Greenfield Historic Preservation report from Aug 25th BOS meeting

Update on Greenfield Historic Preservation Project

The Greenfield Historic Preservation Project is moving along, though not quickly.

Ed Preston, a member of a committee overseeing the historic preservation efforts at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield, told the Supervisors at the August 25, 2020 meeting that the project needs to move to a stage 1 plan as soon as possible.

“Tourists and sightseers come up to the area,” Preston said, noting they were there, “not by invitation.” The buildings are not open and there are no restroom facilities available.

Signage to indicate what the buildings are and why they are there would be helpful, Preston said. He also said access to the site needs to be stabilized. Visitors have already created a path, and this existing walkway could be made more accessible with steps and handrails. It would not, however, be considered handicapped accessible at this time.

Preston said the old manager’s house, which is the first structure most folks come to when they begin hiking up to see the older buildings on the hillside, could be used as a reception area with restrooms, since it already has utilities accessible to it.

From there, people could travel to the historic kitchen for the main house and then to the cabins where enslaved people lived when Greenfield was an operational agricultural establishment in the 1800s. Neither of these buildings are accessible and both need work, such as shoring up chimneys, before they can be opened to the public, Preston said.

Preston said signage and a greeting area would help the county gauge the interest in the structures. If interest is strong, then fundraising efforts for restoration and other features of the historic park could begin.

The signage and other stage 1 work could be in place as early as the fall of 2021, Preston said.

Amsterdam District Supervisor Steve Clinton, who is also on the committee, called the site of the historic park “a nice, relaxing pretty site.”

–Anita J. Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee