outside the District, the
ARB conducts a public hearing and provides advisory review. In addition,public utilities
and certain infrastructure within the Historic District is reviewed by a committee of City
staff and the chairs of both the ARB and the Planning Commission.
Watershed Property Resources
Fredericksburg owns nearly 4,800 acres of riparian property within five upriver
jurisdictions (Spotsylvania, Stafford, Culpeper, Orange, and Fauquier Counties).
Approximately 4,200 acres have been placed in a conservation easement. Human activity
in the Rappahannock valley has been long and diverse. There are still remnants of Native
American settlements there, as well as sturdy canal locks, military entrenchments, gold
mines, foundations of industrial mills, road traces, and more. The City identified this
great variety of historic sites in a publication called Historic Resources Along the
Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. The City has already printed this document three
times, the first time in 1997 and the last time in 2002.
Battlefields
Fredericksburg is intimately associated with the Civil War and has developed a close
relationship with the staff at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
As early as the 1981 Comprehensive Plan, the City identified Scenic and Historic Vistas
from sites within the National Park—specifically the viewsheds visible from Lee's Hill
and Chatham. Since then, the National Park Service has acquired Willis Hill, adjacent to
the National Cemetery and the City's 2007 Comprehensive Plan identifies the three
battlefield lines-of-sight(Lee's Hill, Willis Hill, and Chatham).
In addition to noting historic vistas in its planning documents, the City also relinquished
its right of access to a portion of Sunken Road, so the National Park could restore the
scene around its visitor center, as much as possible, to its 1862-63 appearance. The City
also has a downtown Civil War walking tour that links the urban battlefield with the
National Park resources at Sunken Road.
17
Section 3 Preservation Law
Additional Local Preservation Groups
Another local preservation group is the Central Virginia Battlefield Trust. In late 1996, a
group of concerned citizens in the Fredericksburg Virginia area decided it was time to
stand up to the destruction of our heritage and to form a historic lands trust. The nonprofit
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust was established with a two-fold mission: first, to
purchase significant Civil War battlefields and landmarks, both in fee and in easement,
and to preserve them in perpetuity; and second, serve as a facilitator and advocate for
battlefield preservation on a local, state and federal level. At Fredericksburg, the Central
Virginia Battlefield Trust helped purchase Willis Hill, a 9-acre tract in the center of
Marye's Heights overlooking the Sunken Road, and the group continues to fight for the
protection of Civil War resources throughout the area.
The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, another non-profit organization in the city,
works to preserve the tangible heritage of our community left to us in printed format.
From books to legal legers and from photographs to historic maps, the group's mission is
to provide a repository for historically valuable documents on the Central Rappahannock
Region, and a center for the scholarly research thereof. Founded in 1997, the group
recently moved to a large archival facility in the old Maury School where they house
their vast collections and welcome researchers conducting studies on topics pertaining to
the Rappahannock region.
18
Section 3 Preservation Law
Section 4 Preservation Plan
SECTION 4:
FREDERICKSBURG PRESERVATION PLAN:
BASIC TENANTS, KEY ISSUES &
RECOMMENDED INITIATIVES
Basic Purpose and Principals
The purpose of the Fredericksburg Preservation Plan is to outline key issues, goals and
initiatives for the identification, protection, and interpretation of historic buildings,
districts, structures, objects, and sites in our community. The perpetuation of these
resources is essential to maintaining a vibrant community that retains its character,
sustains its quality of life, and provides for its long-term economic well being as it
continues to evolve. The plan is meant to provide overarching goals and function as a
checklist for possible initiatives. It does not contain specifics on the ordinances or policy
changes required to complete each goal, as each of these goals and initiatives are
extraordinarily nuanced and merit individual attention.
ay r
s
Kenmore,circa 1910(Photo owned by Kenmore today
George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation)
Specifically, the plan includes a set of preservation objectives and a list of initiatives that
outline how some of the goals can be met. It also includes recommendations on plan
review and the creation of a permanent historic preservation advisory committee to
provide plan oversight.
Based on a review of preservation plans from across the country, it was agreed that the
Fredericksburg Preservation Plan needed to go beyond the static, outdated methods of
relying on the establishment of historic districts in aesthetically-pleasing areas and
restoring monumental historic buildings. Also, because of the current state of
preservation legislation in use in Fredericksburg, the plan goals and action section varies
slightly from other localities to cater to the specific needs of our community.
19
Section 4 Preservation Plan
The Fredericksburg plan encompasses the following basic principles:
• The plan includes the entire City, not just the Old and Historic Fredericksburg
District.
• The plan focuses on multiple types of historic and cultural properties: buildings,
structures, objects, sites, and districts.
• The plan recognizes the resource limits of the City and identifies alternative
resources to assist in the implementation of the plan's goals.
• The plan goes beyond preserving our history and includes education and
interpretation components to encourage both tourism and a better quality of life
for city residents.
• The Plan should be considered as a companion document to the City of
Fredericksburg Comprehensive Plan.
• Most importantly, the basis of the plan is the idea that the City's history continues
to evolve and the preservation requirements will need to change with it.
Plan Oversight
Because such a plan is not static, an oversight system is recommended to identify and
address issues as they arise, to ensure that efforts to acquire other resources are
successful, and to aid in the communication between the development and preservation
community. The City's current staff has a very heavy workload, and placing additional
duties on existing staff is not a feasible or productive alternative.
The successful implementation of a city-wide preservation plan will require coordinated
efforts between various city departments and outside groups, agencies, and individuals.
Members would include Planning staff, Property Maintenance Official, head of the
Building and Maintenance Department, staff liaison for the ARB, one member of City
Council, Tourism staff member, and a representative from the Historic Fredericksburg
Foundation, Inc. The goal of the group is to create a detailed analysis of preservation in
Fredericksburg to use as a guideline for future preservation decisions. In addition,
preservation becomes a key component in city staff decision making.
In addition, the success of such a plan requires a dedicated preservation professional on
the City's staff to aid the current staff in preservation matters. The staff member must
meet the Secretary of the Interior's (SOI) Standards for historic preservation
professionals (see Appendix B for list of criteria). It is necessary that the city employee
be a dedicated SOI-qualified individual for several reasons: one, any project utilizing
federal funds must have a topic-specific, SOI-qualified individual as the project's
Principal Investigator; two, any state or federal compliance review must be completed by
someone who meets the SOI standards; and three, a qualified preservation professional
would demonstrate the City's commitment to preservation initiatives in our community.
20
Section 4 Preservation Plan
The staff member would also be an integral supporting link between the planning staff
and local and state officials.
Issues, Goals, Initiatives and Intended Outcomes
The following plan includes goals and strategies that should be implemented to help
preserve the City's numerous cultural and historic resources. They have been developed
in consideration of preservation programs and city ordinances already in existence and
will allow our community to take on a holistic view of historic preservation and all of its
objectives. To facilitate the completion of the goals, the issues are presented in a
recommended priority order. The first set of issues and goals provide an important base
analysis to understand preservation in our community, while proceeding concentrate on
specialized tasks that can help strengthen our city preservation efforts.
Each of the seven Key Issues has three subcomponentsgoals, initiatives, and outcomes.
Each key issue was first defined based on current conditions in the City. A set of goals
for each issue was then determined to help meet any deficiencies in the existing city
system or in the preservation of our community, in general. These goals define what we
ultimately hope to achieve. The initiatives listed under each goal are a list of
recommendations that should take place to achieve the stated objective. The ensuing
outcomes measure the level of success. It is anticipated that these eight areas will be
modified over the years to remove the key issues that have been adequately met, address
any goals that have not come to fruition, and add any initiatives that arise over time.
Early-nineteenth century
worker tenant houses once
located at 511-519 Sophia
Street(NABS Collection,
Library of Congress).
These homes were
� demolished in the mid-
twentieth century.
i
r,.
21
Section 4 Preservation Plan
The key issues with the highest priority (Historic Property Inventory, Battlefields and
Civil War Site Preservation, and Zoning) all involve gathering data needed to complete a
full analysis of the state of preservation in our community. From involvement groups to
inventories, these issues and their respective goals look to synthesize existing data that
can help city staff, city representatives, and local preservationists make educated
decisions on future preservation initiatives. The two work groups created under Plan
Oversight will be instrumental in aiding city staff and elected representatives to complete
the goals set forth under these three issues.
The final four issues (Enforcement, Protection, Incentives, and Education and
Community Outreach) are also of great importance, but each goal would be strengthen by
successful efforts undertaken on the preceding four key issues. Upon completion of the
analysis, more in-depth preservation topics can be approached using a nuanced
perspective obtained from the previous year's efforts. These second issues present the
opportunity to create additional work groups as needed to analyze the current state of
specific preservation issues in Fredericksburg.
Issue 1:Historic Properties Inventory
The extensive and exciting history of Fredericksburg is readily evident in its built
environment and its below-ground resources. The tangible remains of our 300-year
history are a great source of civic pride, economic inflow, and social identity. However,
although we are surrounded by physical reminders of our past, the City does not have
either a full catalogue of its historic properties or established procedures for the
identification, study, and interpretation of these remains. Without these, decision-making
capabilities are greatly compromised due to a lack of historic context, and the City cannot
fully embrace stewardship of its historic remains.
� i f Vice Mayor Billy Withers
r r r ;m examines archaeological
excavations conducted at
the corner of Caroline and
�p Charlotte Streets in 2006.
J
o mar,
%/�
�/lf
�f
i�0� ��r��r i rrr„ /,��j� %// �rn��7��1 i/��r�/ r ��ii rr��j✓� i
r
22
Section 4 Preservation Plan
The success of the entire Preservation Plan is predicated on the City's ability to catalogue
historic properties. As such, the following goals are set in place to rectify the existing
deficiencies in our current inventory process to aid in the daily operation of city
management and to remind residents and visitors alike of the physical fabric of our rich
historic identity.
Goal 1:
Put in place a process to identify and evaluate the city's historic and cultural resources
and stipulate the methodology to conduct a regular inventory.
Initiatives:
• Review the City's ongoing efforts to document the buildings in the historic
district.
• Use the data gathered the existing inventory efforts to create a list of
contributing resources to the historic district.
• As an ongoing process, record historic properties outside of the historic
district, including both individual buildings and possible new historic districts
based on specific neighborhoods or area historic contexts.
• Ensure a policy is in place to document historic resources throughout the city
that may be demolished and/or moved, including black & white 35 mm and
color digital photographs and written notes. All documentation should be
submitted to both the City and the DHR including the completion of a Data
Sharing System form and appropriate mapping.
Outcome:
A composite list of buildings, structures, districts, objects, and sites in the City is
created that can be updated on a regular basis; the list will include construction
date, style, material, contributing/non-contributing status, and notes on integrity.
The City of Fredericksburg
Cultural Resource
Inventory should include
all historic properties overe�
Asa
50 years in age.Many ....._.,.�..... bb ���.. i
twentieth-century
properties have achieved
significance in their own
right,including Carl's Ice
Cream(c. 1947)listed on
the National Register of
Historic Places in 2005.
23
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Goal 2:
Establish controls to assure that archaeological sites and subsurface materials are
properly identified, evaluated and mitigated prior to excavation projects throughout the
city. This will likely include the creation of an Archaeological Ordinance.
Initiatives:
• Organize an Archaeological Task Force to commence a discussion on the
merits of an archaeological ordinance versus an archaeological overlay for the
city. The task force should include archaeological professionals in the
community and others interested in subsurface discoveries, including at least
one member of the Architectural Review Board and Planning Commission.
• Develop an overlay map showing areas within the city with a low, moderate
and high potential to contain intact archaeological sites.
• Develop a policy to recommend Phase I and II archaeology on new/infill
development in areas defined to possess a moderate or high level of
archaeological potential, as defined on the overlay map.
• Encourage Phase III excavations at significant archaeological sites through
staff support and the application for grant money for such endeavors.
