$200,000 Given To Park Along Rappahannock

By Deborah Fitts

Feb/Mar 2006

REMINGTON, Va. — An effort to save the little-recognized battlefield of Rappahannock Station got a boost in the fall when the Virginia Land Conservation Fund awarded $200,000 toward the initiative.

Fauquier County, responding to preservationists’ concerns about a developer’s plans to subdivide the land, paid $875,000 in July to create 26-acre Rappahannock Station Park. The parcel, which fronts the Rappahannock River, will double as a historical and recreational asset for the county.

The $200,000 grant was awarded to the nonprofit Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), which will turn the money over to the county. PEC promised to fund $500,000 of the total, with the money due to the county by June 30.

The land comprises a small portion of the core battlefield of Nov. 7, 1863, including a knoll that overlooked a pontoon crossing.

The developer donated two house lots to the county to provide access to the park. His offer to sell the 26 acres precipitated the county’s action. He plans to build 71 homes on a remaining 17 acres.

Other groups have joined to help PEC raise the money, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

PEC spokesman Doug Larson hailed the effort as a prime example of diverse interests working in a common cause. “It’s one of those unique community projects where everybody is in support,” he said.