Dear colleagues:
Since I don't believe it's been mentioned yet on this list, let me post
the regrettable news that the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is
selling Carter's Grove. Although the Foundation is under financial
stress and doubtless considers this a necessary step, those interested
in the fullest exploration of Virginia's history can only view it with
deep dismay. Not only a beautiful and historic property, Carter's
Grove represented an unparalleled opportunity to anchor all that
Colonial Williamsburg offers in the historical realities of the
plantation world through research, education, and imaginative public
presentation--an opportunity that had excitingly begun to be realized
in the uniquely well-informed reconstruction of the plantation's
eighteenth-century slave dwellings.
This sale represents an immense loss to the potential for broad-based
historical understanding.
--Jurretta J. Heckscher
From
http://www.history.org/foundation/press_release/
displayPressRelease.cfm?pressReleaseId=655:
December 8, 2006
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to Proceed
with Protected Sale of Carter's Grove
Foundation Consulting with Leading Preservation Organizations
To Assure Protection of the Property’s Resources
Standards for Preservation of Carter’s Grove Will Serve
as a Model for Historic Preservation Community
WILLIAMSBURG, VA—The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will assure the
preservation of Carter’s Grove Plantation by offering it for sale on a
fully protected basis. Under this concept restrictions would be
implemented for the long-term protection of the site’s historic,
architectural, visual, archeological and environmental resources.
The restrictions will prohibit residential and commercial development
of the property. The Foundation anticipates retaining rights to use
pasturelands in support of its rare breeds program. Importantly, any
sale of the Carter’s Grove property will include a ‘right of first
offer’ back to the Foundation, should the purchaser seek to resell the
property.
The Foundation will consult with the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and other
preservation organizations on the content of the restrictions.
“Our guiding principle in evaluating the future of Carter’s Grove has
been the preservation of this important property,” said Colin Campbell,
president and chairman of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “A
fully protected sale addresses Colonial Williamsburg’s stewardship
responsibilities while strengthening the Foundation’s focus on the
Historic Area and our central program of citizenship education.”
Over the last several years, the Foundation has engaged in discussions
with parties known to have an interest in historic properties and
explored options to transfer the property to an entity that would own
and operate it under specific conditions. The Foundation also retained
this year the services of D.R. Horne & Company, specialists in
developing strategies for the protection of historic properties and
environmental resources, to evaluate the property and propose options
for disposition or reuse. Following an extensive assessment and
consideration of a range of alternatives, the firm recommended the sale
of the property to a private buyer in a fully protected context that
includes appropriate restrictions.
“Our decision was guided by a thorough evaluation of Carter’s Grove’s
relevance to Colonial Williamsburg’s interpretive focus. Our mission is
to tell the story of citizenship and becoming America in the 18th
century,” said Campbell. “This is best accomplished in the Historic
Area, where we present and interpret Revolutionary War-era
Williamsburg. Carter’s Grove, with its multiple stories to tell, does
not support this strategic focus.”
As this process moves forward, Colonial Williamsburg will be adding to
the body of knowledge of property-protection techniques. “The
Foundation will work with partners, including national and local
organizations, governments and land trusts, to implement the best
current practices,” said Campbell. “We believe that the standards for
preservation of Carter’s Grove will serve as a model for others in the
historic preservation community.”
The Sealantic Fund, a former Rockefeller philanthropy, conveyed the
Carter’s Grove property to Colonial Williamsburg in 1969. Located along
the James River eight miles southeast of Williamsburg, the property
includes Carter’s Grove Mansion, the Wolstenholme Towne site, the
Winthrop Rockefeller Archaeology Museum and the first slave quarters
reconstructed by the Foundation. The Foundation’s archeological
collection, including artifacts related to the Carter’s Grove site,
will be displayed in significant new exhibition space in an expanded
Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.
In a related development, and pursuant to long-standing legal
agreements dating back more than three decades between the Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation and Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated, ownership of
a portion of the Country Road has transferred to Busch Properties, Inc.
The Country Road is a one-lane road extending from South England Street
in the City of Williamsburg to Ron Springs Road in James City County.
Colonial Williamsburg retains ownership of the road from South England
Street to Mounts Bay Road. Busch Properties takes ownership of the road
extending east from Mounts Bay Road to the Grove Creek Bridge.
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