• Establish a system where development plans that are reviewed by the ARB or
Planning Commission are assessed for the potential for intact archaeological
deposits.
Outcome:
Archaeological sites in the city are regularly identified, evaluated, excavated, and
interpreted to uncover new information on Fredericksburg's history and
prehistory in a manner that does not place the burden of excessive inconvenience
or delay on the project sponsor. Information gleaned from these efforts should be
disseminated to the general public through various public talks, articles, and
exhibits to educate the general public on the findings.
Goal 3:
Highlight the City's commitment to historic preservation by documenting any
archaeological remains that are uncovered by City workers during routine maintenance or
repair and, if needed, studying above-ground historic resources that are examined during
routine structural inspections.
Initiatives:
• Establish City policy for documenting historic assets when uncovered during
routine work by the City.
• Encourage City Council to dedicate funds for a full-time staff archaeologist to
oversee archaeological initiatives throughout the city in the future.
24
Section 4 Preservation Plan
f i l
i
Willowware pattern pearlware plates(c. 1790-1830)excavated from the Indian Queen
Tavern site at the corner of Charlotte and Caroline streets.
Outcome:
City-owned historic resources are identified and evaluated in a time-effective
manner, thus preventing degradation and loss.
Goal 4:
Create a formal procedure to document any above-ground historic resources (buildings,
objects or structures)prior to relocation or demolition.
Initiatives:
• Ensure a policy is in place to document historic buildings, structures and
objects throughout the city that may be demolished and/or moved through
written notes and photographs complying with current National Park Service
guidelines.
• Encourage City Council to dedicate funds to achieve this work through staffor
consultant efforts or establish a formal partnership with a local advocacy
group for donated services to achieve said policy.
• Work with HFFI to determine the best methodology for recording properties
slated for demolition and share data on recorded buildings after recordation.
All documentation should also be submitted to the DHR including the
completion of a Data Sharing System form and appropriate mapping.
25
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Outcome:
Resources permanently lost from the city's architectural record will be recorded
for future researchers.
This historic townhouse at
519 Princess Anne Street
was demolished in 2006
as a results of years of neglect.
t
i, i /tli
I Ti
JN mNWWNrcrlakflM�
�/�i/f arc uOI U/?/'J 1 ••;,%,••,r I r
Issue 2:Battlefields and Civil War Site Preservation
Fredericksburg is one of only a few American cities to have a national park situated
within its boundaries. The park is not only an economic engine for the city and a national
treasure, but it also represents a watershed era in the city's history. The park should be
preserved in dignified settings that enhance the visitor experience, and park viewsheds
should be maintained in order to promote understanding and appreciation of the stories
the park has to tell.
Goal 1:
Preserve and enhance the historic viewshed between the City of Fredericksburg and
Chatham Manor by managing vegetation and minimizing modern intrusions.
Initiatives:
• Work with the National Park Service to identify mutual actions to improve the
management of the viewshed.
• Consider the appearance of City's historic skyline and river line in zoning and
preservation ordinances.
• Amend the city's Historic District ordinance to specifically include the river
as a viewshed.
26
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Outcome:
Residents and visitors alike are able to enjoy unobstructed scenic and historic
views that enhance quality of life and tourism values.
Goal 2:
Preserve a dignified setting for Fredericksburg's battlefields while considering the
visitor's "sense of arrival" and ease of access.
Initiatives:
• Develop a Lafayette Boulevard Gateway Corridor Overlay District with
design guidelines which includes a Battlefield District extending from Lee
Hill to Willis Street.
Outcome:
The treatment of the immediate surroundings of the parks conveys to visitors the
importance of the parks and allows visitors easy access. The surroundings show
that the community places a high values on its national parks.
de.uYl'etS,LfJ"NW A&d fG MI L X h 4PX d p l M r 1M INy
fa 'bpAmm n� 77
� 1
PACKAGING STORE
m ease
a +
The existing viewshed along the Route 3 corridor near I-95.This area is within
the boundaries of the Salem Church battlefield,but the historic integrity has
been compromised due to modern development.
27
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Goal 3:
Preserve historic views from Fredericksburg's battlefields.
Initiatives:
• Work with the National Park Service to identify historic viewsheds from the
park that are critical to understanding the Battle of Fredericksburg and other
battles in the immediate Fredericksburg area.
• Develop a Battlefield Overlay District that, among other items, establishes a
formal set back and height limit policy on areas adjacent to and within the
area of potential effect of the parks.
• Preserve and enhance aspects of critical viewsheds, such as lines of site and
vegetation.
Outcome:
Visitors and residents understand the historic events that made up the Battle of
Fredericksburg and surrounding Civil War-related events.
Issue 3:Zoning
The unique beauty of historic Fredericksburg was established before zoning laws existed.
The mixture of lot sizes, uses, setbacks, and access were all achieved with different
zoning rules than those established in the 1970s. The preservation of historic buildings
and streetscapes therefore requires an eye towards the historic context of each property as
an entity of its own time and place. As such, zoning laws should be amended to allow
Fredericksburg zoning requirements to be more context-driven when dealing with historic
properties and neighborhoods to avoid out-of-character development and retain
neighborhood cohesion and theme.
Goal 1:
Examine and modify existing zoning requirements as necessary throughout the city, and
specifically within the Historic District, to assure their consistency with the goals of the
preservation plan.
Initiatives:
• Initiate an ordinance requiring submittal of permits for the review of window,
roof and siding replacements in the Historic District.
• Modify existing planning policies to include the identification of possible
historic assets on site and document efforts within all applications to the
Planning Department to protect, enhance, or secure those assets.
• Accept proffers for a revolving Preservation Fund.
28
Section 4 Preservation Plan
• Examine existing zoning requirements to assure their consistency with the
goals of historic preservation.
Outcome:
An administrative record of all designs effecting historic resources will be
maintained and held in the Planning Department.
Goal 2:
Encourage adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of historic buildings in the community
through the reexamination of existing zoning regulations.
Initiatives:
• Amend the Zoning Ordinance to allow for more varied uses to encourage
reuse of historic buildings.
• Allow for greater priority of historic preservation in the application of existing
zoning requirements.
• Preservation is acknowledged and documented as part of the planning process.
Outcome:
The city's historic character is preserved through traditional and complimentary
development patterns. Zoning becomes a tool that encourages the goals of the
preservation plan.
uu w
A recently constructed r ,
home on Charles Street,
built over twice as large as
the surrounding dwellings.
a
29
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Goal 3:
To aid in the preservation of Fredericksburg historic properties, zoning regulations and
granting special use permits should be reviewed when a historic building or structure is to
be restored,preserved, or reused.
Initiatives:
• Applicants who are working on rehabilitating, restoring, reusing, or preserving
historic buildings or structures may apply for a special exception from zoning
regulations to include issues related to set backs, use, density, height, and
parking.
• Applicants may ask the ARB to speak to property-related issues regarding
historic significance, integrity, or context of their property in relation to
existing zoning regulations and have them make recommendations to the
Planning Commission or the City Council regarding a special use application.
Outcome:
The historic use and appearance of historic buildings, structures, or streetscapes is
preserved by allowing for conditions established prior to current zoning
regulations, provided that the special use does not directly conflict with the needs
of the city or its residents.
Issue 4: Enforcement
Although the establishment of the Historic District in 1972 put in place the basic tools to
advance preservation in the city, the use of these tools has been limited to specific
boundaries. The provisions of our historic district legislation, along with the Maintenance
Code, have not been enforced. If the City is to achieve a general goal of relegating
demolition to the option of last resort, it must make the consistent enforcement of its
Maintenance Code and Historic District Ordinances a primary objective and provide the
necessary resources to implement this effort city wide.
Goal 1:
To reduce violations and demolitions of historic properties by inspection programs and
documentation.
Initiatives:
• Acquire software to improve capacity for monitoring the maintenance of
historic properties that documents baseline condition, maintenance
violations/actions, and communications with property owners.
• Establish clear notification policies with clear deadlines that provide
flexibility in dealing with specific maintenance issues.
30
Section 4 Preservation Plan
• Create a checklist for properties under consideration for demolition to ensure
that all appropriate parties are contacted and the proper procedure is followed
in each case.
• Establish policy guidelines to ensure proper follow-up on the implementation
of actions to correct maintenance problems.
• Consider the establishment of financial penalties for violations. Ensure such
penalties, and current actions taken by the City to enforce the Maintenance
Code, cover all administrative fees and other costs directly related to
enforcement of the Maintenance Code.
Outcome:
The number of maintenance citations and demolitions of historic properties is
reduced.
Goal 2:
Examine the International Code Council provisions regarding the city's Historic District
Ordinance provisions to lay out a policy on order of compliance. Also the City should
look to the Commonwealth for additional enforcement authority to meet our preservation
goals.
Initiatives:
• The International Code Council has a regular
review process. The City Building Code Official
should meet prior to each review to discuss
possible changes that should be considered by
the Virginia Building and Code Officials
Association [VBCOA] legislative committee to
meet the city's preservation goals.
• Prior to the opening of the General Assembly,
appropriate staff should meet with elected
officials to discuss legislation related to
preservation efforts and advise our elected
officials accordingly.
Outcome:
Stewardship of our historic properties is improved
by acquiring additional authority and resources Construction of the multi-story
through changes by the International Code Council Executive Plaza on Caroline Street in
and state law. the 1970s spawned extensive height
restrictions in the city.
31
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Issue 5:Protection
Protection includes those policies, procedures, and actions that reduce or negate adverse
effects on the Historic District and other historic properties throughout the city.
Goal 1:
Minimize negative impacts of development—such as incompatible building
characteristics, traffic and noise—on historic properties.
Initiatives:
• Create facade protection/improvement areas in local overlay districts.
• Acquire and/or partner on preservation/facade easements where practicable.
• Revise ARB review guidelines to include an assessment of any development
project within the APE of the Historic District or a designated significant
historic property.
• Establish policies for coordination between the City and Stafford County for
evaluating projects whose APE includes historic properties in the other
jurisdiction, including properties located along the Rappahannock River.
• Encourage UMW, the City, and state officials to adhere to state development
guidelines and respect the City's character during development decisions.
• Improve the visual quality and continuity of the entry corridors leading into
the Old and Historic Fredericksburg District.
Outcome:
Adverse effects from future development are minimized, and existing negative
impacts have been mitigated where possible.
Goal 2:
Because state code prevents the Building Maintenance Inspector from entering and
inspecting buildings except by invitation, continue to enable the City Fire Inspector to
include maintenance as part of the fire inspection and to issue notices of violation.
Initiatives:
• Provide necessary training for the City Fire Inspector in building maintenance.
• Establish procedures that enable the City Fire Inspector to conduct building
inspections in the course of normal fire inspections.
• Encourage the City Fire Inspector to continue to work with the City Building
Department to issue citations when building maintenance violations are noted.
32
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Outcome:
Increased citations for building maintenance violations result in a higher level of
maintenance and fewer demolitions in the Historic District.
r
Idlewild,a circa 1859 Gothic Revival mansion,was gutted by fire in 2003
(Photos Taken By Brad Hedrick and Donna Chasen).
Issue 6:Incentives
In order to help promulgate preservation activities in Fredericksburg, it is imperative that
the City and other local preservation groups establish a set of initiatives to promote the
rehabilitation, restoration, repair, and investigation of historic properties.
Goal 1:
Encourage owners of historic and cultural properties to properly maintain their physical
and historic integrity in regards to their historic and cultural context.
Initiatives:
• Advocate the use of the City's Historic District tax abatement program.
• Create a database to identify other federal, state, and private funding sources
for rehabilitation and construction.
• Develop and identify local, state, and federal funding conduits to be used for
the maintenance and development of the City's historic character including
the DHRs webpage and others.
Outcome:
An increased level of investment each year in preserving historic properties.
33
Section 4 Preservation Plan
r.
