HOW I SEE IT: Myth vs. fact in Wilderness Wal-Mart debate

CLAIM: Wal-Mart plans to build on a highly significant Civil War battlefield.

MYTH: “We recognize the significance of the Wilderness Battlefield, but we are not building on the battlefield,” said Keith Morris, a spokesman for the world’s largest retailer. — The Associated Press, Jan. 2, 2009.

FACT: “The proposed Wal-Mart development site is located entirely within the boundaries of the Chancellorsville and Wilderness Battlefields.” — Kathleen Kilpatrick, Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer, June 8, 2009.

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CLAIM: Wal-Mart’s development would be plainly visible from the National Park.

MYTH: “We’ve gone to great lengths to try to work with residents, county planners, state officials to come up with a very unique design that fits within the unique character of Orange County Wilderness. And we’ve built the store to be furthest back from the site as possible. You won’t be able to see it from any of the battlefield park,” said Keith Morris, Wal-Mart’s public affairs director. — abcnews.com, May 24, 2009.

FACT: “It has been claimed that the proposed development will not be visible from within the boundaries of the Park, particularly from Ellwood Manor. This is untrue. The Park extends all the way to the Route 3 and 20 intersection. The development will be obviously visible from there.” — Russ Smith, Superintendent of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, May 20, 2009.

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CLAIM: Wal-Mart has been offered alternative sites for its big-box development in Orange County but away from the battlefield and National Park.

FACT: “Orange County builder John Marcantoni has put an offer on the table that he wants the county and Wal-Mart to consider. He recently contacted both parties to invite Wal-Mart to locate on 75 acres along State Route 3 west of Lake of the Woods. … Marcantoni said yesterday that he had not received a reply from Orange County or Wal-Mart.” — Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, June 26, 2009.

UGLY TRUTH: On July 3, 2009, the Board of Supervisors abruptly fired Bill Rolfe, Orange County Administrator, “after the supervisors expressed their displeasure at an e-mail he had sent them on June 15, suggesting there was a better location for the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter than on land near the Wilderness Battlefield. … In his e-mail, Rolfe told supervisors that it would be in the best interests of the county for them to ‘broker a deal that keeps Wal-Mart in the County and moves it away from the congressionally-approved boundary line of the Wilderness Battlefield.” — Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, July 4, 2009.

More from Nieweg can be found at blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation