Where's the "Nationally Significant Historic Emphasis" option?
Here's is what the Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park envision:
Imagine yourself to be a tourist interested in visiting sites of major significance to the Civil War. This is, afterall, the site that has a long military history that dates to the early 1600s when it was used as a fort to protect Jamestowne from attack by ships coming up the James River. It served as a training ground in the 19th century and as a strategic outpost during the Civil War. Fort Monroe was completed in 1834. Completely surrounded by a moat, the six-sided stone fort is one of only a few of its kind left in the US.
Most importantly, Ft. Monroe is otherwise a place where in 1861 Major General Benjamin Butler "made his famous 'contraband' decision, by which escaping slaves reaching Union lines would not be returned to bondage. The order resulted in waves of enslaved people fleeing to Union lines around Fort Monroe, which was Butler's headquarters in Virginia, and earned Fort Monroe its other nickname of 'Freedom's Fortress', as any slave reaching it would be free." This is the image you would perhaps conjure up thinking back to this period of time...
So which picture better depicts "Freedom's Fortress"? The picture crammed with houses or the one with open spaces allowing for the amble study, reflection and recreation of its nationally significant historical events?
Granted, nobody wants to have anything to do with a venture that operates in the red, and it is important that Ft. Monroe recover its costs with some type of revenue generation. Thus, the Citizens for a Ft. Monroe National Park have suggested San Francisco's Presidio, the world's largest national park in an urban setting standing at the foot of the Golden Gate bridge, as a model. They write, "It calls itself 'a place where people live and work, a recreation destination, an outdoor classroom, and a peaceful retreat" that "is sustained by public stewards, volunteers, tenants, residents, and a broad community.' Like Fort Monroe, it's a National Historic Landmark. In a partnership, the Presidio Trust manages the Presidio's interior 80 percent, with the National Park Service managing the coastal areas."
Rep. Thelma Drake has supposedly written to the National Park Service to request a study of this possibility for Ft. Monroe and supposedly an answer is due any day now. We are all very anxious to learn the results of that request! The State and the City of Hampton are gunning for it with their otherwise plans. Please join the CFMNP and their efforts to make this very special place of national significance in our own backyard one worthy of national attention and National Park status.