Elmhurst at 2010 Fall "
Hill Avenue.The owners
recently restored this
circa 1871 home
and successfully received
state tax credits for
their effort.
Issue 7:Education and Community Outreach
Historic resources serve as a primary basis for tourism in Fredericksburg and are a key
reason why this city is such a desirable place to live. In order for these resources to be
understood, respected, and preserved, their story must understood by city employees and
be presented in a meaningful way to visitors and residents.
Goal 1:
To educate residents and visitors on the history of Fredericksburg and the importance of
preservation in providing a high-quality experience through the presentation of multiple
voices from our past.
Initiatives:
• Enhance the City's wayside exhibit (interpretive sign) program through a
system of planning, inventory, and replacement.
• Sponsor/co-sponsor speakers or forums on preservation and Fredericksburg
history and historic properties.
• Work with Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA),
the National Park Service, HFFL, and others to establish more interactive
programs in the city, such as living history or street entertainment.
• Work with the National Park Service, UMW and area schools to encourage
history and preservation scholarship competitions.
• Utilize the technical resources provided by the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, the National Park Service, HFFI and other organizations to help
implement the Preservation Plan.
• Work with the historic preservation community to provide improved
interpretive training for all those involved in interpreting city history.
34
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Outcome:
Fredericksburg maintains its reputation as a model for historic preservation.
Residents value and support their city's cultural heritage. Visitors have an
enjoyable visit and recommend Fredericksburg to their friends.
Goal 2:
Ensure that city staff is cognizant of the city's historic resources and its established
policies for the identification and treatment of those resources as they relate to various
departmental tasks and responsibilities.
Initiatives:
• Establish tours and training sessions for public employees by public and
private sector interpreters and preservation specialists.
• Make sure a historic resource database is easily accessible to all departments.
• Develop a brief manual for staff for use in dealing with historic resources in
the city.
Outcome:
City staff makes alternative decisions regarding historic resources, and
communication with residents and prospective residents about historic
preservation policies and programs is improved.
Interpretive signage at the corner of
Princess Anne and Wolfe streets noting the
neighborhood's nineteenth and twentieth
century African-American occupation.
a n VN�w�iIN'wmtitiiNk�NlNYdffl!N9'UINVS'b1N%Ir�f!/y j
r
N,.
35
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Goal 3:
Create neighborhood and civic pride by helping neighborhood groups create and/or build
neighborhood associations and local interest groups.
Initiatives:
• Continued communication with the University of Mary Washington on
neighborhood issues.
• Provide links to new and established neighborhood groups on the City's
webpage.
Outcome:
Neighborhood groups will be involved in city decisions on zoning, planning, and
preservation issues thus improving communication and avoiding unnecessary
conflict on preservation-related topics.
/////ir
1
r
/
u '
f
�u
V
t
The new downtown parking garage,the result of a successful collaboration between
city staff,city representatives,preservation experts,and local citizens.
Goal 4:
Establish a formal relationship with the NPS, HFFI and UMW/Department of Historic
Preservation to partner on various historic preservation initiatives including the
establishment of a Historic Interpretation Plan.
36
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Initiatives:
• Create a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and HFFI
to establish formal positions in the preservation process. This includes
determining individual versus shared responsibilities and organizing
procedural steps in city-sponsored activities to include HFFI as a vested
partner.
• Agree that HFFI will provide one representative to attend the monthly staff
"nuts and bolts" committee meeting on historic preservation.
• Establish a records retention and sharing policy between NPS, HFFI, UMW,
the city, the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, the Central
Rappahannock Heritage Center and any other local historical group, thus
assuring that information is shared between the groups and available to
members of the community.
• Have staff work directly with the NPS, HFFI, and UMW to create a Historic
Interpretation Plan to utilize information on file at all institutions to present
Fredericksburg history, places, and people to the public in a unified, cohesive
manner.
Outcome:
Current relationship between HFFI, UMW and the City is improved through
better communication and the formalization of a preservation partnership.
Moreover, historic records are available for research for members of the
Fredericksburg area community.
37
Section 4 Preservation Plan
Section 5 Implementation
SECTION 5:
IMPLEMENTATION
The Fredericksburg Preservation Plan outlines key issues, goals and initiatives for the
identification, protection and interpretation of historic buildings, districts, structures,
objects, and sites in our community. The plan goes beyond the normal method of relying
on historic districts and restoring only the most obvious historic buildings; it includes the
entire city, focuses on multiple types of historic and cultural properties, defines the city's
role in historic preservation activities, recognizes resource limitations and identifies
alternative resources, and includes education and interpretation components. Further, the
plan calls for the establishment of an advisory council to support the city, ensure
participation by preservation professionals, and encourage community involvement in
preservation activities. The following section includes initial steps to implement the
proposed plan issues.
Developing an Archaeological Plan
In March 2009, the Virginia Assembly amended Section 15.2-2306 of the Code of
Virginia, which relates to the preservation of historical sites and architectural areas. The
amendment allows a locality to establish an archaeological component in its historic
preservation ordinance. This provision has great potential, but also requires careful
planning to be successful. Subsequent discussion among Virginia archaeologists has
indicated that localities like Alexandria, with strong public outreach and education
programs, typically maintain the strongest and most useful archaeological programs.
Localities like Loudoun County, without a public education component to accompany
their archaeological program, have great difficulty in maintaining political support.
As a consequence of these various experiences, it is clearly important to consider a solid
course of action before developing an archaeological ordinance. To this end, Initiatives 1
(Historic Properties Inventory) and 7 (Education and Outreach) from the task force plan
can be completed concurrently. A working group of city staff, interested archaeologists,
other preservationists, and the Fredericksburg Area Museum could develop an
archaeological plan. This plan would identify areas of the City where the ordinance
would be applicable, as required by the State Code, and work out a process to identify
and protect sites, as well as recover information if they must be compromised. The
Fredericksburg Area Museum, or some other educational entity, is an absolutely critical
component. An archaeological program without an educational aspect would have no
discernible purpose.
38
Section 5 Implementation
Coordinating Public Sector Responsibilities
The public sector is directly involved in a great many activities that impact historic
resources. Several of the task force recommendations have been incorporated into the
City's adopted Comprehensive Plan or have already been partially or wholly
accomplished. A coordinating group of various city departments, local preservation
interest groups, and private citizens could readily identify areas that have not been
previously addressed and compose a strategy to move forward. The task force initiatives
that fall under this category include 3 (Zoning), 4 (Enforcement), 5 (Protection), and 6
(Incentives).
Coordinating with the National Park Service
Fredericksburg has a long history of working with the National Park Service to enhance
the integrity of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The City has
relinquished its right of access to a portion of Sunken Road, has allowed removal of
houses on Willis Street to facilitate scene restoration, has identified three battlefield lines-
of-sight in its Comprehensive Plan, and routinely seeks Park Service comments on
various developments and construction projects. A continued liaison between the City
and the National Park Service, as recommended by Initiative 2 in the task force plan,
would help to keep a focus on areas of mutual interest.
39
Section 6 References
SECTION 6:
SUGGESTED REFERENCES
Anderson, Dave G., and M.K. Faught
1998 The Distribution of Fluted Paleoindian Projectile Points: Update 1998.
Archaeology ofEastern North America. 26:163-187.
Alvey, Edward
1978 The Streets of Fredericksburg. Mary Washington College Foundation, Inc.,
Fredericksburg, Virginia.
1988 The Fredericksburg Fire of 1807. Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc.,
Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Barber, Mike, and E.B. Barfield
1989 Paleoindian Chronology for Virginia. In Paleoindian Research in Virginia: A
Synthesis, edited by J.M. Wittkofski and T.R. Reinhart, pp. 53-70. Special
Publication No. 19 of the Archaeological Society of Virginia. Dietz Press,
Richmond.
Callahan, Donald S.
1967 The Rappahannock Canal. Masters Thesis, History Department, American
University, Washington D.C.
Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC)
2002 Battle Summary: Fredericksburg I, The American Battlefield Protection
Program, National Park Service. http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/
va028.htm. Accessed 03/13/2002.
Coe, Joffre S.
1964 The Formative Cultures of the Carolina Piedmont. Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, 54, No. 5 Philadelphia.
Copp, Barbara
1996 Railroads and Reapers Agriculture in Mid-Nineteenth Century Spotsylvania
County. The Journal of Fredericksburg History. Vol. 1.
Custer, J.F.
1984 Delaware Prehistoric Archaeology: An Ecological Approach. University of
Delaware Press, Newark
1990 Chronology of Virginia's Early and Middle Archaic Periods. In Early and
Middle Archaic Research in Virginia: A Synthesis, edited by T.R. Reinhart
40
Section 6 References
and M.E.N. Hodges, pp. 1-60. Special Publication No. 22 of the
Archaeological Society of Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.
Delcourt, Paul A., and Hazel R. Delcourt
1987 Long Term Forest Dynamics of Temperate Zone: A Case Study of Late-
Quaternary Forests in Eastern North America. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Dent, I.R. Jr.
1995 Chesapeake Prehistory. Plenum Press, New York.
Egloff, Keith T.
1991 Development and Impact of Ceramics in Virginia. In Late Archaic and Ealry
Woodland Research in Virginia: A Synthesis, edited by T.R. Reinhart and
M.E.N. Hodges, pp. 243-252. Special Publication No. 23 of the
Archaeological Society of Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.
Egloff, Keith, and J. M. McAvoy
1990 Chronology of Virginia's Early and Middle Archaic Periods. In Early and
Middle Archaic Research in Virginia: A Synthesis, edited by T.R. Reinhart
and M.E.N. Hodges, pp. 61-80. Special Publication No. 22 of the
Archaeological Society of Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.
Felder, Paula S.
1982 Forgotten Companions: The First Settlers of Spotsylvania County and
Fredericksburgh Town. Historic Publications of Fredericksburg,
Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Gardner, W.M.
1989 An Examination of Cultural Change in the Late Pleistocene and Early
Holocene. In Paleoindian Research in Virginia edited by J.M. Wittkofski and
T.R. Reinhart, pp. 5-52. Special Publication No. 19 of the Archaeological
Society of Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.
Goodyear, Albert C. III, John H. House and Neal W. Ackerly
1979 Laurens-Anderson: An Archaeological Study of the Inter-Riverine Piedomont.
Anthropological Studies No. 4, Occasional Papers of the Institute of
Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Goolrick, John T.
1935 Fredericksburg and the Cavalier Country: America's Most Historic Section,
It's Homes, It's People and Romance. Garrett & Massie Publishers,
Richmond.
Hantman, Jeff, and Michael Klein
1992 Middle and Late Woodland Archaeology in Piedmont Virginia. In Middle
and Late Woodland Research in Virginia: A Synthesis, edited by T.R.
Reinhart and M.E.N. Hodges, pp. 137-164. Special Publication No. 29 of the
Archaeological Society of Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.
41
Section 6 References
Happel, Ralph
1980 Salem Church, Embattled. Eastern National Park and Monument Association.
National Park Service, Washington D.C.
Heinemann, R. L.
1981 Blue Eagle or Black Buzzard? The National Recovery Administration in
Virginia. Virginia Magazine ofHistory and Biography 89(l):90-100.
Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI)
2005 Fielding Lewis Store: The Oldest Retail Building in America?
http://www.hffi.org/Subpage.asp?pageid=7&subpageid=17. Accessed
December 15, 2005.
Howe, Henry
1856 Historical Collections of Virginia. Babcock and Company, Charleston.
Howison, Robert Reid
1898 Fredericksburg: Past, Present, and Future. J. Willard Adams Press,
Frederickburg, Virginia.
Johnson, John Janney
1997 The Falmouth Canal and Its Mills: An Industrial History. Journal of
Fredericksburg History 2. On file at the Central Rappahannock Regional
Library, Fredericksburg.
Kulikoff, Allen
1986 Tobacco and Slaves: The Development of Southern Cultures in the
Chesapeake, 1680-1800. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
Mansfield, James R.
