Apparently, Wal-Mart has not or does not care. It’s probably the latter. Why? Wal-Mart has plans underway to build yet another store in the Fredericksburg, VA area. Yet another? Aren’t there three already? See the map below. The new store planned will be 8 miles away from other Wal-Mart stores. It will be about one mile from the battlefield. (Be sure to look at the scale when looking at these maps).
It gets worse. Wal-Mart is building closer than ever before to a historic site – to a national battlefield. The Wilderness Battlefield, where Wal-Mart wants to build its 145,000 sq. ft. store, is one of the most significant Civil War battlefields. I won’t reiterate everything that the National Trust explains, read the post Wal-Mart Superstore Threatens Wilderness Battlefield.
This battlefield is in Orange County, VA, which sadly has not been very good with smart development in the past. It is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Read this Washington Post article for an overview of the issue, the consequences, and what Orange County officials think. (It doesn’t bode well for the battlefield). Here’s a quote from the article:
Keith Morris, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, said that the company has looked at other locations in the area but that none was as attractive. “This is the site we’re going forward with,” Morris said, describing it as “an ideal location.” The land is already zoned for commercial use and targeted for development by Orange County, he said. “There is a void here in this immediate area, especially in retail growth.”
How about this one?
The company has offered to place commemorative markers and other monuments to the battle at the supercenter. “There’s no reason why [the battlefield and the store] can’t coexist,” Morris said.
What can we do? The National Trust has set up a petition to sign to show your opposition to Wal-Mart near the Wilderness Battlefield.
While I may despise Wal-Mart, this isn’t just about Wal-Mart. It’s about all developers, commercial and residential, who build too close to our historic resources. Once these resources are gone, we can’t get them back. A historic marker can never replace what we lost due to development.
Thanks to Maria for sending the Washington Post link to me. And thanks to the HispAlum group for starting a conversation as well. Spread the word, preservationists!!
Preservation in Pink 
FYI: Orange County Planning Commissioners can be found here http://orangecountyva.gov/Bds_and_Comm/B&C_Rosters/Planning%20Commission.asp in case anyone wants to comment to them directly about their feelings and the Board of Supervisiors for Orange Conty here http://orangecountyva.gov/OCBOS/members.asp The Washington Post article made it sound like the board was very pro development and pro Walmart but maybe someone in there has a good preservation record or is a secret history buff. We’ll have to keep a look out if this comes to a vote and contact the right people to let them know how important the Battlefield is and how tourists come there to visit the Battlefield, not a plaque commemerating the Battlefield in a Walmart parking lot.
“Commemorative markers and other monuments to the battle at the supercenter”? That is lame.
Allow me to counter that petitioning wal-mart is not going to stop the real problem, nor is it really fair to blame wal-mart. They are doing nothing illegal. If people were concerned about this issue or preserving the battlefield they should have done something before that land was zoned to allow commercial development or any large scale development. Just because what is being built there is not what people wanted is not a valid arguement. Even if wal-mart is stopped, won’t save the battlefield. Who’s to say Target or Whole Foods or Giant won’t try to locate there instead. Also, I wonder how much of a buffer is needed around historic sites in order for their integrity to remain?