The arguments over possibly industrializing the rural crescent, including the potential tax revenue from data centers versus agribusiness and other kinds of growth, are necessary debates, but for the Prince William Digital Gateway proposal specifically, is that really the core issue?
This request for a comprehensive plan amendment proposes a massive data center complex that would run adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park. In the park superintendent’s official comments regarding this potentiality, he notes, “Not all areas where soldiers fought and died are within the park boundary.” He also indicates that there are “five historic cemeteries located within the application corridor” and that “ … [in] at least one … are the graves of Civil War casualties. … The application does not recognize an additional documented Civil War burial ground … that may still contain soldier remains. It is likely that additional unmarked graves exist within the subject area.”
Instead, let us define ourselves and our values through our support of historic preservation and our respect for the dead, most especially those who were sacrificed in war.
It is not necessary to be against data centers to reject the Prince William Digital Gateway proposal. It is not even necessary to believe in protecting the rural crescent to fight this project. It is only necessary to recognize the sanctity of hallowed ground and the responsibilities of being its stewards.
Bridget Bell
Gainesville