1977 A History of Early Spotsylvania. Virginia Book Company, Berryville,
Virginia.
Marvel, William
1993 The Battle of Fredericksburg: Civil War Series. Eastern National Park and
Monument Association, National Park Service, Washington D.C.
McLearen, D.C.
1992 Virginia's Middle Woodland Period: A Regional Perspective. In Middle and
Late Woodland Research in Virginia:A Synthesis, edited by T.R. Reinhart and
M.E.N. Hodges, pp. 39-64. Special Publication No. 29 of the Archaeological
Society of Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.
Meltzer, David J.
1988 Late Pleistocene Human Adaptations in Eastern North America. Journal of
World Prehistory 2:1-52.
42
Section 6 References
Miller, Julia
2008 Layperson's Guide to Historic Preservation Law: Federal, State, and Local
Laws Governing Historic Resource. National Trust for Historic Preservation,
Washington D.C.
Mouer, Daniel L.
1983 A Review of the Archaeology and Ethnohistory of the Monacans. In
Piedmont Archaeology: Recent Research and Results, edited by J. M.
Wittofski and L. E. Browning, pp. 21-39. Special Publications No. 10 of the
Archaeological Society of Virginia, Richmond.
1991 The Formative Transition in Virginia. In Late Archaic and Early Woodland
Research in Virginia: A Synthesis, edited by T.R. Reinhart and M.E.N.
Hodges, pp. 89-138. Special Publication No. 23 of the Archaeological
Society of Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1994 Preparing a Historic Preservation Plan. National Trust for Historic
Preservation, Washington D.C.
Pockriss, Peter
1988 Rappahannock Water Power. Unpublished manuscript. Copy on file, Central
Rappahannock Regional Library, Fredericksburg.
Reap, James K., and Melvin B. Hill
2007 Law and Historic Preservation Committee What Every Member Should
Know. Cultural Resources Partnership Notes, National Park Service,
Washington D.C.
Quinn, S. J.
1908 The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Hermitage Press,
Inc., Richmond.
Sanford, Douglas W.
1997 An Assessment of the Embrey Dam Hydroelectric Project and Adjacent
Archaeological Resources. Center for Historic Preservation, Mary
Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Schurict, Herrmann
1977 History of the German Element in Virginia. Reprinted from 1898 Original.
Genealogical Publishing. Co., Baltimore, Maryland.
Shibley, Ronald E.
1977 Historic Fredericksburg: A Pictorial History. Historic Fredericksburg
Foundation, Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia.
43
Section 6 References
Siener, William H.
1982 Economic Development in Revolutionary Virginia: Fredericksburg, 1750
1810. Department of History, Doctoral Dissertation. College of William &
Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Smith, Bruce D.
1986 The Archaeology of Southeastern United States: From Dalton to de Soto,
10,500-500 B.P. In Advances in World Archaeology, edited by F. Wendorf
and A. Close,pp. 1-91. Academic Press, New York.
Smith, John
1966 The Generall Historic of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles.
Microfilm of original 1624 printing. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor,
Michigan.
Stackpole, Edward J.
1958 Chancellorsville, Lee's Greatest Battle. The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania.
Stanton, Gary
1997 How Fire Changed Fredericksburg, Virginia. In Shaping Communities:
Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, VI, edited by C. L. Hudgins and E.
C. Cromley,pp. 122-134. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
Stoltman, James B., and David A. Baerreis
1983 The Evolution of Human Ecosystems in the Eastern United States. In Late
Quaternary Environments of the United States; Vol. 2, The Holocene, edited
by H.E. Wright, Jr. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Turner E. Randolph
1992 The Coastal Plain During the Late Woodland Period. In Middle and Late
Woodland Research in Virginia. Edited by T.R. Reinhart and M. N. Hodges,
pp. 71-93, Special Publication No. 19 of the Archaeological Society of
Virginia. Dietz Press, Richmond.A
Tyler, Lyon G., editor
1918 William and Mary Quarterly. Volume 27, October 1918,pp. 82-93, 164-171.
Ward, Harry M.
1979 Duty Honor or Country: General George Weedon and the American
Revolution. The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
Willis, Barbara, and Paula Felder
1993 Handbook of Historic Fredericksburg, Virginia. Historic Fredericksburg
Foundation, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
44
Section 6 References
Appendix A Glossary
APPENDIX A:
DEFINITIONS/GLOSSARY
Term Definition
Advisory Council on The lead Federal historic preservation agency. Oversees all state
Historic Preservation SHPOs and federal-level preservation legislation. Their mission is "to
(ACHP) promote the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of our
nation's historic resources, and advise the President and Congress on
national historic preservation policy."
Alteration Any change affecting the exterior appearance of a structure or its
setting by additions, reconstruction, remodeling, or maintenance
involving change in form, texture, signs, materials, or sometimes color,
or any such changes in appearance of designated interiors.
Archaeological Resource ARPA prohibits the unauthorized excavation, removal or damage of
Protection Act(ABPA) archaeological resources on federal or tribal lands. This includes
archaeological sites, artifacts, and building remains over 100 years in
age. If an individual does not attain the proper permit to dig on federal
land, large penalties will be incurred.
Archaeology The recovery, analysis and interpretation of the material culture of past
human lifeways.
Architectural History The identification, documentation, analysis and interpretation of above-
ground buildings, structures, objects, and districts that have been
created or modified by humans.
Architectural Review Board The appointed group that is charged with reviewing Certificate of
(ARB) Appropriateness and design review guidelines, among other tasks, in
the Old and Historic Fredericksburg District.
Area of Potential Effect The area within which a proposed project has the potential to alter or
(APE) diminish the characteristics that make a historic property eligible for
the NRHP.
45
Appendix A Glossary
Artifact Any tangible, portable object used or manufactured by humans,
including ceramics, glass, architectural materials, coins,pipes, etc.
Blighted Property Any property that endangers the public health or safety in its conditions
at the time of the filing of the petition for condemnation and is (i) a
public nuisance or (ii) an individual commercial, industrial, or
residential building or improvement that is beyond repair or unfit for
human occupancy or use.
Building A construction erected to provide shelter for any form of human
activity, including houses, barns, stables, sheds, garages, courthouses,
city halls, commercial buildings, libraries, factories, mills, train depots,
hotels, schools, and churches.
Certificate of An official form of the City stating that proposed work on a property in
Appropriateness (COA) the Historic District is compatible with the historic character of the
property, the neighborhood, or the district. It must be approved by the
ARB.
Certified Local Government Established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, a CLG
(CLG) is a local government, certified or approved by the State Historic
Preservation Office, which has an appointed group to oversee the
survey and inventory of historic resources, to review areas for
historically significant properties, and to develop and maintain
community planning and education programs. Fredericksburg is one of
31 jurisdictions in Virginia named a CLG, along with Spotsylvania and
Stafford counties.
Character Defined by form, proportion, structure, plan, style or material. General
character refers to ideas of design and construction such as basic plan
or form. Specific character refers to precise ways of combining
particular kinds of materials.
Consultation The formal process within which interested parties negotiate the
treatment and/or mitigation of adverse effects on a historic property.
Contributing Resource A structure or landscape feature which by location, design, setting,
materials, workmanship, feeling, and association adds to the sense of
time and place and historical development of a historic site or historic
district.
46
Appendix A Glossary
Cultural Resource A process by which the identification, evaluation, protection and
Management(CRM) management of the multitudinous but scarce elements of cultural
heritage are given consideration in a modern world with an expanding
population and changing needs. Most CRM projects are completed in
compliance with federal, state, or local preservation legislation. Often
equated with archaeology, CRM in fact should and does include a
range of types of properties: cultural landscapes, archaeological sites,
historical records, social institutions, expressive cultures, old buildings,
religious beliefs and practices, industrial heritage, folklife, artifacts
[and] spiritual places.
Demolish Any act or process that requires a permit under the Construction Code
of the City which destroys in part or in whole a building, structure, or
object other than solely interior elements.
Demolition by Neglect Process of allowing a building, structure, or object to deteriorate to the
point where demolition is necessary to protect public health and safety.
Dependency/Outbuilding A building located near a main dwelling, business, or industry that is
not attached to the primary building but is integral to the operation of
that enterprise, such as a kitchen, smokehouse, stable, carriage house,
barn, shed, or caretaker's house.
District A geographical area or theme which possesses a significant
concentration, linkage or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or
objects united historically or aesthetically by plan or physical
development. This includes college campuses, central business
districts, residential areas, large forts, industrial complexes, canal
systems, large farms or plantations, transportation networks or large
landscaped parks.
Easement A partial interest in a property that can be transferred to a non-profit
organization or government entity by gift or sale to ensure the
protection of the historic or natural resource or open space in
perpetuity.
Ecofact Natural objects found on archaeological sites that have been culturally
modified, such as seeds, bones, and plant pollen
Eligible Property Property that meets the criteria (significance, integrity, context) for
inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
47
Appendix A Glossary
Eminent Domain As defined in the Virginia State Code, this is the act of taking of
private property for the common good and use of a community. Private
property shall not be taken or damaged for public uses without just
compensation.
Feature The non-portable evidence of human technology, occupation or site
use. This includes foundations, cellars, trash pits, hearths, and more.
Feeling A property's expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular
period of time.
Ground Disturbing Activity Any excavation, filling, digging, removal of trees, or any other activity
that may alter or reveal an interred archeological site.
Historic Context An organizing structure for interpreting history that groups information
about historic properties that share a common theme, common
geographical area, and a common time period. The development of
historic contexts is a foundation for decisions about the planning,
identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment of historic
properties, based upon comparative historic significance.
Historic Fabric Original or old building materials (masonry, wood, metals, marble) or
construction.
Historic Overlay District A designation for an area of cultural resources that is under the
jurisdiction of the City's zoning ordinances. The property could be
previously-determined to be an eligible NRHP historic district or it
could have local importance due to the collective significance and
integrity of the resources within the context of Fredericksburg history.
Historic Preservation The act or process of applying measures to sustain the existing form,
integrity, and material of a building or structure and the existing form
and vegetative cover of a site. It may include stabilization work, where
necessary, as well as ongoing maintenance of the historic building
materials; A process, dynamic and deliberate, which has as its goal
deciding what aspects of heritage to keep from the present for the
future and then keeping it.
48
Appendix A Glossary
Historic Property Any building, structure, object, district, area or site that is significant in
the history, architecture, archeology or culture of this state, its
communities or the nation.
Integrity The retention of sufficient aspects of location, design, setting,
workmanship, materials, feeling or association for a property to convey
its historic significance.
Intensive Architectural An in-depth architectural analysis of a building, structure, object or
Survey district. The goal of the work is to investigate the property's
significance and integrity within its historic context to determine its
eligibility for inclusion on the NRHP.
Interpretation One of the final stages of archaeological, architectural, and historic
investigations when the results of the research are synthesized and
presented to a specific audience through a variety of mediums,
including reports, public talks, and signage.
Landscape As defined by the National Park Service, it is a geographic area
(including both cultural and natural resources and the wildlife or
domestic animals therein) associated with a historic event, activity, or
person or exhibiting other cultural or aesthetic values. There are four
general types of cultural landscapes, not mutually exclusive: historic
sites, historic designed landscapes, historic vernacular landscapes, and
ethnographic landscapes.
Maintenance The work of keeping a building or structure in a state of good repair.
Maintenance Code of The Virginia Maintenance Code is Part III of the Virginia Uniform
Virginia Statewide Building Code (USBC). The USBC is a state regulation
promulgated by the Virginia Board of Housing and Community
Development for the purpose of establishing minimum regulations to
govern the construction and maintenance of buildings and structures.
The provisions of the USBC are based on nationally recognized model
building and fire codes published by the International Code Council,
Inc.. The model codes are made part of the USBC through a regulatory
process known as incorporation by reference. The USBC also contains
administrative provisions governing the use of the model codes and
establishing requirements for the enforcement of the code by the local
building departments and other code enforcement agencies.
