History happened here

From the State Theatre and Fairview Cemetery to the Hill Mansion, Army of the Potomac winter encampment sites and Burgandine House, Culpeper has its share of properties and districts important enough to have made it on the acclaimed National Register of Historic Places.

History happened here. Statewide, the story is the same.

In fact, Gov. Tim Kaine this week highlighted Virginia’s ranking as No. 1 among the 50 states and U.S. territories for the number of historic districts added last year to the National Register.

Historic sites and districts are not only attractive to history lovers, but are economic generators as well, Kaine pointed out.

“These historic districts bring economic development opportunities to communities all over Virginia,” he said in a release. “This recognition once again reminds us that the commonwealth’s history is central to the history of our country.”

Last year, Virginia added 29 historic districts and 61 properties to the already thousands of previously listed places on the state and national registers.

Districts added in 2008 included the Catlett and Hume historic districts in adjoining Fauquier County as well as the Cromwell’s Run Rural Historic District, also in Fauquier.

Also added were districts in Arlington, Clarke and Loudoun counties as well as the cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Lynchburg.

Virginia ranked second overall in the nation in 2008 for the combined number of historic districts and individual properties listed on the National Register, according to the National Park Service.

The districts represent Virginia’s colonial, agricultural and manufacturing past as well as Native American, African American, commercial and urban history.

“These rankings reflect the keen interest of Virginia’s citizens in historic preservation,” said Kathleen Kilpatrick, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

“Virginia property owners and communities continue to lead the nation in seeking formal recognition of our historic neighborhoods and putting Virginia’s history to work.”

The local impact
Culpeper Tourism Director Beth Burns says history is one of the state’s top draws.

“The more historical stuff we have for people to come look at, the more interested they are going to be to come to Culpeper,” she said.

And when they come for the history, they will likely spend money on eating out, spending the night and shopping, Burns said. It all impacts the bottom line.

Considering the grim economy, people are traveling less these days, Burns said, noting that Culpeper’s number of visitors was slightly down last year.

But it’s not all bad.

“People are tending to appreciate what is in their own backyard and looking closer to home now,” Burns said. “Getting back to basics.”

The Culpeper Historic District, which covers most of the downtown, was added to the National Register in 1987.

Though struggling now with business closures and empty storefronts, the downtown keeps on, building on a combination of unique and practical offerings and the charm of restored turn-of-the-century buildings.

There’s something special about sipping “a trendy latte” in an old building, Burns said, or shopping for things from around the world in a structure that was standing 100 years ago.

Culpeper offers that and more, Burns said, looking ahead to the town’s 250th birthday party in September.

“I think people have that nostalgia for coming home,” she said. “The 250th will give them that reason to make that extra effort to come back home.”