Manassas battlefield study aims at protecting views of the past

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Preservationists say it is not enough to protect the grounds at Manassas National Battlefield Park without protecting its views as new development spreads in fast-growing Prince William County.

Researchers extensively photographed and mapped the home of the first major land battle of the Civil War for months, selecting 25 lookouts, including the 10 most pivotal ones to visitors, that they will attempt to preserve from new construction of roads, office parks and apartment buildings.

“When you are trying to visualize the battles, you don’t want to have those distractions,” said Bill Olson, vice chairman of the Prince William Conservation Alliance. “You don’t want to look out on traffic jams or cell phone towers just beyond the fringe of the battlefield.”

Both the county and the National Park Service view the $60,000 study, set for completion at the end of the year, as a guide for future development that may limit the heights of buildings and mandate the planting of trees to block eyesores.

The researchers will release their study tonight at the battlefield, giving visitors and county officials their first peek at which views need protecting as the study proceeds toward setting development recommendations.

“Protecting those views will give visitors a greater experience and make the site more relatable,” said Ray Brown, the park’s cultural resource manager.

As the Washington region grows, it has made the land beyond the battlefield more valuable and attractive to developers and regional planners.

The Tri-County Connector, a major road set to link Prince William  businesses and residents with a faster link to Washington Dulles International Airport, is expected to be placed just outside the battlefield.

Henry Hill, home of the visitors’ center, is an example of what the study imagines preserving. Though there is extensive development to the south, the modern signs of commerce are screened by a thick layer of forest that protects what Brown called a “really iconic view.”

“On Henry Hill, you look out over the heaviest action during the first battle and the closing action of the second battle. It’s a site that has an impressive viewscape as you look out on the rolling countryside with Bull Run Mountain in the distance,” Brown said.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com

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