49
Appendix A Glossary
Materials The physical elements of a building, structure, site, or area which
creates an aesthetic and structural appearance of the resource, including
characteristics such as texture, form, composition, and style.
Massing The physical configuration of a building, structure, site or area,
established by its form, surfaces, edges, height, width, and depth.
Mitigation The act of establishing a treatment plan to assuage adverse effects to a
historic property. This could include archaeological data recovery,
nomination of a building to the NRHP, moving a structure, or public
interpretation.
National Environmental Established in 1969, NEPA requires federal agencies to develop a
Policy Act(NEPA) detailed statement on the environmental impact of major federal
actions significantly affecting the human environment, including
effects on urban quality, historic and cultural resources, and the design
of the built environment.
National Historic The NHPA established the framework that focused local, state, and
Preservation Act of 1966 national efforts on a common goal — preserving the historic fabric of
(NHPA) our nation. The NHPA fostered the system by which federal agencies
survey and identify districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects
significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering,
and culture, and use this information to plan projects so that, where
possible, historic places are preserved. It also created the ACHP,
SHPOs and the National Register of Historic Places.
National Register of The official Federal list of historic or prehistoric buildings, sites,
Historic Places (NRHP) districts, objects, and structures that meet established criteria
(significance, integrity, context) on a local, state, or national level.
Each property must be formally nominated.
Non-Contributing Resource Buildings, regardless of age, that have lost their integrity. These
structures do retain value as residential or commercial properties, but
do not possess the significance and/or physical integrity necessary to
be listed as contributing.
50
Appendix A Glossary
Nuisance Anything unwholesome, dangerous, offensive or unhealthy, which
constitutes a menace to the health and safety of the public, or any
structure which, due to a structural defect or dilapidation, has become
dangerous to life or property. "Nuisance" includes: Unsanitary disposal
of trash, garbage, debris, construction wastes or compost; Unburied
dead animals; Rodent or insect infestation; Hazards, such as open
excavations, open wells, pits, trees or parts thereof in danger of falling,
unsecured vacant structures or habitation for bats, wasps or other
venomous pests; Maintaining a property in such a manner that is an
annoyance or potential health hazard to neighbors, etc.
Object A non-construction element that can sometimes be portable and/or
artistic in nature, such as a fountain, statue, bell tower, monument, or
boundary marker.
Old and Historic The area in downtown Fredericksburg that is bounded by Canal Street
Fredericksburg District on the north, Prince Edward Street on the west, the City Dock on the
(Historic District) south, and the Rappahannock River on the east. The same area roughly
correlates to the Fredericksburg Historic District, listed on the NRHP
in the early 1970s and updated in 1984. All properties within the
district must comply with specific zoning regulations, as stated in the
Historic District Handbook.
Overlay Zone A zoning district that encompasses one or more underlying zones and
that imposes additional requirements beyond those required for the
underlying zone. Some overlay zones in the City: Historic District,
Chesapeake Bay, Floodplain, Princess Anne Street Corridor, Fall Hill
Avenue and Cowan Blvd. Corridor Overlay, Tourism and Technology
Zones, and Downtown Parking.
Phase I Archaeological The process of locating and identifying archaeological sites within a
Survey specific geographical area and documenting them to an established
minimum standard. The survey involves gathering and organizing data
from historical research, field investigations, and site planning. Phase I
fieldwork consists of a number of methods including pedestrian survey,
excavation of shovel test probes, remote sensing, and deep testing of
appropriate landscapes. The use of specific field methods and
techniques is dependent upon the type of ground cover present, the
topographic setting, and the amount of observed disturbance.
51
Appendix A Glossary
Phase II Archaeological Phase II archaeological investigation is conducted to examine a site's
Testing significance and integrity in order to evaluate its eligibility for
inclusion in the NRHP. Information attained during a Phase II
investigation may include, but is not limited to: evaluating areas of
moderate and high artifact densities, determining the vertical limits of
the site, the presence of intact, subsurface, and/or stratified deposits,
and site formation processes. One of the more traditional and standard
means of recovering this information is through the excavation of test
units.
Phase III Archaeological Data recovery efforts are undertaken to mitigate the adverse effect by
Data Recovery recovering significant data or information prior to disturbance or
destruction, or, in more controlled atmospheres, to learn more about an
area's history or prehistory through large-scale excavations. The work
involves completing large horizontal investigations while maintaining
vertical control. Many times, the data recovery effort targets areas of
specific interest including feature identification and artifact recovery.
Preservation The act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the
existing location, design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling or
association of an historic property or viewshed. Work, including
preliminary measures to protect and stabilize a property, generally
focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials
and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction.
Project Effect The act of determining if an undertaking could have an adverse impact
to a historic property. The impact could be physical (destruction,
alteration),visual (obstructing a viewshed), or auditory.
Reconnaissance The process of locating and identifying above-ground historic
Architectural Survey properties (buildings, structures, objects and districts) within a specific
geographical area and documenting them to an established minimum
standard. The survey involves gathering and organizing data from
historical research, field investigations, and site planning. Fieldwork
comprises documenting each property through color and black & white
photographs, written notes, and the creation of location maps.
Reconstruction The act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the
form, features, and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape,
building, structure, or object for the purpose of replicating its
appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location.
52
Appendix A Glossary
Rehabilitation The process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair
or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use
while preserving those portions and features of the property which are
significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values.
Restoration The act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property
through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those
portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or
architectural values.
Scale The size of the parts of a building, structure, site or area in relationship
to one another and to the human figure.
Section 106 A component of the NHPA, Section 106 states that federal, state, and
local agencies must take into account the potential effect of an
undertaking on eligible historic properties. Section 106 is enacted when
an undertaking is completed using federal funds, is on federal land, or
is being overseen by a federal agency.
Section 4(fi A provision of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 that
states that special effort should be made to preserve the natural beauty
of the countryside and public park and recreation lands, wildlife and
waterfowl refuges, and historic sites. The Secretary of Transportation
will not approve of any project that will adversely effect a historic site
unless there is no prudent and feasible alternative.
Setting The surrounding buildings, structures, landscaping and familiar
features which provide visual aesthetic or perceptual qualities to
historic resources.
Significance The importance of a historic property based on historical, architectural,
archaeological, engineering, or cultural values. It is evaluated under
four criteria: association with a notable event or series of events,
association with an important person or group, possessing unique or
representative architectural merit or being associated with an important
architect, or having the ability to reveal new information on the history
or prehistory of an area.
53
Appendix A Glossary
Site A distinctive concentration of culturally modified material remains;
The location of a significant event, a prehistoric or historic occupation
or activity, or a structure, whether standing, ruined, or vanished, where
the location itself possesses historic, cultural, archeological, or
paleontological value regardless of the value of any existing structure.
This includes habitation sites, funerary sites, rock shelters, ceremonial
sites, petroglyphs, ruins, gardens, battlefields, campsites, trails,
shipwrecks, cemeteries, and natural features.
State Historic Preservation The federally-appointed agency in each state that is employed to
Office (SHPO) administer preservation programs and assure compliance with the
NHPA and all other cultural resource legislation. The SHPO is also
responsible for adequate public participation in the state historic
preservation program and other forms of public outreach.
Streetscape Built elements and features along roadways and adjacent properties
that contribute to the location, design, setting, and feeling of the road
viewshed.
Structure A construction erected by humans for any purpose other than providing
shelter, including bridges, tunnels, fire towers, turbines, dams, corn
cribs, windmills, grain elevators, fortifications, earthworks, kilns, and
roadways.
Stylized A historic property where the form and organization of a historic
property is dictated by particular plans of formal architecture or is
based on global or national preferences.
Vernacular A historic property has no particular preconceived design or style
and/or it incorporates mostly local influences
Viewshed The visual area of potential effect of a historic property that contribute
to its setting, feeling and association, including its landscape and
streetscape. The viewshed of historic properties often extends well
beyond their boundaries and is often an important contributing element
to their historic significance.
Virginia Department of Located in Richmond, the DHR is Virginia's state SHPO, as defined by
Historic Resources (DHR) the NHPA. Their mission is to "...foster, encourage and support the
stewardship of Virginia's significant architectural, archaeological and
cultural resources." The agency reviews all federal and state
compliance documents, as well as provides ample public support for
preservation activities in the Commonwealth.
54
Appendix A Glossary
Workmanship The physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people
during any given period in history or prehistory; A level of quality
exhibited in the construction, detailing, or design of a historic resource.
55
Appendix A Glossary
56
Appendix B Professional Standards
APPENDIX B:
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR'S STANDARDS FOR
PRESERVATION PROFESSIONALS
The following requirements are those used by the National Park Service, and have been
previously published in the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61. The
qualifications define minimum education and experience required to perform
identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment activities. In some cases, additional
areas or levels of expertise may be needed, depending on the complexity of the task and
the nature of the historic properties involved. In the following definitions, a year of full-
time professional experience need not consist of a continuous year of full-time work but
may be made up of discontinuous periods of full-time or part-time work adding up to the
equivalent of a year of full-time experience.
History
The minimum professional qualifications in history are a graduate degree in history or
closely related field; or a bachelor's degree in history or closely related field plus one of
the following:
1. At least two years of full-time experience in research, writing, teaching,
interpretation, or other demonstrable professional activity with an academic
institution, historic organization or agency, museum, or other professional
institution; or
2. Substantial contribution through research and publication to the body of scholarly
knowledge in the field of history.
Archaeology
The minimum professional qualifications in archeology are a graduate degree in
archeology, anthropology, or closely related field plus:
1. At least one year of full-time professional experience or equivalent specialized
training in archeological research, administration or management;
2. At least four months of supervised field and analytic experience in general North
American archeology, and
3. Demonstrated ability to carry research to completion.
57
Appendix B Professional Standards
In addition to these minimum qualifications, a professional in prehistoric archeology shall
have at least one year of full-time professional experience at a supervisory level in the
study of archeological resources of the prehistoric period. A professional in historic
archeology shall have at least one year of full-time professional experience at a
supervisory level in the study of archeological resources of the historic period.
Architectural History
The minimum professional qualifications in architectural history are a graduate degree in
architectural history, art history, historic preservation, or closely related field, with
coursework in American architectural history, or a bachelor's degree in architectural
history, art history, historic preservation or closely related field plus one of the following:
1. At least two years of full-time experience in research, writing, or teaching in
American architectural history or restoration architecture with an academic
institution, historical organization or agency, museum, or other professional
institution; or
2. Substantial contribution through research and publication to the body of scholarly
knowledge in the field of American architectural history.
Architecture
The minimum professional qualifications in architecture are a professional degree in
architecture plus at least two years of full-time experience in architecture; or a State
license to practice architecture.
Historic Architecture
The minimum professional qualifications in historic architecture are a professional degree
in architecture or a State license to practice architecture,plus one of the following:
1. At least one year of graduate study in architectural preservation, American
architectural history,preservation planning, or closely related field; or
2. At least one year of full-time professional experience on historic preservation
proj ects.
Such graduate study or experience shall include detailed investigations of historic
structures,preparation of historic structures research reports, and preparation of plans and
specifications for preservation projects.
58
Appendix C Demolition Ordinance
APPENDIX C:
FREDERICKSBURG STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL OF
DEMOLITION, REMOVAL OR REL COCATION
Updated July 2007
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 78, "ZONING,
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT; ARTICLE III, "ZONING;" DIVISION 23,
"OLD AND HISTORIC FREDERICKSBURG DISTRICT;" SECTION 78-761,
"STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL OF DEMOLITION, REMOVAL OR
RELOCATION."
IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, that
City Code Section 78-761 shall be amended as follows:
SEC. L Introduction.
