Kaine keeps his word on Fort Monroe
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot editorial
August 25, 2008

Fort Monroe's rich history and abundant recreational assets aren't likely to
be obliterated or overshadowed by commercial and residential development
under a reuse plan signed last week by Gov. Tim Kaine. But the land, which
the U.S. Army is scheduled to hand over to the state in three years, also is
unlikely to reach its full economic and educational potential unless Kaine
and other local, state and federal leaders get behind an effort to create
Fort Monroe National Park.

The reuse plan, now headed to the Department of Defense for final approval,
has many merits. It offers strong assurances that the property won't be
chopped up by developers -- or, at least, stronger assurances than many
historians and residents had feared the plan would contain.

Kaine, in a meeting with The Pilot editorial board in June, said "revenue
maximization" -- i.e. selling or leasing open spaces for development -- 
"should not be goal one" for the state or the city of Hampton when the base
closes. He's kept his word, stating again during a tour of the fort
Wednesday that "we need to protect this as a public resource and have as
much of it in public space as we can."

Defining "as we can" will be the tricky part in the years ahead. Ideally,
the 570-acre property will become financially self-sustaining, with income
derived from renting some of the bases's buildings for offices and
residences. Sustainability should be possible without surrendering open land
to developers eager to take advantage of the fort's waterfront views.

But the best economic model for the forts lies in its past -- literally, in
its past.

Fort Monroe's history, which stretches back to the 1600s, encompasses a
broad but little-known swath of the American story and includes figures such
as Capt. John Smith, Chief Black Hawk, Harriet Tubman and the defeated and
imprisoned Jefferson Davis.

Among the most fascinating episodes in the fort's narrative is the saga of
Frank Baker, Sheppard Mallory and James Townsend, three enslaved men who
fled to the fort in the early days of the Civil War. A Union general refused
to return them, setting into motion a series of events that brought more
fugitive slaves to what soon became known as "Freedom's Fortress." The
exodus played a direct role in Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

Some preservationists have suggested that Fort Monroe would be a more
suitable setting for a national slavery museum than a site in Fredericksburg
chosen by former Gov. Doug Wilder and others. Given the fundraising
difficulty that project has encountered, it would be appropriate to
reconsider Fort Monroe -- and its story of Baker, Mallory and Townsend -- as
home for the museum.

But, with or without that facility, it's clear Fort Monroe could become a
major historic attraction and education center, drawing new economic
activity to Hampton, the neighboring village of Phoebus and the region as a
whole. And it's clear that the National Park Service is best equipped to
bring that vision to life.

During his tour, Kaine said he doesn't have a position on what entity should
run the fort once the Army leaves because "the real issue is use and
protection, rather than the agency that's got its name on the sign."

But the reality is that the National Park Service is the only agency with
the breadth of experience and expertise to take on this challenge. And there
is no "name on the sign" that would better indicate to travelers they're
entering a first-rate presentation of an important landmark in U.S. history.

Yes, it's true the park service has struggled for funding in recent years
and has difficulty maintaining the national treasures now in its care.
However, the agency's fate may change when the economy rebounds and new
leadership takes over in Washington.

Now is the time to begin building private financial support to supplement
federal funding for a national park at Fort Monroe. Now is the time for
leaders like Kaine to endorse an idea that would ensure its rich story
reaches as many people as possible.

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