Germanna Foundation seeks donations to fund trails, amphitheater

Imagine camping on historic grounds in a secluded area complete with 170 acres of river frontage.

That’s just what Boy Scout Troop 991 experienced recently near Germanna Community College’s Locust Grove campus, thanks to the Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia.

The foundation is in the process of completing a mile of scenic walking trails and an amphitheater for area scouts and youth organizations behind its visitors center along Route 3 in Orange County.

Members dedicated the first part of the hiking trail in honor of Russell and Joan Hitt during the annual reunion held last weekend.

The proposed trail would snake along the Rapidan River and loop around the ruins of an old mill, homes, a general store and cannon sites.

Part of the path even borders an 1830s-era canal, according to Marc Wheat, foundation president.

“Germanna is reluctant at this time to identify the exact historical sites, however, because of concern about possible disturbance of those sites,” according to a statement in the summer 2009 foundation brochure. “There is enough acreage that the forest qualifies as a small wilderness, a great place to be explored by kids of all ages.”

The connection between the foundation and the college began in 1969 when the foundation donated 100 acres to the commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of building the Locust Grove campus.

To complete this project, Wheat is relying on donations and public support.

“We’ve gotten a good start, but then there are plans to extend it so that it will go back onto the far side of our land where we have maybe 100 acres along the river,” he said.

Wheat, who couldn’t give an exact value of the trail system, said the cost depends on donated labor and equipment.

The foundation was created on March 14, 1956. The college held its first classes on Oct. 13, 1970.