The City seeks to improve and clarify the criteria the Architectural Review Board and the
City Council will apply to applications for demolition, removal or relocation of buildings
or structures within the Old and Historic Fredericksburg Zoning District. The purpose of
this ordinance is to refine the City's criteria for evaluating demolition applications and to
communicate these criteria clearly to applicants and the public. In particular, the City
wishes to refine the term, "inordinate hardship," and to link it clearly to the reasonable
economic use of real property, not to the individual financial circumstances of any
particular land owner. In addition, City Council wishes to eliminate vague or unhelpful
criteria. The ordinance also contains technical amendments intended to conform to the
applicable Virginia Code provision, and a requirement that applicants for demolition
permits shall provide the Architectural Review Board or City Council with the
information needed to apply the criteria to the application.
SEC. IL City Code Amendment.
City Code Section 78-761 shall be amended as follows:
Sec. 78-761. Standards for approval of demolition, removal or relocation.
(a) In determining the appropriateness of any application for the demolition (including
demolition which occurs through neglect), removal or relocation of a building or
structure in the HFD, the architectural review board shall consider the following review
criteria:
(1) The architectural significance of the building or structure.
(2) The historical significance of the building or structure.
59
Appendix C Demolition Ordinance
(3) The significance of the structure to the streetscape. Whether a building or structure is
linked, historically or architecturally, to other buildings or structures, so that their
concentration or continuity possesses greater significance than the particular building or
structure individually.
(4) The significance of the building or structure or its proposed replacement in furthering
the comprehensive plan's goals for historic preservation and HFD development.
(5) The significance of the structure with regard to tourism. The condition and structural
integrity of the building or structure, as indicated by documentation prepared by a
licensed qualified professional or contractor, or other information,provided to the board
for examination. With the consent of the property owner, the city shall have the authority
to obtain an assessment from a licensed qualified professional or contractor to assist the
board or council in rendering a decision.
(6) Effect on surrounding properties.
(7) Inordinate hardship. This inquiry is concerned primarily with the relationship between
the cost of repairing a building or structure and its reasonable value after repair. An
inordinate hardship is an instance when preservation will deprive the Owner of
reasonable economic use of the property. Any hardship created by action of the applicant
including any condition resulting from the applicant's own neglect of the building or
structure --shall not be considered in support of any application.
To establish inordinate hardship under this section the applicant must submit evidence
that rehabilitation of the building or structure is impractical, that the building or structure
is inappropriate for the proposed use desired by the owner, and that the applicant cannot
make reasonable economic use of the property. Such evidence may include proof of
consideration of plans for adaptive reuse, and attempts to sell, rent or lease the property,
and information regarding annual income and expenses. Any hardship created by action
of the applicant shall not be considered in reviewing any application.
(b) In addition to the right of appeal set forth in section 78-767, the owner of a historic
landmark, building, or structure, the razing of which is subject to the provisions of this
division, shall, as a matter of right, be entitled to raze or demolish such landmark,
building, or structure,provided that the following three conditions are met:
(1) The owner has applied to the City Council for a demolition permit complied with the
provisions of this article;
(2) The owner has, for the period of time set forth in the time schedule contained in this
section and at a price reasonably related to its fair market value as determined by an
independent appraisal, made a bona fide offer to sell such landmark, building, or
structure and the land pertaining thereto to the city or to any entity which gives
reasonable assurance that it is willing to preserve and restore the landmark, building, or
60
Appendix C Demolition Ordinance
structure and the land pertaining thereto. Unless the board and the owner agree upon the
fair market value, the board may retain one independent, qualified appraiser. If the
independent appraisal does not resolve the disagreement, then the board and the owner
shall retain a third qualified appraiser. A median value shall be established by the three
appraisers, which shall be final and binding upon the owner and the city. And
(3) No bona fide contract, binding upon all parties thereto, shall have been executed for
the sale of any such landmark, building, or structure and the land pertaining thereto, prior
to the expiration of the applicable time period set forth in the time schedule contained in
this section. Any appeal which may be taken to court from the decision of the city
council, whether instituted by the owner or by any other proper party, notwithstanding
the provisions heretofore stated relating to a stay of the decision appealed from, shall not
affect the right of the owner to make the bona fide offer to sell referred to in this
subsection. No offer to sell shall be made more than one year after a final decision by the
city council, but thereafter the owner may renew his request to the city council to approve
the razing or demolition of the historic landmark, building, or structure. The time
schedule for offers to sell shall be as follows:
a. Three months when the offering price is less than $25,000.00;
b. Four months when the offering price is $25,000.00 or more but less than $40,000.00;
c. Five months when the offering price is $40,000.00 or more but less than $55,000.00;
d. Six months when the offering price is $55,000.00 or more but less than $75,000.00;
e. Seven months when the offering price is $75,000.00 or more but less than
$90,000.00; and
f. Twelve months when the offering price is $90,000.00 or more
(c)An applicant for a demolition permit shall submit to the board materials sufficient for
it to render a decision on the criteria herein set forth. The staff is authorized to reject any
application which does not include information, at a minimum, to permit the board to
evaluate the application with respect to the foregoing factors. The board may require
additional submissions from the applicant if necessary. On appeal, the City Council may
consider additional submissions, or it may refer the additional information to the board
for its consideration.
61
Appendix C Demolition Ordinance
Appendix D Tax Credits
APPENDIX D:
FREDERICKSBURG HISTORIC PRESERVATION
TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES
Lois B.Jacob P 0 BOX 644-CITY HALL
Commissioner of the Revenue FREDERICK BURG, VA 22404-0644
PHONE� (540)372-1207
FAX: (540)372-1197
TAX CREDIT
FOR
REHABILITATED PROPERTY
The City of Fredericksburg gives partial exemption from real estate taxes for qualifying rehabilitated
real estate. For those properties that qualify, the initial increase in real estate taxes caused by
rehabilitation will be excused for one(1)year and will continue on a declining scale for five (5)
more years. For full information, including the provisions for qualifying for this partial'tax
exemption„ see Sections 70-98 and 70-9 of the City Code. A summary of the requirements and
criteria to qualify for this exemption, .and other information are set forth below,
Requirements for Classification as a Rehabilitated Structure
Residential (single or multi-family) Structures
1. Shall be no Less than forty(401)years old.
2. Base value of the structure must be increased by at least forty percent(40%)
3. The total square footage of the structure shall not be increased by more than
fifteen percent(15%). Porches, unfinished attics and basements, attached
carports or garages, shall be included when computing the square footage
of a structure.
4. No improvements made upon vacant land nor total replacement of residential
structures shall! be eligible.
5.. No property shall be eligible unless appropriate building permits have been
obtained and application for such made simultaneously with filing application
for exemption with the Commissioner of the Revenue.
6. Residential property shall be(a) located in the Old and Historic District or(b)
eligible for listing or listed on the National Register of Historic Pliaces.
Commercial or Industrial Structures
1 Shall be no less than forty(40) years old.
2. Base value of the structure must be increased by at least sixty percent(60%).
3. Total square footage of structure shall not be iincreased by more than
fifteen percent(15'). An existing attached carport, canopy, or similar structure
shall be included in the calculation of the original square footage of a
commercial or industrial structure. [Basements and attics may be
finished-off without invoking the 15% limitation]
4 No improvements made upon vacant land'shall be eligible.
5. No property shall be eligible unless appropriate building permits have been
obtained and application for such made simultaneously with filing the
application with the Commissioner of the Revenue.
62
Appendix D Tax Credits
Appendix E Plan Review
APPENDIX E:
PLAN REVIEW GROUP DETAILS
The successful implementation of a city-wide preservation plan will require coordinated
efforts between various city departments and outside groups, agencies, and individuals.
First, the city should organize a staff work group to analyze the current state of
preservation in Fredericksburg. This "nuts and bolts" group is to gather the needed data
on existing preservation activity and analyze the city. The group should be composed of
key city staff members including Planning staff, Property Maintenance Official, head of
the Building and Maintenance Department, staff liaison for the ARB, one member of City
Council, Tourism staff member, and a representative from the Historic Fredericksburg
Foundation, Inc.
It is suggested that one of the top priorities for the group is to create an outline on the
current state of preservation in Fredericksburg including statistics on demolitions, ARB
and planning decisions that could have a larger effect on city policy, and using data from
other Virginia localities to determine an appropriate course of action for future
preservation activities. From here, the group can establish a set of policies to
institutionalize preservation into the mindset of city staff and representatives. If needed,
they can also set up additional preservation-related educational opportunities for city
employees and other interested groups. The outcome of the formation of this group is to
create a detailed analysis of preservation in Fredericksburg to use as a guideline for future
preservation decisions. In addition, preservation becomes a key component in city staff
decision making.
63
Appendix E Plan Review
Appendix F History
APPENDIX F:
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FREDERICKSBURG
As Fredericksburg historian Robert Howison wrote: "I feel bound, as is the manner of all
veracious historians, to begin at the beginning. But where the beginning is, or ought to
be, may be a serious question." Human occupation of what is today Fredericksburg has
extended for over 10,000 years. All inhabitants have contributed to the historic and
cultural fabric of our community. As such, a brief description of the prehistoric
occupation of the area is given followed by an extended historic narrative.
The goal of presenting this history is to provide basic contextual information on our
community. This history does not provide thorough background data on architectural
heritage of our city as it relates to the historic periods set forth by the Virginia
Department of Historic Resources to evaluate resource significance. This exercise is
extremely warranted but deserving of a comprehensive, detailed study that is beyond the
boundaries of this Preservation Plan (see Goal 1,p. 21).
Prehistoric Period
The prehistoric cultural sequence of the Fredericksburg area parallels that of the other
areas of Virginia. It is generally broken into three periods, Paleoindian (13,000-10,000
Before Present [B.P.]), Archaic (10,000-3,200 B.P.) and Woodland (3,200-400 B.P.).
The Paleoindian settlement-subsistence pattern revolved around hunting and foraging in
small nomadic bands. These bands focused on hunting caribou, elk, deer, and now extinct
mega-fauna. Evidence for this occupation is manifest in fluted projectile points used for
hunting. The Paleo tool kit included scrapers, gravers, unifacial tools, wedges,
hammerstones, abraders, and other tools used for chopping and smashing.
The Archaic Period is generally divided into three phases, Early (10,000-8800 B.P.),
Middle (8800-5500 B.P.), and Late (5500-3200 B.P.). Diagnostic artifacts of the Early
Archaic Period include the Kirk Corner-Notched and Palmer Corner-Notched projectile
points. Early Archaic also marks the first appearance of ground stone tools such as axes,
celts, adzes and grinding stones. The Middle Archaic Period coincides with a relatively
warm and dry period that may have resulted in widespread population movements. The
primary cultural attributes of the Middle Archaic are small-group band organization,
impermanent settlement systems, infrequent aggregation phases, and low levels of
regional or areal integration and interaction. The Late Archaic Period is often seen as the
culmination of trends that began during the Early and Middle Archaic. Groundstone tools
including adzes, celts, gourges and axes are seen during this period, with the grooved axe
making its first appearance during the Late Archaic.
64
Appendix F History
Like the Archaic, the Woodland Period is divided into three phases, Early (3200 B.P.-
2300 B.P.), Middle Woodland (2300-1100 B.P.), and Late (1100-400 B.P.). The
introduction of pottery, agriculture, and a more sedentary lifestyle mark the emergence of
the Woodland Period. The population surge that began in the Archaic continues in this
period. The Middle Woodland is marked by the rise of certain sociocultural
characteristics that include the spread of religious and ritual behaviors, localized stylistic
developments, and evidence of ranked societies or incipient ranked societies. The Late
Woodland Period is marked by an increased reliance on agriculture, attendant population
growth, larger villages and increased sociocultural complexity. In the early portion of this
period, settlements consist of small clusters of houses with little to no internal
organization. However, by 300 B.P., larger villages are observed. Features associated
with these villages include palisades, houses, hearths, storage pits, and burials.
The Contact and early Historic Period refer to the time when the native groups had their
first contact with Europeans and European goods. Native adaptations to the changing
social and political environment of the Fredericksburg area are poorly understood, but the
introduction of European goods is a distinguishing characteristic of this period.
