Save the Fearn/Brodnax (Broadnax)/Walters Family Plantation
- Target:
- Jeremy Stratton, City of Danville
- Region:
- United States of America
Descendants and friends of the Fearn Family of Danville, VA, Members of the Danville Historical Society, Preservation Virginia, and historians are very concerned about the future of the historic resources including the archaeological sites, historic building ruins and the cemetery located on the Ben F. Coleman Tract in Danville, VA that is slated for industrial development.
We are not necessarily opposed to development but believe that a solution is attainable that would save the highly significant historical resources on this property and allow the development of the tract to proceed.
Brief History
The Ben F. Coleman Tract is highly significant to Danville’s history. Many of Danville’s earliest families including the Fearn, Wynne, Dudley, Burton, Coleman, Harrison, Payne, Patton, Coles, Williams, Brodnax and Walters families are associated with the site or related to the early ancestors.
Not only is the history of these families important, to Danville, but also to the formation of the nation that became the United States of America. Additionally, on that site enslaved African-Americans lived, worked, and were likely buried in the Fearn Family cemetery. The archaeological data that undoubtedly exists at the site could shed new and significant information on enslaved people that lived in the Dan River region.
We, the undersigned, are requesting the following:
1. The remains at the burial site should stay in place. In 2010, historic family cemeteries were listed on Preservation Virginia’s Most Endangered Sites List as a result of multiple inquires about the threat of ongoing development and neglect of historic family cemeteries in the Commonwealth. Most historians, genealogists and preservationists as well as many descendants of those buried in the Fearn Cemetery believe that the best and most appropriate treatment for historic cemeteries is to leave them in place. If however, the graves must be removed, a thorough archaeological investigation of the remains should be conducted including DNA research and testing.
2. The plantation ruins should be stabilized, protected and interpreted. The ruins on the Coleman tract are impressive and intact enough to provide a clear image of what the buildings and landscape were like historically. Ruins have been used successfully in Virginia and across the nation as invaluable educational tools for students, residents and heritage tourists.
3. The important archaeological sites should be protected for future research. The archaeological site(s) associated with the plantation likely contain an immense amount of data that should be protected for future investigations. Oftentimes archaeological data is the only way to acquire important historical information about disenfranchised groups such as slaves, Native Americans and the poverty-stricken because they did not leave behind the written records that more privileged groups had the opportunity to.
4. The placement of a Virginia Historical Highway Marker at the site. Placement of a Virginia Historical Highway Marker would provide recognition to this significant historical area and would aid in identifying and commemorating the plantation and grave sites.
THE CITY OF DANVILLE, VA IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY AND SHOULD WELCOME PROGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVES BEFORE TAKING ACTIONS THAT COULD BE REGRETTABLE AND IRREVERSIBLE. Some of the objectives listed above could be met by offering the archaeological site(s) to an organization such as The Archaeological Conservancy. The Archaeological Conservancy is a national non-profit organization that acquires and protects important archaeological sites all over the United States.
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, ARE SEEKING PROTECTION FOR THIS HISTORIC SITE IN DANVILLE, VA.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Save the Fearn/Brodnax (Broadnax)/Walters Family Plantation petition to Jeremy Stratton, City of Danville was written by Fearn/Brodnax (Broadnax)/Walters Family Plantation and is in the category City & Town Planning at GoPetition.