11 Most Endangered
"The Journey Through Hallowed Ground" Corridor
Year Listed: 2005
Location: Virginia
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Development
As one historian has noted, this 175-mile-long corridor from Gettysburg, PA to Monticello, VA "has soaked up more of the blood, sweat, and tears of American history than any other part of the country." Once, this land was a hunting ground and trade route for the Susquehannock and Iroquois tribes. Later it welcomed George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and countless other statesmen-many of whose homes still stand today. Now referred to as "The Journey Through Hallowed Ground," the corridor also encompasses African American historic sites, numerous scenic rivers and byways, and the nation's greatest concentration of Civil War battlefields. But now this once-tranquil landscape is being radically transformed by suburban sprawl from the fast-growing DC metropolitan area where new subdivisions sprout in the midst of cornfields, meandering country roads are straightened and widened to accommodate traffic, traditional "Main Street" towns find their character threatened by incompatible new development, and venerable landmarks are engulfed by sprawl. A tri-state collaboration now seeks to find a 21st-century solution to balance economic development and historic preservation in ways that celebrate and protect the region's heritage. This is "The Journey Through Hallowed Ground" initiative, a public-private effort that must succeed, or four centuries of history could be obliterated in the name of so-called "progress."
Update
Since 2005, the nonprofit Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership has made good progress in promoting preservation. For example, with strong support from scores of local communities, the Partnership has championed the anticipated designation of the corridor as a National Heritage Area. However, many highly significant historic sites within the four-state corridor remain at risk from sprawling overdevelopment, for example: * The proposed Gettysburg casino was narrowly rejected, after a hard fight. * Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is threatened by a 2-million-square-foot commercial development. * Wilderness Battlefield and the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania County National Military Park are threatened by the proposed widening or realignment of Route 20.
May 2008
A bill signed into law in May designates the Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) National Heritage Area, the nation's 38th. The legislation also provides up to $1 million in federal matching funds each year for the next 15 years to support core operations and promote heritage tourism and educational programs in the region. The 175-mile JTHG corridor, which runs from Gettysburg, Pa., through Maryland, to Monticello in Virginia, holds a wealth of significant sites, including nine presidential homes, the nation's largest collection of Civil War battlefields, 73 National Historic Districts, and numerous scenic roads, rivers, and landscapes. Concerned that suburban sprawl is overwhelming the historic character of this rapidly growing region around Washington, D.C., the National Trust included the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Corridor on its 2005 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Places. Learn more from the website of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership: www.hallowed-ground.org.