Depopulation related to European-born disease and altered trade dynamics are the two
primary factors often cited in cultural changes during this period.
Historic Period
European Settlement to Society, 1608-1750
While colloquial legend states that Europeans had explored the area around
Fredericksburg as early as 1570, it was John Smith who left the first written record of his
visit. In his Generall Historic of Virginia, originally published in 1624, Smith described
his 1608 explorations along both the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers looking for
trading opportunities and other resources. In July 1608, Smith and his colleagues
followed the Rappahannock River to the falls, the location of present-day Fredericksburg,
where his company was forced to turn back by dangerous travel conditions. In his diary,
however, Smith called the area"beautiful and inviting".
It wasn't until 1655 that the first land patent in the area was given to Margaret Brent for
1,000 acres just west of Fredericksburg. In 1666, Lawrence Smith and Robert Taliaferro
patented 6,300 acres just south of Fredericksburg. The Virginia House of Burgesses
commissioned Smith to build a fort on this property in 1676 to encourage settlement in
the area. Though Smith's fort was originally conceived as a sort of`gateway' to the west,
only a few temporary structures were built in the area, and no settlers moved. The fort
was disbanded by the House in 1682.
The future townsite of Fredericksburg was granted to John Buckner and Thomas Royston
in 1671. Though they never lived on this 2,000-acre property, they immediately leased
the land to William and Sukey Livingston, which is how the area became known as The
Leaseland from the 1670s through the 1720s. The community remained a small river
enclave through the first two decades of the eighteenth century.
65
Appendix F History
The largest and most successful precursor of future settlement in the general region
occurred in 1714. Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood arrived in Virginia in 1710
and quickly realized that the success of the colony lay in westward expansion. To achieve
this goal, he established Fort Germanna in 1714 on a peninsula of the Rapidan River,
about 30 miles west of Fredericksburg. Realizing the potential for the area to act as a
frontier community, Spotswood brought over two additional groups of German
indentured servants in 1717 and 1719, and the population of the Germanna area grew to
over 200 people.
D r
d� 4
Historical marker noting
ar
the southwest corner of the
Leaseland property,
Fredericksburg's first �f
formal anglo occupation. °
The marker is located on
wt,�r
Wolfe Street on the Post'
Office property.
In 1720, Spotswood pushed the House to create Spotsylvania County with Germanna as
the county seat. This new county contained the Leaseland and Germanna. It also
contained Massaponnax Wharf, a large shipping area built and owned by Spotswood on
Massaponnax Creek, and his Tubal Iron Works. The county court at Germanna ran
smoothly for the first few years, but several key officials and planters of Spotsylvania
County repeatedly petitioned the House of Burgesses to move the county seat to a more
convenient location. In 1728, the House finally addressed the issue and decided that a
town should be formally created at the Leaseland. The town was to incorporate 50 acres
on the Rappahannock River and was to be renamed Fredericksburgh Town in honor of
Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of King George 11 and father of King George III. The
same act incorporated the town of Falmouth, located across the Rappahannock River
from Fredericksburg in Stafford County. Early patrons of the community of Falmouth
included Robert"King" Carter and Mann Page.
Fredericksburg and Falmouth both grew slowly at first and both competed for shipping
and associated warehouse business. A large boon to the development of Fredericksburg
occurred on October 1, 1732, when the county seat of Spotsylvania officially moved to
Fredericksburg for the convenience of all inhabitants and county officials. A courthouse
was begun in town, as well as a church, prison, and other governmental and commercial
buildings. The town wharfs expanded to become the first public river docks in the area.
66
Appendix F History
Numerous warehouses developed around the Fredericksburg waterfront in the mid-
eighteenth century to accommodate the new business, most of which were concentrated
around what are today the intersection of Sophia and Wolfe streets.
K yrs 'ti
Beginning in the 1730s,
the town wharf and ferry
were located just below
Thornton's Tavern at 523
Sophia Street,seen
above.
Throughout the 1730s and 1740s, Fredericksburg grew slowly as new businesses
developed to cater to the courthouse and commerce crowds. As a testament to the
developing tone of town use, it is estimated that there were almost an equal number of
taverns/ordinaries and warehouses in the 1740s. The growth trend continued in the 1750s,
as the first land addition was made to the original 50-acre town to accommodate the
influx of new inhabitants and businesses. Occupation slowly moved from the center of
town near the wharves northward along Caroline Street.
The Fielding Lewis Store, built in 1749, anchored the northern segment of town and
offered goods on the main road out of town and on the way to William Thornton's mills
on the north side of the community. The store, still standing, is considered to be one of
the oldest retail buildings in the United States.
From Colony to Nation, 1750-1789
Fredericksburg prospered as a shipping point between the area's tobacco growers and the
larger vessels that carried this valuable cargo to England. Fredericksburg rapidly grew in
population and size. A boundary expansion in 1759 nearly tripled the area of the original
town. Tobacco production fed this growth, but entrepreneurs had also begun to harness
the tremendous energy of the Rappahannock River, where it falls more than 25 feet over
a distance of approximately one mile. Francis Thornton, Sr. is believed to have built the
first mill in this area by 1740 and perhaps as early as 1726. This endeavor was on the
south shore of the river,just below Hunter's Island. His son, Francis Thornton, Jr., built
his home, The Falls, at a site just downstream from his mill. The third generation Francis
67
Appendix F History
Thornton would build a house upstream from the early mill. This dwelling, called Fall
Hill, was constructed in 1779 and remains extant today .
r�
The Lewis Store on Caroline Street. Currently the offices of the
Historic Fredericksburg Foundation,Inc.
Another entrepreneur from this period was a man named James Hunter, whose iron forge
would become important during the American war for independence. Hunter established
himself as a merchant in Falmouth, across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg,
around 1746. He shipped large amounts of iron from the Rappahannock area to England.
By 1772, though, there is reference to a well-established iron foundry on the Stafford
shore.
Iron and tobacco drove the local economy, and each exemplified Virginia's mercantile
relationship with England. The planters provided their crops to agents in England and
obtained certain manufactured items and other goods in return. As long as the tobacco
market thrived it sustained the aristocratic planter class. Evolving banking practices and
fluctuations in the tobacco market, however, suggested to many colonial planters that
their wealth and social status could be tenuous. Britain's success in the French and
Indian War had secured its North American empire. Colonial governments in America,
however, began to take issue with imperial taxation policies, and the growing tensions
eventually led to war.
In 1774, Britain closed the port of Boston in response to the Boston Tea Party. A group
of Fredericksburg citizens joined a growing network of outraged communities by
establishing a Committee of Correspondence. The crisis intensified in 1775 when
Virginia Governor Dunmore removed the gunpowder from the magazine at Williamsburg
and stored it on a British man-of-war. Local Virginia leaders drafted the Fredericksburg
Resolutions to publicly indicate their intent to resist, by force of arms if necessary, any
attempts to usurp the "just rights and liberty of America."
68
Appendix F History
In addition to issuing strongly-worded statements, local residents armed themselves and
assembled in Fredericksburg. Captain Hugh Mercer and his friend General George
Weedon drilled these men in preparation for a march on Williamsburg. Their friend
George Washington, an officer in the Virginia Militia, was also on hand. When war
came, recruits from the Fredericksburg area constituted the bulk of the 2nd and 3rd
Regiments of the Virginia Line. These units became solid components of the Continental
Army, the mainstay of the American Revolution. The Continental Congress appointed
George Washington as their commander. Washington's friend, Hugh Mercer,
commanded the 3rd Regiment of the Virginia Line until 1777, when he was mortally
wounded at Princeton.
1
x
After the war,Generale
George Weedon returned to
Fredericksburg and
constructed the Sentry Box rid
on Caroline Street.Weedon
ran one of the town's most
popular taverns and was later
elected mayor of
Fredericksburg.
While Fredericksburg's citizen soldiers were away fighting the British, James Hunter
provided a wealth of iron materials to the American forces. His forge produced not only
weapons, but numerous other articles that an army required for active field operations. In
a letter of May 31, 1777, George Wythe explained to Thomas Jefferson how James
Hunter had expanded his operation with "a Variety of Works, such as Forges, Steel
Furnaces &c & begun others such as slitting, plating & wire mills, & established
Factories for fabricating small Arms, entrenching Tools, Anchors & other things
necessary in the Army & Navy." In 1776, two of Fredericksburg's local gentry, Fielding
Lewis and Roger Dixon, had established another foundry in the area, but this operation
appears to have been limited to arms manufacturing and repair.
The significance of Fredericksburg and its two iron industries is shown in a 1781 letter
from James Mercer to Thomas Jefferson, wartime governor of Virginia:
There is not in this State a place more deserving of public attention than
this Town and its appendage Mr. Hunter's Iron Works —I am sure I need
not tell you that it is from Mr. Hunter's Works that every Camp Kettle has
been supplied for the continental and all other Troops employed in this
69
Appendix F History
State & to the Southward this year past—that all the anchors for this State
& Maryland & some for continent have been procured from the same
works; and that without these works we have no other resource for these
articles, and that without the assistance of the Bar Iron made there, even
the planters hereabouts & to the Southward of this place would not be able
to make Bread to eat...
In the war's aftermath, the Rappahannock iron industry came to an end. Charles Dick
closed the Fredericksburg Gun Factory in 1783. Dick's partner in that enterprise,
Fielding Lewis, had died in 1782. Although James Hunter died in 1784, his operation
remained an ongoing concern because it could manufacture more than arms. The
available forests had been exhausted, however, and iron production slowed for lack of
charcoal. Although a traveler described Hunter's, in 1783-1784, as the "most
considerable iron-works in North America" Richmond eventually became Virginia's
leading industrial center.
In addition to war-time activities, citizens of Fredericksburg were struggling with another
monumental event in the town's history. In 1778, due to repeated complaints from county
citizens, the county seat of Spotsylvania was moved from Fredericksburg to a site on the
Po River near the center of the county. Regardless, the activity surrounding the wharves
and the growing town population sustained Fredericksburg through the loss of the
courthouse traffic. The town was incorporated in 1781, and the diversity of the
population was reflected in the new businesses and organizations developed in the post-
Revolutionary Period.
The Early National Period, 1789-1830
The period from the 1780s through the 1820s was marked by a dramatic increase in the
shipping and milling industry in Fredericksburg and the nearby town of Falmouth.
Whereas early shipping primarily concentrated on tobacco, by the end of the eighteenth
century, soils in the area were depleted. Farmers turned to new crops to sustain the family
plantations, primarily wheat. Wheat had numerous economic advantages over tobacco,
especially for urban areas. Not only was it a successful crop for farmers and plantation
owners, but processing of wheat required several more enterprises prior to shipment,
including roads and wagons for transportation, warehouses for storage, mills for
processing, and merchants for sales.
In Fredericksburg, two transportation improvement projects were initiated to provide
connections to the rich agricultural regions to the west. In 1810, the Swift Run Gap
Turnpike Company incorporated to provide an improved overland route. By 1822, 36
miles of road had been completed from Fredericksburg to the town of Orange, known
locally as the Orange Turnpike. Canal-related activities began in the Fredericksburg area
in 1811. At that time, the Virginia Assembly responded to a local petition and authorized
a stock subscription to capitalize the Rappahannock Navigation Company.
70
Appendix F History
A better road and a canal could provide the means to bring timber and bulk farm goods
from the upper reaches of the watershed to the Fredericksburg wharves. A driving force
for developing this type of infrastructure was a booming demand for wheat and flour.
Investors were drawn to agricultural transshipment centers like Fredericksburg and
Falmouth, where water power and maritime links provided additional opportunities for
energetic and ambitious persons. Some facilities were already in place. Hunter's Iron
Works, for instance, had an excellent power canal. As the Rappahannock iron industry
waned, the manufacturing mills on that site were replaced by two agricultural mills.
