The Changing Face of Cedar Creek Battlefield

[Dignann]

A recent vote by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors will affect the preserved battlefield, while destroying some of the unprotected battlefield. 639 acres adjacent to what has been preserved will be stripped and quarried. Sixty percent of that acreage is within the core battlefield area, according to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report.


Board backs quarry’s plan for expansion

By Robert Igoe

The Winchester Star [Winchester, Va.]
May 29, 2008

Winchester — Cheers and tears filled the Frederick County Office Complex on Wednesday as county officials gave their blessing to the expansion of a local quarry.

In a 4-3 vote, the Board of Supervisors approved a request from O-N Minerals Chemstone to rezone 394 acres to the north and south of its Middletown quarry from Rural Areas to Extractive Manufacturing.

The new zoning will allow the company to mine high-grade limestone from property that it owns.

The vote came 30 days after an emotional public hearing that featured nearly 60 residents offering views about the request.

Following the lengthy hearing, the supervisors voted to table a decision on the request so Chemstone could make changes in its proffer statements to better address traffic, environmental, and quality-of-life issues.

Wednesday’s meeting was just as packed as last month’s session. Though no public hearing was held, several residents used the public comment period to address the rezoning issue.

"I resent the fact that you are telling us that we will enjoy being 1,200 feet from a quarry," said Gary Nichols. "What if you’re wrong? I don’t want the burden placed on us. It should be placed on the applicant to prove this is the right thing to do. If they cannot do that, this should not be rezoned."

The opposition came chiefly from organizations such as Preserve Frederick, Belle Grove Inc., and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which fear the expansion will threaten nearby historic properties such as the Cedar Creek Civil War battlefield and the Belle Grove Plantation, both south of Middletown.

On the other side of the issue were Chemstone’s employees and partner vendors, who said the rezoning was needed to preserve the 28 jobs at the quarry. They also argued that the expansion would not have negative effects on the community.

"I think this is a good and prudent use of land," said Dave Kollar, president and founder of DK Industrial Services Corp. "Chemstone will be a good neighbor. One thing that we do not need is more housing developments that will put an even greater burden on our roads, schools, and services. And what else can that property be used for?"

During a presentation to the supervisors, Chemstone attorney Todd Lawson and General Manager Spencer Stinson said that in response to issues raised by the county’s legal advisers and Planning Department, the company agreed to reduce the rezoning area from 639 acres to 394 acres, eliminating 245 acres along the perimeter of the property.

The company also addressed concerns over traffic impacts by agreeing to a limit of 86 truck trips per day, with an allowance for up to 200 trucks in emergency cases — which Lawson said would equate to unforeseen circumstances such as an inability to get stone taken from the quarry by rail.

"If we’re resorting to these many trucks, that would be an economic hardship for us," he said.

Stinson said the company’s trucks must follow a specific route to avoid causing traffic problems in Middletown, and that drivers who violate the route would be barred from the facility.

Lawson also said mining in the rezoned areas north of the quarry and south of Chapel Road would begin no earlier than 10 years from now, and the remainder of the property would be mined no sooner than 20 years from now.

The motion to approve the request was made by Supervisor Gary Lofton, who said he spent the previous 30 days reviewing comments made at the public hearing and doing his own research into the rezoning’s potential effects on the community.

"I looked at other quarries and talked to people who live around them," he said. "The majority of the people I spoke to did not have issues with trucks, noise, or dust. And, in my studies, I found no decrease in property values related to a quarry."

Voting in favor with Lofton were Chairman Richard C. Shickle Sr., Gene E. Fisher, and Gary W. Dove. Supervisors Philip Lemieux, Charles S. DeHaven Jr., and Bill M. Ewing voted against the request.

Lofton also expressed his disappointment that many opposition groups did not take advantage of opportunities to talke directly with Chemstone about their concerns.

"Some of these issues [the groups] have were not addressed," he said. "But that’s not because the quarry did not want to listen to them, but because these groups did not want to talk to the quarry face-to-face, and that disappointed me."

Preserve Frederick President Wendy Hamilton issued a statement reflecting her disappointment in the decision.

"This defeat for the preservation stakeholders and the local community doesn’t just affect Middletown and southern Frederick County," she said. "It is a loss of irreplaceable Civil War history for the nation."

http://www.winchesterstar.com/articl...ArticleID=7023


Eric

[No_Know_Nothings]

"I looked at other quarries and talked to people who live around them," he said. "The majority of the people I spoke to did not have issues with trucks, noise, or dust. And, in my studies, I found no decrease in property values related to a quarry."

