Officials OK Walmart Near VA Civil War Battlefield

Cool !

When Life hands out Lemons, turn them to Gold

when digging starts Get Permission
to hunt it.

good Luck !
 

It is sad that we are losing many of our battlefields to progress. Look what is happening in Gettysburg the park land is shrinking.
 

BASTARD'S >:(
 

They aren't building it ON the battlefield.

Please, read your own article. They don't want the Wal~Mart there because they are afraid that it will draw more people there - invading THEIR
wilderness.

They want to keep YOU out. Geesh, this is what we are fighting against - the fact that the environmentalists want to tie everything up in a neat little package and to keep everyone ELSE (not them, of course) OUT. They're worried about SIGHT (not SITE) contamination? Come on.

Gee, I don't think we can afford to have md-ers who want to help keep md-ers out of places, can we?

Right now, you cannot go NEAR the place, except to take a "tour".

B
 

spartacus53 said:
It is sad that we are losing many of our battlefields to progress. Look what is happening in Gettysburg the park land is shrinking.
Click to expand...
Well they had 150 years to buy up the land.
 

Who is "they"? The Gettysburg folks?

I LIKE having private land around battlefields etc. (or public land that isn't cut off from people).

You cannot detect in the battlefield - and we all know that soldiers didn't just drop stuff at the battlefields - they also lost things on the way to the battle, and when they left - in fact - they lost stuff everywhere they went.

People CAMP in Wal-Mart parking lots - I betcha you can also metal detect. And, if there is anything large there (like cannons, etc), the dozers should find them.

B
 


The Wilderness Wal-Mart
Myth vs. Reality

Myth #1:
The Walmart would not be built on, or near, the Wilderness Battlefield.

Reality:
Walmart would be built inside the historic boundary of the Wilderness Battlefield as determined in the 1993 report of the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC), a congressionally authorized study of every battlefield of the Civil War. The historic nature of the property has since been reconfirmed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the National Park Service (NPS). The proposed Walmart site is within a few hundred feet of trenches owned by the NPS as part of the Wilderness Battlefield unit of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park and within sight of park land at the Route 3 & 20 intersection.

Myth #2:
Nobody objected when the McDonald’s and Sheetz were built at that intersection.

Reality:
The NPS and others pointed out to Orange County the inappropriateness of rezoning at the corner of Routes 3 and 20. After the rezoning, NPS and others tried to work with the businesses on toned down stores. McDonald’s was receptive and made some design modifications to have less of an impact on the battlefield (i.e., no towering sign) and designed the interior with a Wilderness Battlefield theme. Sheetz, however, was uncooperative and built according to standard design more appropriate to a highway rest stop than a historic battlefield shrine.

Myth #3:
A planning study offered by the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition is only a delaying tactic.

Reality:
The preservation community is committed to a visioning process that would preserve the Wilderness Battlefield gateway while still enabling Orange County to achieve its economic development goals in the region. The best way to achieve this compromise is to undergo a comprehensive, long-range planning process to determine how best to achieve these goals. The alternative is succumbing to the same piecemeal sprawl that litters Route 3 east of Orange County. The Coalition has offered to pay for the entire study so it would come at no cost to the county. In fact, Orange County’s Comprehensive Plan calls for “developing a comprehensive battlefield resource protection plan for civil war sites,” but so far the county has failed to pursue creating such a plan.

Myth #4:
The Wilderness Battlefield Coalition is anti-Walmart.

Reality:
The Wilderness Battlefield Coalition is opposed to any large-scale development at the site currently proposed by Walmart. The Coalition would be equally opposed to any big-box development at that location. The opposition has nothing to do with the Walmart Corporation – only with where they want to build a store. The Coalition has repeatedly stated that it has no problem with a Walmart in Orange County if it does not harm the Wilderness Battlefield.

Myth #5:
Nobody visits the Wilderness Battlefield National Park.

