Community Alliance in search of residents to help with historic district effort
The Sperryville Community Alliance is establishing a Sperryville working group to assist in the proposed expansion of the village’s current historic district. The organization is also working with an architectural historian who will soon begin surveying buildings.
The alliance and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources hope to document historic buildings outside the core village, including the River District and along the U. S. Route 211 corridor to the Shenandoah National Park. It will also update the current historic district from the early 1980’s to include events significant to the community, such as the apple industry, establishment of the park, advent of auto travel and African American history.
The Sperryville Community Alliance is beginning the process of expanding the current historic district with an end goal of receiving an honorary designation from the National Register of Historic Places. The project 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 working group will be comprised of about eight residents with knowledge of history in the area and will review the findings of the architectural historian. After the findings are reviewed, a public hearing will be held by the community alliance and the final inventory will be sent to the national register for approval.
An architectural historian will survey the proposed areas from the public right of way, and residents with knowledge about their property that they’d like to share are encouraged to do so.
Residents in the new expansion district will be notified and there will be no implications for property owners. The designation is honorary, which means residents can renovate or demolish their homes as they please and are not required to maintain properties.
The community alliance held a Q&A session on Monday at the Sperryville Fire Department, where several residents raised concerns about the process. Resident Pete Gasper said he was not notified that his residence could potentially be in the expanded district, and other residents felt as though they don’t have a “choice” of being included in the expansion.
If a resident opposes a proposed historic designation, they must submit a certified letter to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The designation will not move forward if more than 51% of members in the historic area send letters to declare their opposition.
The alliance began the process in 2019 and was delayed by the pandemic. Community alliance President Kerry Sutten said that in order to have a community discussion and receive more information, they had to fill out the initial paperwork in 2019. The process is at no cost to the county, and the group is using leftover funds from a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant given to the county after severe flooding in 2018.
The working group will meet on a quarterly basis throughout the research and validation period to provide expert advice and guidance on building research. The group will also provide its recommendation to the community on the nominations.
Some expressed concerns over initiative; ‘honorary’ designation won’t affect property renovations, demolitions
Individuals interested in serving on the working group can send an email or letter of interest with a description of your knowledge of the local history to the Sperryville Community Alliance at info@sperryfest.org or P.O. Box 63, Sperryville, VA 22740 by February 21, 2023.