I don't beleive a word of this. For the last 10 years I have lived within 1,400 yards of a small cement mixing plant. Although screened by trees I can hear every "beep! beep! beep!" of the trucks backing into the loading area and the thumping and pounding of the bucket lift. I can go out into the backyard right now, reach up to a tree branch and shake the gravel dust off it. And I don't even want to talk about how the property value has declined since that place opened.

Preservationists may regret this decision, but the locals who live nearby will one day loathe it.

[Dignann]

The National Trust for Historic Preservation takes a hard stand. Below is their press release.

Drastic Expansion of Mining Operations Threatens Belle Grove Plantation and Cedar Creek Civil War Battlefield
Blasting, Quarry Truck Traffic, Noise and Multi-Story High Waste Piles Will Alter Historic and Rural Gem of the Shenandoah Valley

Washington, DC – June 18, 2008 – The National Trust for Historic Preservation today reaffirmed its strong opposition to radically expanded mining operations proposed in and around Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park. Cedar Creek and Belle Grove are situated in a rural landscape whose centuries of historical and cultural significance include 18th century Shenandoah Valley settlements, 18th-19th century plantation lands and Civil War battle grounds. The Belgian mining conglomerate Carmeuse Lime & Stone has recently won county approval to move ahead with mining activities, including blasting and increased quarry truck traffic, which could destroy the character of the visitor experience at Belle Grove Plantation, a National Trust Historic Site and National Historic Landmark, and the Cedar Creek Civil War battlefield.

“The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has owned Belle Grove Plantation for 44 years, is dismayed that intrusive mining activities could destroy the character of sites of tremendous national and regional significance,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. ”Preservation of these irreplaceable cultural landscapes and buildings, rich in our nation’s history, is one of the highest priorities of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and we will do everything we can to protect them from irreparable harm.”

Recently, the Frederick County Board of Supervisors, by a vote of 4-3, approved Carmeuse’s destructive proposal despite opposition from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Belle Grove Inc., (which manages the plantation site), and a broad coalition of partners and local residents, alarmed that the quarry operations will destroy the tourism industry and their way of life. Experts agree expansion of the quarry will harm Belle Grove, which dates to the late 18th century, and the Cedar Creek battlefield, the region’s most significant Civil War site. Already, multi-story high mounds of mining waste are intruding on the site’s world-class vistas. Each year tens of thousands of visitors come to the area because of its history. Proposed blasting would damage historic structures, bulldozers would destroy acres of core battlefield land adjacent to the National Historical Park, and dust clouds, noise, and increased quarry truck traffic would diminish the visitor’s experience.

The threat is so severe, the Civil War Preservation Trust in 2007 and again in 2008 listed the Cedar Creek battlefield as one of America's most-endangered Civil War battlefields. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Belle Grove, Inc., longtime stewards of the 18th-19th century plantation and the Cedar Creek Civil War battlefield, fully intend to pursue avenues that will mitigate, reduce and avoid harm to Belle Grove, and the cultural and historic resources within and adjacent to the National Historical Park, but hope that congressional action can halt the mining expansion altogether.

As one signal of their opposition, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Belle Grove, Inc. are suspending any involvement with the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation and prohibiting their use of Belle Grove for their annual Civil War re-enactment. Although the two non-profits recognize the value of Civil War commemorative activities, including re-enactments, as dynamic educational and tourism programming, they are suspending their relationship with the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation because of the Foundation’s sudden reversal on the mining issue. On April 17, the president and executive director of the Foundation assured the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Belle Grove of their opposition to quarry owner Carmeuse’s mining proposals. Yet on April 23, without notifying the National Trust for Historic Preservation or Belle Grove, the foundation publicly testified before the Frederick County Board of Supervisors they “took no exception” to the quarry expansion, essentially approving the proposal. On the same day, the Foundation struck a deal to accept a gift of 8 acres of land from the quarry owner. The Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation's conduct has undermined generations of work to protect the historic plantation and battlefield and has strained the public - private partnership that was established by Congress in 2002 to plan the future management of the National Historical Park.

"We certainly respect the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation's past contributions to the stewardship of the battlefield. But we cannot silently and passively overlook the Foundation’s recent actions, which were taken unilaterally and without the prior knowledge of its partners in the overall preservation effort,” said Anne Buettner, president of Belle Grove, Inc.’s Board of Directors. “As a result, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Belle Grove, Inc. cannot host the Foundation’s October 2008 re-enactment on Belle Grove lands, when they have taken actions that tend to undermine the efforts of their partners and that jeopardize the region's treasured historic sites and Civil War heritage. Belle Grove and the National Trust will, as always, commemorate the anniversary of the 1864 Battle of Belle Grove or Cedar Creek with a weekend of special events, speakers and interpretive programs in the historic Manor House and on its lawns and surrounding fields, hosted separately from any other events."