Thornton's Mill, on the south side of the river was also in operation.
This period was an energetic time for Fredericksburg. The 1790 United States counted
1,500 Fredericksburg residents, which amounted to 13 percent of the total population of
Spotsylvania County. By the 1820 census, there were 3,308 people in Fredericksburg,
which then comprised 29 percent of Spotsylvania County's total population.
Fredericksburg and Falmouth's exports in flour, which had reached their highest point in
1816 at 160,000 barrels, had been reported at 126,000 barrels in 1831. The export
quantity ranked third in the state of Virginia, only behind Richmond and Alexandria.
While this was a period of immense growth, it was also a time of great destruction.
In 1807, a devastating fire swept through downtown Fredericksburg destroying over 200
buildings; about one-half of the town was destroyed. In actuality, there were at least five
large-scale fires in Fredericksburg over a 25 year period (1799, 1807, 1816, 1822, 1823).
Despite these catastrophes, the town was rebuilt albeit with better building materials. By
the mid 1820s, repeated fire, combined with subdivision of downtown lots and a concern
for fire, created a dense core of occupation in Fredericksburg with virtually no extant
eighteenth century fabric, except on the outskirts of town.
The Antebellum Years, 1830-1861
Although flour export decreased after 1820, Fredericksburg continued to prosper as a port
town. In 1822, it was made a postal center for distribution of all United States mail to five
states, and goods from surrounding counties continued to be shipped from the busy
wharves. By 1835, the town included five churches, over a dozen schools, two taverns,
and numerous other businesses including warehouses and merchants.
While Alexandria, Richmond, and Petersburg grew as major commercial and industrial
centers, Fredericksburg prospered on a smaller scale. Business continued to succeed over
the next few decades. By 1840, the town exported over $4 million worth of goods
annually. While tobacco had depleted the soil's productivity, the European demand for
food had encouraged farmers to shift their emphasis to wheat and corn. Later, farmers
benefited from railroad access to bigger markets as well as from the railroad's ability to
deliver newly-available mechanized farm equipment. Large plantations around
Fredericksburg did not regularly embrace the new machinery, such as reapers and
threshers, because they were well supplied with slave labor. Instead, census records show
that many small- and medium-sized farms in the area invested in some of this new
71
Appendix F History
equipment to become less subsistence oriented. Wheat and corn remained strong market
crops. With better access to markets, tobacco also regained some prominence.
i
rW�;r
r,
"�r��'ar,,l 2✓,r.,,r,�:, ,rr"fir tillr�.nr.n A ,�.. iii r,.,r..` i ,�„lam
Pre-Civil War warehouses once located at 301 Sophia Street along the river,circa 1926
(Frances Johnson Collection,Library of Congress).
, """"""
iao
s�f
�a�q�✓r /i it aai 1����f{1�� �� r
d v l� ir�ry i>wrr6 �'1m rrr�rJl iiJ �l ) WI,� r
o rri '�✓r err�,,,r
�, ,,✓��rrrhlr y�+�+f�,J,�,
e r !iw
mrm rvmu�
IIS
ynixnrr�mmmrrnm w rvry r aw,WPlln.w r , ti.
Circa 1854 view of Fredericksburg from Ferry Farm.
Architecturally, Fredericksburg's distinct skyline was defined during this period.
Following disestablishment of the Anglican Church in America after the American
72
Appendix F History
Revolution, many other religious denominations gained adherents. Prominent church
spires rose into the sky as growing congregations built new houses of worship including
the Fredericksburg Presbyterian Church (1833), St. George's Church (1849), and the
Fredericksburg Baptist Church (1854-1855). The other prominent antebellum building
on the skyline is the circa 1852 Circuit Court House, designed by architect James
Renwick.
Growth in Fredericksburg still lagged behind the more prosperous centers of Richmond
and Alexandria, but local citizens were actively working to overcome their relative
isolation. In 1853, the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad Company incorporated
to provide an east-west railway, which would hopefully serve distant agricultural regions.
Labor within the urban area comprised native whites, European immigrants, free blacks,
and slaves, with enslaved African-Americans making up the largest percentage of the
area workforce. In 1850, for example, slaves made up one-half of the population. The
town included 730 households in 1860, all of which would soon become directly
embroiled within one of the most monumental events in Fredericksburg history, the Civil
War.
View of lower
Sophia Street from
Ferry Farm
showing riverfront
industry,circa
r
1863 (Photo
owned by the
National Park
X74 ,i Service).
/� .v i r � r r/N(illrt�Yll rira..
Js I M1p ffJ p)Inl%Wr"�'N poi/
:Pl
Ul ��
The Civil War in Fredericksburg
Numerous major Civil War battles occurred within and around Fredericksburg. The
Battle of Fredericksburg was a disappointing and fruitless campaign that resulted in a
major defeat for the new Union commander, Ambrose E. Burnside. The success of the
campaign relied on the element of surprise, in hopes to avoid a confrontation with Lee at
73
Appendix F History
Fredericksburg. Burnside proposed a plan to expediently march into Falmouth by way of
the Rappahannock River and then cross into Fredericksburg.
When Virginia seceded from the Union, the railway between Washington D.C. and
Richmond remained unfinished. Its construction, however, had reoriented Fredericksburg
from the eastwest flow of the Rappahannock River to the north-south axis of the
Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. In a period of mass armies with
overwhelming logistic needs, this railroad drew the contending armies to Fredericksburg
with a deadly inevitability.
In December of 1862, the City was bombarded by Union artillery, as a prelude to the
Battle of Fredericksburg. Union infantry soon followed, forcing a river crossing at the
foot of Hawke Street as well as in the City Dock area. The sounds of close combat
crashed through Caroline and Princess Anne Streets as the Confederate defenders fought
a rearguard action. Once pontoon bridges were in place, more Federal troops arrived,
sacking and looting the buildings from which their occupants had so recently fled.
The main Federal assault occurred against the Confederate position in Sunken Road, at
the base of Marye's Heights. Several houses stood in the path of these attacks including
Federal Hill (504 Hanover Street), the Rowe House (801 Hanover Street) and the Stratton
House (700 Littlepage Street). These dwellings still exhibit chipped bricks from this time
when a violent storm of metal swirled around them. The residents of these neighborhoods
also continue to harvest the remnants of battle bullets, belt buckles, and bayonets
when they dig in their gardens.
During the battles, both in 1862 and during the Overland Campaign of 1864, many of the
town's larger buildings were used as hospitals, and the open areas around them were
converted into burying grounds. Not until the armies moved south, to fight around
Richmond and Petersburg, did the war's hard impact begin to subside. This period saw
more destruction than construction. Many of the buildings that were extant at this time,
and which did not succumb to fire, still bear its scars, although they are not always
visible. Bullet holes and broken structural components, for example, were quickly
repaired on roofs and exterior walls, to make houses weathertight once more. Interior
damage was less urgent and could often be covered with wallpaper or otherwise hidden
from view.
Reconstruction and Growth, 1865-1914
The Civil War decimated the physical and cultural fabric of the Fredericksburg area.
Despite the destruction, area inhabitants remained in town and were determined to
rebuild their lives and their homes. In addition to those who lived there before the war,
the population of Fredericksburg grew immensely in the years just after the war.
Emancipated slaves moved into town looking for employment, and white farmers looked
to the area factories and commercial businesses for jobs since their farms were destroyed
by Federal and Confederate troops. The town grew so rapidly and so large that
Fredericksburg was incorporated in 1879. The latter stages of the nineteenth century also
74
Appendix F History
saw increasing visits to the Fredericksburg area by Civil War veterans. The old soldiers
were intent on examining scenes of their past struggles, but many also sought to preserve
portions of the battlefields for posterity.
The Confederate Cemetery was
established along what are today
William Street and Washington
Avenue in 1870 for
the interments of the numerous � 1 �f<
Confederate dead who lost their
g
lives in Fredericksbur .
d lir
Along with these changes, the daily operation of Fredericksburg changed during these
decades from one reliant on the waterways to a more rail-focused community. New roads
were built to and from Fredericksburg for area farmers and merchants to deliver and
receive goods on the railroad. Development sprawled from the commercial center to
encompass new neighborhoods to the north and south of town, including what is today
known as Darbytown located south of the railroad tracks. Industrial jobs brought people
to Fredericksburg, and new building construction was very much influenced by the
supplies that factories could provide. Complex building components such as doors,
windows, roofing, and siding could be mass produced and shipped by rail at low cost.
Simplified board framing and wire nails allowed houses to be built with wall extensions,
overhangs, irregular floor plans and elaborate detailing. The handsome decorative
elements of the dwellings on Washington Avenue and its surrounding neighborhood
symbolize the wealth and success of the late-nineteenth century industrial arena.
In 1912, Fredericksburg government underwent its first large-scale change in over a
century, as it switched from a selectman-based system to a city manager plan. The new
city manager was an integral participant in helping Fredericksburg incorporate the
automobile into city planning, an invention that changed entire pattern of town
occupation. The automobile allowed for area residents to live farther out of town and
drive to work within the city. Along with the automobile came auto-related business such
as gas stations, motels, and service stations.
75
Appendix F History
World War Ito World War II, 1914 1945
Manufacturing remained the mainstay of the Fredericksburg economy into the twentieth
century. Local agriculture simply had not recovered after the Civil War. During the
1920s, the rural county of Spotsylvania could not even provide sufficient food for the
local populace. The County, including Fredericksburg, had to import food and animal
feed. The market was certainly present, but the soil could not meet the demand. In 1934,
an economic survey of Spotsylvania County observed many fields still left uncultivated.
y.
a
r
r
,., rrr Carr
r � fri%r�f 7 r Ir a�1✓il
+„ r
Looking south down the 600 Block of Caroline Street,circa 1920s.
During this period, the provision of electricity in Virginia became increasingly
centralized. Previously, hydroelectric facilities served local regions, but larger
corporations began to buy out these smaller entities. These larger firms had the technical
expertise and the investment capital to incorporate advances in the industry. In 1926, the
Virginia Electric Power Company (VEPCO) bought the smaller Spotsylvania Power
Company, which had acquired the Fredericksburg Power Company and built the Embrey
Dam. VEPCO maintained the Embrey Dam and operated the power station into the early
1960's.
By the Great Depression, Fredericksburg's regional population included many thousands,
many of whom were employed by large factories located south of town. This included the
Sylvania Company and the G&H Clothing Plant. Although times were tough, many of
these factories were able to keep their doors open during the tumultuous 1930s. However,
government programs to relieve the economic effects of the Great Depression had a
significant impact on area historic resources. During the 1930's, for instance, the
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped to make the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania
National Military Park accessible to visitors. The CCC built roads and bridges and
stabilized earthworks.
76
Appendix F History
The future Walker-Grant School (constructed in 1934) would comply with the 1898 U.S.
Supreme Court decision that institutionalized the notion of separate but equal. This type
of Jim Crow policy was challenged but not overturned until the 1950s and 60s.
The New Dominion, 1945 present
Throughout the remainder of the twentieth century, Fredericksburg grew exponentially.
Construction crews completed the State Route 1 Bypass in early 1946. The bridge across
the Rappahannock occurred at Falmouth, where bridges had been constructed since the
early nineteenth century. While highways and bypasses were meant to enhance inter-city
travel, the dynamics of their presence changed post World War II development patterns.
Automobile production grew enormously after World War IL The Federal Aid Highway
Act of 1944 had anticipated this post-war need for more and better roads, but the
Interstate Highway Act of 1956 provided the unprecedented funding that made
automobile highways ubiquitous. In the 1960s, Interstate-95, which runs north-south,
crossed the Rappahannock River upstream of Fredericksburg. Most recently, the Virginia
Railway Express made Fredericksburg a convenient place of residence for Washington
D.C. commuters. Although Old Town retains much of its turn-of-the-century
characteristics, many areas outside of the downtown area have been altered.
77