State, Community Alliance move to expand Sperryville’s historic district, stirring some concerns
Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), in coordination with the Sperryville Community Alliance, is moving closer to potentially updating and expanding the boundaries of the village recognized as historically signi cant by the National Register of Historic Places.
The project, which is merely honori c, is also intended to incentivize property owners to rehabilitate their properties to receive tax credits, according to Sperryville resident and community alliance member Robert Archer, who’s heading the initiative on behalf of the organization.
The alliance on Dec. 13 held a town hall in Sperryville with representatives from DHR to discuss the project with the community. DHR Architectural Survey and Cost Share Program Manager Blake McDonald, who did not attend the meeting, said in an interview that there was enough resident concern conveyed about the initiative last week that they plan to hold additional public information sessions in the near future.
The e ort has proven concerning to some who say they don’t want state or federal dollars going toward incentivizing people to rehabilitate their properties. “As a tax paper [sic], I do not want to do that,” Carolyn Butler said in the RappNet listserv. “If one can’t a ord to x their own, then don’t do it.”
McDonald in an email assured that the project would be completed at no cost to Sperryville or Rappahannock County. The project is entirely funded by the National Park Service’s Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund for localities impacted by Hurricanes Michael and Florence in 2018, according to McDonald.
Although Sperryville was not necessarily victim to hurricane damage, Rappahannock County was included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Declaration a er the storms, enabling the county to use this funding to support the update, McDonald said.
“The information included in the National Register listing, including descriptions and photographs documentation of Sperryville's important historic resources of buildings, will support future disaster mitigation and recovery efforts by providing baseline documentation of Sperryville's important historic resources,” he said. McDonald also said a “National Register listing does not result in an increase in property value or taxes, nor does it impact the cost of property insurance.”
“Listing in the National Register does not in any way change what owners can do with their property; it does not impose restrictions from federal, state, or local levels of government,” he said. “Rather, it brings recognition to an area and makes federal and state tax bene ts for building rehabilitation available to property owners who choose to use them.”
While the state has the power to enact the expansion of the historic district, McDonald assured that DHR would not do so without adequate approval from the community. “We would not want to do a project in a locality that didn’t want it,” he said.
Piedmont Supervisor Christine Smith, who represents Sperryville, expressed concern with what she alleged was a lack of engagement from project organizers with residents and property owners. “That is a real and unfortunate problem,” she said in a Facebook message. “Nothing should happen unless there’s a consensus.”
She continued, “Most people are happy with the way the village is now. That’s why it’s a vibrant and growing place. If folks have moved there because they love the friendly, village atmosphere, I hope they’ll work to preserve that. To me that’s the history of Sperryville, the people.”
McDonald said property owners in the district will receive a letter from DHR with details about the upcoming community meetings concerning the project. There will also be a public hearing in Sperryville before any action is taken to officially list the Sperryville historic district boundary expansion on the National Register, he said.
Archer, who declined several interview requests, said in an email, the project is “not a political issue. This is not a County issue. This is a Sperryville issue.”
"I love Sperryville and the people in it,” he said. “I love the great old structures we have here. But, I know how much it costs to fix up these old homes and buildings and saw this as a way to put money back into more people's pockets. This is not a road to an architectural review board.”
The effort to update the existing National Register nomination for the Sperryville Historic District and create a new nomination for the Sperryville Historic District Boundary Increase began in 2019 when the Virginia State Review Board said the expansion area was potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and that an update would be bene cial, according to the community alliance.
The boundary increase area would include the eastern part of Water Street, the area referred to as the River District, and areas of development along U.S. Route 211, according to McDonald.
The River District area includes the apple packing house and plant, which includes the cold storage building, the juice plant and the old mill. An additional area of expansion also includes Hopewell Baptist Church along Hopewell Lane. The church is a small one- story church building that dates to the early 1960s, McDonald said. “The National Register listing of these areas will document Sperryville's significant 20th century industrial and African American history,” he said
In 1982, a portion of Sperryville’s Main Street and a portion of Route 522 was nominated and added to the National Register of Historic Places through a process undertaken with DHR and the National Park Service. That nomination describes Sperryville’s historic markers as being between 1800 and 1899, according to the community alliance.
But, they argue, that timeframe “leaves out a wealth [of] history that has made Sperryville the unique place it is today. Mills, farming & agriculture, fruit & apple growing industries, Shenandoah Valley architecture, etc all happened post 1899.”
The alliance also argues the 1982 nomination is “technologically lacking” since the community had made strides in technology and the documenting and maintaining of records related to the village’s history. “The 1982 Nomination made use of handwriting and black and white imagery which does not lend itself well to reproduction or digital transmission,” their website says.
DHR OFFICIAL BLAKE MCDONALD: “Listing in the National Register does not in any way change what owners can do with their property; it does not impose restrictions from federal, state, or local levels of government.”
SUPERVISOR CHRISTINE SMITH: “Nothing should happen unless there’s a consensus.”