Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association
PredecessorMosby Heritage Area Association
Formation1995
Founded atMiddleburg, Virginia

The Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association (VPHA) is a nonprofit preservation and historic organization in Middleburg, Virginia. Founded in 1995 as the Mosby Heritage Area Association (MHAA), its mission is to educate about, and advocate for, the preservation of the historic, cultural and scenic resources in the Northern Virginia Piedmont.[1][2][3]

Name and location

MHAA took its original name from Confederate Cavalry officer John S. Mosby, whose rangers fought throughout the region during the American Civil War. During the Civil War the area was known as Mosby's Confederacy.[4] In August 2020, the MHAA changed its name to the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association. According to VPHA Chairman C. Dulany Morison, "... we have decided to respectfully retire our name and adopt one that more accurately captures the broad scope of our mission to highlight all the diverse history, from the time of the Native Americans through the 20th century, that has taken place in the Heritage Area."[5][6]

The Mosby Heritage Area, located about one hour's drive west of Washington, D.C., is bounded by the Bull Run Mountains to the east, the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west, the Potomac River to the north and the Rappahannock River to the south. It encompasses the Virginia counties of Loudoun, Fauquier, Clarke, Warren and part of Prince William, some 1,800 square miles (4,700 km2).[7]

Portions of Evergreen Mill Road in Leesburg, in the heart of the Heritage Area, were once part of the historic Old Carolina Road, one of the most heavily trafficked Colonial roadways in Virginia. That road originally functioned as a north–south migration route for Native Americans, who also followed the buffalo along the route of what is now U.S. Route 50 (John S. Mosby Highway). Route 50 and Braddock Road in Colonial times were the main east–west corridors linking the port city of Alexandria to Winchester.[citation needed]

Historical activity

In 2015, Richard Gillespie, executive director of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, confirmed to Nicholas Fandos, a reporter for the New York Times that the assertions made on the River of Blood at the Trump National Golf Club in Lowes Island, Virginia owned by US President Donald Trump are false.[7] In response to the monument's assertion that:

Many great American soldiers, both of the North and South, died at this spot, "The Rapids", on the Potomac River. The casualties were so great that the water would turn red and thus became known as "The River of Blood".[7]

Gillespie replied, "No. Uh-uh. No way. Nothing like that ever happened there."[7]

Historic preservation

The association campaigns for the preservation of historic buildings and landscapes.[8] MHAA was instrumental in adding the historically black rural hamlet of Willisville, Virginia to the National Historic Register.[9][10][11][12][13]

Landscape preservation

The MHAA has been an active voice in discussions about development policy in the region.[14][1][15][16] C. Dulany Morison was elected Chairman of MHAA in 2019, pledging that his top priority would be to solidify MHAA's leadership role in efforts to preserve the Northern Piedmont area, threatened by a wave of requests by developers for special exemptions.[17] The Heritage Association helps fund conservation easements.[18]

MHAA programs

The association offers a wide range of lectures and tours on diverse historical topics.[3][19][20][21] MHAA also provides in-classroom history presentations for students across the heritage area on topics including the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b Ivancic, James (20 January 2013). "Mosby association preserves past, embraces change". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ^ Morton, Margaret (2 February 2016). "A New Face for History? Mosby Heritage Area Association reconsiders symbol". Loudoun Now. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b Gomena, Julie (7 February 2002). "Mosby Heritage Area Association Offers History Lesson on Fox Hunting". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ "Mosby Heritage Area, Rector House". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  5. ^ Battiston, John. "Mosby Heritage Area Association drops name after 'extensive discussions'". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Beyond Mosby: Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association Continues Educational Mission". Loudoun Now. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d Fandos, Nicholas (24 November 2015). "In Renovation of Golf Club, Donald Trump Also Dressed Up History". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  8. ^ Glod, Maria (31 January 2002). "Striving to Revive a Spirited Past; Preservationists Aim to Save Old Black Churches". The Washington Post.
  9. ^ Moon, Vicky (26 July 2018). "National Register of Historic Places eyes Willisville". Fauquier Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  10. ^ Greene, Reese (8 January 2020). "Willisville Named to National Historic Register". Loudoun Now. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. ^ Vandersteldt, Kate (17 June 2018). "Mosby Heritage Area Association partnering with historic Loudoun County village to seek National Register of Historic Places nomination". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. ^ Baumstark, Heidi. "Seeking National Register Designation for Willisville". Middleburg Life.
  13. ^ Klein, Nathaniel (19 January 2020). "Loudoun County community of Willisville added to National Register of Historic Places". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  14. ^ Svrluga, Susan (17 February 2014). "A fight to preserve unpaved roads as vital links to past". The Washington Post.
  15. ^ Ivancic, James (23 October 2019). "Planners vote not to recommend approval of Sanctuary at Barrel Oak". Fauquier Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  16. ^ Del Rosso, Don (18 October 2019). "Divided planning panel rejects Delaplane resort". Fauquier Now. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Morison elected Mosby Heritage Area Association chairman". Fauquier Times. 20 August 2019.
  18. ^ Graham, Karen (26 September 2019). "Land Trust of Virginia records conservation easements on 205 acres in Loudoun County". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  19. ^ Wheeler, Linda (15 April 2013). "Mosby Heritage Area Association is offering a tour of three of Col. John Singleton Mosby's Civil War sites". The Washington Post.
  20. ^ Wheeler, Linda (28 July 2002). "A Road Trip Through Loudoun's Past, Present; In an Effort to Encourage Appreciation and Promote Preservation of the Area's History, New Driving Tour of Route 15 by Moseby Heritage Area Association". The Washington Post.
  21. ^ Herder, Dan (10 April 2008). "A Hunt for History and Identity; Bus Tours Offer a Chance to See Colonial-Era Landmarks". The Washington Post.
  22. ^ MHAA (8 May 2019). "Mosby Heritage Area Association Passes 50,000 Students Reached in Sixteen Years of Programming". Middleburg Life. Retrieved 24 June 2020.

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