For Immediate Release  
August 10, 2006
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This Week, Both Frederick County Board of Commissioners and Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors, Pass Resolutions of Support

Waterford, Virginia – Community support for The Journey Through Hallowed Ground witnessed a significant boost this week, as the Frederick County, Maryland, Board of Commissioners, and the Rappahannock County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors each passed resolutions of support for the Journey and it’s goals.  The resolutions will aid in promoting heritage tourism in each county and along the entire Journey Through Hallowed Ground, in addition to facilitating federal designation of a National Scenic Byway along the 175-mile route of the Journey.

In Frederick County, the Board of Commissioners approved a resolution supporting The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, following a presentation by Cate Magennis Wyatt, president of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) Partnership.  The Partnership is also seeking the National Scenic Byway designation from the Federal Highway Administration.  The Maryland portion, entirely within Frederick County, has already received that designation in September 2005.   The Commissioners are supporting the efforts of Virginia and Pennsylvania to achieve that designation, plus supporting Federal legislation that would create a new National Heritage Area along the corridor.

Also this week, in Rappahannock County, Virginia, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution in support of becoming a JTHG Partner.  This resolution endorses a federal plan to designate a Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area.  This national honorary designation functions as a federal “seal of approval” acknowledging the depth of historic assets in the corridor and its importance to American cultural heritage.  In Bills sponsored by Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Senator George Allen (R-VA), both the U.S. House and Senate are considering designate the Journey as National Heritage Areas.  The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, if approved, will become the nation’s 28th National Heritage Area and one of the nation’s most historically extensive.  In addition, NHA status would help boost the local economy by promoting tourism and raising national awareness of the area’s cultural and historic riches.

John W. McCarthy, County Administrator for Rappahannock County, said of the passage of the resolution in Rappahannock County: “Unanimous passage by the Supervisors of the resolution in support of the Journey is recognition of the strong contribution heritage tourism plays in the economic growth of Rappahannock County and the incredible historic resources of this region and along the entire 175-mile route of the Journey.”

Kat Imhoff, JTHG Partnership board chairman and vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation noted, “Passage this week of two resolutions by these governing bodies along the Journey is an incredible reflection of not only strong political leadership and civic support for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, but also strong recognition of the tremendous heritage and economic opportunities that the Journey offers to local residents and all Americans alike.”

The Frederick County measure also contained specific language protecting the rights of property owners and preserving local control of zoning and land use regulations.  In moving to approve the resolution, Commissioner Mike Cady, Vice President of the Board and County liaison to the Tourism Council, emphasized that “these programs do not in any way affect, impair or abridge the rights of the property owner and that the boundaries of the Scenic Byway and Heritage Area will not alter, amend or vary any existing local zoning or land use regulations.”

John Fieseler, a member of the JTHG Partnership Board of Trustees and executive director of the Tourism Council of Frederick County, allayed any concerns about property rights being affected by the Journey Through Hallowed Ground: “A Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage are would not impose any regulations on land use; nor interfere with local authority in the area of transportation or development; and it would not allow use of eminent domain to obtain or protect land within the region.  Rather, a National Heritage Area designation would simply recognize the region along Journey Through Hallowed Ground for its role in telling the American story.”

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is a public–private organization dedicated to raising national awareness of the heritage and cultural resources along the US Route 15 corridor, often referred to as the Old Carolina Road, from Gettysburg, Pa., to Monticello, Va. This 175-mile historic corridor was designated as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by The National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2005.  The Journey Through Hallowed Ground is Where America Happened – a corridor that holds more American history than any other swath of land in the United States,