Preservation Virginia spotlights 170 endangered historic places statewide, including 3 in Henrico
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The threats to these sites include inequality, climate change, flooding, large-scale industrial development, lack of stewardship, and changes in urban planning to accommodate increased housing needs.
“Historic places are at the forefront of debates about the environment, affordable housing, and smart growth,” said Elizabeth S. Kostelny, Preservation Virginia CEO. “We need to work together to address these issues while preserving locations that still have so much to teach us about our collective past and our present. Once a historic place is demolished, it’s gone forever.”
The Henrico sites included on the list are:
• the New Market Road corridor in Varina;
• archaeological resources at Tree Hill Farm in Varina;
• Civil War battlefields on which U.S. Colored Troops fought (New Market Heights in Varina and Samaria Church in Charles City County).
The 530-acre Tree Hill Farm site is the former site of a Powhatan Indian village and is said to contain numerous artifacts, possibly including burial grounds, according to Preservation Virginia. The property also is known to contain at least 26 other archaeological sites that have not been surveyed at the time the nomination for the property was written, the organization wrote. For much of its history, the property was a plantation which served as the home of many prominent Virginia planters. Along with the many Native American artifacts said to be in the vicinity, there is also the strong possibility of numerous slaves buried on the land, according to Preservation Virginia.
Residential development and road projects could threaten some of the New Market Heights corridor and Civil War site, according to Preservation Virginia.
To date, only 10% of the sites listed have been lost to demolition or neglect. A collaborative effort between local, state, and federal governments is needed, according to Preservation Virginia officials, to preserve these unique locations for future generations. To help save a historic place, click here to view the map and zoom in on the endangered sites.
