Good news for Petersburg

Excerpts from the article:

"The bills would add more than 7,000 acres to the park, more than tripling it in size and making it the largest Civil War historical park in the nation. While the largest part of the expansion would be in Dinwiddie County, the plan also includes the addition of a small slice of land in Petersburg and a parcel in Hopewell running around the tip of City Point that would easily quadruple the size of that unit."

"The House is scheduled to vote on the defense act on Friday and the Senate is expected to consider it sometime next week, Cohen said. The battlefield language is expected to be included in the final version that will be sent on to President Obama for his signature."

"The Petersburg National Battlefield, operated by the National Park Service, currently encompasses about 2,700 acres encompassing sites in Petersburg, Hopewell and Dinwiddie County. The plan calls for the park to acquire more than 7,200 acres of land adjacent to its current holdings, mainly through donations of land."

"The parcels are mostly less than 100 acres in size, but three – near the Five Forks, Hatcher's Run and White Oak Road units in Dinwiddie County – are more than 1,000 acres each."

"No funding for the expansion is included in the legislation, but large portions of the properties have already been acquired by nonprofit groups. For example, the Civil War Preservation Trust has acquired about 2,000 acres in Dinwiddie County, the Conservation Fund has bought some of the land, and the Isaak Walton League has obtained conservation easements on some parcels."
 
Wow! That IS good news! That could be good for Petersburg itself, too. Poor old Petersburg has some real gems of buildings in the historic section, but the city itself is not in good shape, unfortunately. There are parts that I would not want to drive through now. Maybe tourist dollars will help, depending on what the NPS does with the additional land. (My great-aunt lived in that area, so I visited there quite a bit when I was young, up through my 20s, and now that she's gone, I still go there every so often. I was just there this summer.)
 
Wow! That IS good news! That could be good for Petersburg itself, too. Poor old Petersburg has some real gems of buildings in the historic section, but the city itself is not in good shape, unfortunately. There are parts that I would not want to drive through now. Maybe tourist dollars will help, depending on what the NPS does with the additional land. (My great-aunt lived in that area, so I visited there quite a bit when I was young, up through my 20s, and now that she's gone, I still go there every so often. I was just there this summer.)
I thoroughly enjoyed my quick 1 day visit there this past January. I 'd love to go back. There were several places I did not have time to go to. Loved the historical downtown area. Got up early and had breakfast at the Dixie Restaurant to get the day started.
 
Yeah, I took off 23rd through year end. Not sure what I am going to do. Can't go anywhere until 27th, but maybe I'll head to Petersburg. I thought about day trips to Antietam and Gettysburg, maybe Balls Bluff.
 
More good news for Petersburg. I'm loving all this good news.

http://www.progress-index.com/news/20161220/south-side-depot-renovation-set-to-resume

...

"...One of the more decorated parts of Petersburg's rich backdrop of history, the South Side Depot was slated to be brought back to its glory days after a project to restore the building was green-lighted in 2015.

Built in 1854, the South Side Depot is the oldest train station in Virginia. It played a crucial part in the Siege of Petersburg during the Civil War. Controlled by the Confederacy for the duration of the war, the depot fell into Union control in April of 1865. More recently the site served as a movie and TV set, with the Steven Spielberg blockbuster "Lincoln" being one of many movies and TV shows to prominently feature the depot.

The renovated depot will operate as a National Park Service visitors center for the area, and will function as a starting point of tours for many of the area's national battlefields and historic monuments. The NPS estimates that the completed depot could bring an additional 40,000 people to Petersburg each year."
 
Poplar Grove National Cemetery is scheduled to re-open in late April.

http://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2016/12/at-petersburg-powerful-new-appearance.html?m=1

"Finishing touches are being put on the multimillion-dollar project. Crews are completing a “big punch list” and will try to complete them by next month. Grass will be sown and the 8-acre resting ground will be readied for a spring opening, with an April 29 rededication ceremony. Poplar Grove has been closed to visitors for more than a year."
 
Good news from Petersburg just keeps pouring in. I think I read somewhere that the Courthouse was a popular target for Union artillery during The Siege.

http://www.progress-index.com/news/20161227/courthouse-repairs-underway

"PETERSBURG - Work is finally getting underway on the restoration of the city's most high-profile landmark after months of delay caused by Petersburg's budget crisis.

A crew from Hopewell-based construction company J.W. Enochs is installing scaffolding around the historic Hustings Court building in preparation for the start of what's expected to be about nine months of work repairing the nearly 180-year-old building's clock tower and roof.

City spokesman Clay D. Hamner said the $1.2 million project "is being paid for by a [Virginia Resource Authority] bond issue that was approved prior to the financial crisis."

The project is being overseen by Moseley Architects of Richmond, and the city's Architectural Review Board will be reviewing the work for historical accuracy, Hamner said.

When the work is complete, he noted, "All four clock faces will eventually display the same time."

J.W. Enochs was originally awarded a $965,000 contract for rehabilitation of the courthouse clock tower last May, but the work was delayed by the discovery in June of a serious crimp in Petersburg's cash flow.

City officials have known about structural problems with the historic edifice, built in 1839, for some time. In June 2014, the building was ordered closed, and Circuit Court jury trials were temporarily moved to the Dinwiddie County Circuit Courthouse.

The building was later reopened on a limited basis after the tower was temporarily stabilized with wood braces, which are still in place. But in October of this year, the city's Fire Marshal ordered the building closed, declaring it unsafe to enter until repairs are made.

An inspection of the building by Moseley Architects in September 2014 found that while its clock tower wasn't in immediate danger of collapsing, the whole building was suffering from "various levels of decay and deterioration."

In particular, structural beams were degraded and the roof trusses "have been severely compromised," the architects found.

In an order issued in December 2014, three judges of Petersburg's Circuit Court found that the city's historic Hustings Court was in violation of state law because it was "insecure, out of repair, or otherwise poses a danger to the health, welfare and safety of court employees or the public."

Judges Paul Cella, Dennis Martin and Joseph Teefey ordered the members of City Council to ensure that "the necessary work and construction be performed and completed" according to a schedule included in the judges' order. According to that schedule, all work on the courthouse was to be completed by May 2016."
 
I just hope they can effectively promote these sites and get an uptic in visitors and turn things around there. Petersburg as I have posted lately is in bad, bad shape financially, politically and from a crime perspective.
 
I just hope they can effectively promote these sites and get an uptic in visitors and turn things around there. Petersburg as I have posted lately is in bad, bad shape financially, politically and from a crime perspective.
That's my hope too. When I was there this past January I was unaware of the problems there.
 
So appreciative for the Petersburg updates. I would love to see this area prosper again. My husband and I drive through there when we visit Richmond and it has been sad to see the decline in recent years.
 
I just hope they can effectively promote these sites and get an uptic in visitors and turn things around there.
What else does Petersburg have to attract visitors? Honest question. Admittedly,I was only there for one day but I didn't see anything else that could be used to market Petersburg for tourists.
 
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