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, 9 regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories. For more information, visit www.PreservationNation.org.


Eric

[Anders]

Something tells me there is more to this story...

[dustyswb]

It appears that the CCBF has burned some bridges here. Too bad, with the work they've done in the past. As Chris says, there may be more to this than we know. Hope we hear from someone in the know and not just speculation.

[OVI]

On the face of it..it appears that Cedar Creek made a sweetheart deal with the mining company to reverse its opposition to the mining expansion in return for 8 acres. And it blindsided the National Trust in doing so resulting in retaliation with the suspension of support and loss of the use of Belle Grove.
Bad stuff indeed.

Kent Dorr - Ohio
"Outraged Mess"

[Anders]

I do not know all the details, but I spoke to Suzanne at CCBF and there is more to the story, and while I did not go into real deep detail, I think this has more to do with the slow burning feud that has been going on for years rather than any recent developments.

I am sure CCBF will put out a statement regarding this.

As a side note, there is some satisfaction in knowing that 8 additional acres have been preserved.

Pards,

[Dignann]

As a side note, there is some satisfaction in knowing that 8 additional acres have been preserved.

I, too, am curious in hearing the CCBF's side of the story. I must admit, however, 8 acres saved at the loss of 380+ that is within the core battlefield area, and the deterioration of the relationship between the two groups, does not excite me too much. Some land is better than none, but I can't help but feel that a larger compromise might have been possible had the preservation groups stuck together.

Eric

[Anders]

Eric,

Dunno....hope to see somethig official out from CCBF regarding this...

Pards,

[Dignann]

Plantation, foundation part ways due to disagreement over quarry

By Eric Beidel

The Winchester Star [Winchester, Va.]
June 19, 2008


Middletown — A longtime preservation partnership has been threatened by a beef over expanded mining operations near the Cedar Creek Battlefield.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Belle Grove Inc. have announced that they will end any involvement with the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation.

The Belle Grove Plantation, located on the battlefield south of Middletown, dates to the 18th century, and its board of directors had allowed the use of its property by the Battlefield Foundation for its annual Civil War re-enactment activities.

Belle Grove will no longer allow the use of its property by the foundation because of the foundation’s position on the quarry expansion, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the National Trust.

"We certainly respect the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation’s past contributions to the stewardship of the battlefield," said Anne Buettner, president of Belle Grove Inc.’s Board of Directors. "But we cannot silently and passively overlook the foundation’s recent actions, which were taken unilaterally and without the prior knowledge of its partners in the overall preservation effort."

The Belgian mining conglomerate Carmeuse Lime and Stone recently won rezoning approval from the Frederick County Board of Supervisors to expand its limestone mining activities at its Chemstone quarry, located near the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park south of Middletown.

Belle Grove Inc. claims that in April, the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation reversed its opposition to the quarry expansion, then cut a deal with the quarry owner to accept a land gift of 8 acres.

"We took no stance" on the quarry expansion issue, said Linden "Butch" Fravel, who serves on the Battlefield Foundation’s board. "There was no communication with Belle Grove on this, that was the problem."

Fravel said his board voted two months ago to not use the plantation’s property for this October’s re-enactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek in an effort to save money.

He said, the foundation had spent about $70,000 over the past five years renting land from Belle Grove for three days each October.

The foundation will still hold re-enactments on its more than 300 acres of battlefield property.

"I’m disappointed," said Mike Kehoe, another member of the foundation’s board.

The gift from the quarry owner "deals with a lot more than 8 acres," he said. "We did what was best to protect the property."

Preservationists have argued that the expanded mining operation would harm views and eat up historical land. Blasting from the mine could damage historical structures, they say.

Buettner said that Cedar Creek Battlefield representatives took actions that "undermine the efforts of their partners and that jeopardize the region’s treasured historic sites."

Belle Grove will continue to use its site to host events commemorating the 1864 battle, but will do so independently of the Battlefield Foundation.

"I’m sorry they took that position," Kehoe said. "We certainly don’t want to alienate ourselves from any of our partners. I guess there’s a lot of fence-mending to do, because there’s still a lot of battlefield to preserve."

A phone message left for the Battlefield Foundation’s executive director, Suzanne Chilson, was not immediately returned on Wednesday night.

http://www.winchesterstar.com/articl...ArticleID=7480


Eric