Reality:
According to county statistics, the Wilderness Battlefield is the most visited tourist attraction in Orange County. The Wilderness Battlefield received more than 100,000 visitors in 2008. With the opening of a restored Ellwood as the new visitor center for the battlefield, visitation will only increase. It not only makes sense to protect the battlefield from a historic standpoint, but it clearly makes good economic sense as well. The battlefield is a national treasure and needs to be protected for future generations to visit and enjoy.

Myth #6:
There is already commercial development there, so Walmart doesn’t matter.

Reality:
While there is some existing small-scale development at the intersection, it’s the scale of the proposed development that will completely alter the character of the land. The current proposal is for a Walmart Supercenter AND three additional smaller box stores located on a ridge that would be visible from the battlefield (current development is in a “bowl” difficult to see from most locations in the National Park). This new development would quadruple the existing development, and will certainly attract additional development beyond the current proposal as well. Further, the Walmart and additional baby box stores would be the first thing that visitors to Orange County see driving Route 3 west from Fredericksburg.

Myth #7:
There are no other sites available for Walmart.

Reality:
There are multiple landowners on Route 3 who have expressed a willingness to sell to Walmart, at least two of which own commercially zoned land. The Wilderness Battlefield Coalition has repeatedly stated that it would support Walmart at a different site in Orange County, and in instances where alternative sites are not zoned commercial would be prepared to support a rezoning. As noted above, the preservation coalition has offered to fund a planning study that would help identify how to balance economic growth and historic preservation at the gateway to Orange County and the National Park.

I'm all for the preservation of Civil War Battlefields i'm actually a member of the Civil War Preservation Trust. Many of you may not agree with what i'm about to say but here it is- Personally, I agree with Jeff of PA, get permission to detect. I also agree with Mrs.O's last statement, after they get done grading that land, it should be some prime hunting ground. I wish I lived up in that area.
 

Well, I, for one, know better than to let "environmentalists" and such fight any battles for me.

You want them to argue for less access for yourself, go right ahead. Maybe they can find some MORE places you will never treasure hunt in.

Every acre they get their paws on ends up on some protected list that THEY seem to have access to, but we don't.

B
 

I don't like it one bit, but what can ya do ?

If I lived around there, I'd follow the trucks, and/or talk with the drivers, to see where they are hauling the excavated dirt, might be better opportunities with that than at the site itself - And yes, I am talking legal opportunities, of course.
Once they start digging, no one but construction workers will or can be allowed on the site - And I do expect a dig like that will attract a fair share of late night fence hoppers.
 

mrs.oroblanco said:
Who is "they"? The Gettysburg folks?

I LIKE having private land around battlefields etc. (or public land that isn't cut off from people).

You cannot detect in the battlefield - and we all know that soldiers didn't just drop stuff at the battlefields - they also lost things on the way to the battle, and when they left - in fact - they lost stuff everywhere they went.

People CAMP in Wal-Mart parking lots - I betcha you can also metal detect. And, if there is anything large there (like cannons, etc), the dozers should find them.

B
Click to expand...
Any one crying about the battlefields shrinking. Boo Hoo
 

If I was was a betting man, I would say they will not agree to let metal detectorist on the construction site. Other sites maybe but not this one. It would be all they need for somebody to find an unmarked grave, after the battle they just went though.

But if they do I will be there...
 

La Beep said:
If I was was a betting man, I would say they will not agree to let metal detectorist on the construction site. Other sites maybe but not this one. It would be all they need for somebody to find an unmarked grave, after the battle they just went though.

But if they do I will be there...
Click to expand...

I hunted a Walmart construction site near Winchester, VA a couple years ago. MDers were given permission to hunt anytime heavy construction equipment was NOT being used at the site. We dug some stuff (the site had been hunted in the past), then a few guys decided they didn't need to wait till the earth movers stopped for the day. Soon the site was roped off and No Trespassing signs went up.

We may find a similar situation in Orange.

I'm about an hour north of there. If construction starts, somebody PM me.

DCMatt
 

Please post here once they break ground. I'm in Winchester and hit all the construction sites. I have no problems saving relics before they are covered up with concrete or asphalt.
 

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