By Supervisor Jeanine Lawson Feb 25, 2022 Updated Feb 25, 2022
Teddy Roosevelt, a great conservationist, once said: “The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.” Somewhere along the line, this message seems to have been lost.
Here in Prince William County, the Manassas National Battlefield Park has attracted everyone from school children to retirees, each learning from a glimpse of the past. The openness of the park, looking much like it did over a century and a half ago, gives the imagination full rein to re-create the bloody battles that took place. The lessons learned here, both militarily and politically, would shape the future of the United States.
This historic landscape is now in imminent danger of being permanently altered. Where in the recent past we have been concerned about the “woke” movement erasing history, we are now facing an assault by parties who wish to bring blight to this historic landscape. This vista that allows imaginations to explore history will be destroyed by industrializing the Pageland Lane corridor.
During my time on the Board of County Supervisors, I have supported responsible growth policies, including ones that ensure we preserve open spaces and the Rural Crescent. Never in that time did I dream that one day I would be defending the Manassas National Battlefield Park from encroachment.
But here I am.
I am not alone in this fight. Numerous citizen-supported environmental and conservation organizations have joined me. The Civil War Preservation Trust has spoken out strongly against this proposed development. Ken Burns, the esteemed American filmmaker, famous for his documentaries depicting historical events, has opined on the devastating effect massive data centers would have on the historical integrity of the Manassas National Battlefield Park. I am in good company as I stand with them.
Our history, the good, the bad, and the ugly, must be protected, just as Teddy Roosevelt implied. Sites like the Manassas Battlefield allow us to step back in history and view it from the perspective of the men and women who witnessed it. Understanding this context is important so that we acknowledge the moral depravity of the past to avoid repeating it.
Looking to the future, my hope is to expand the Manassas National Battlefield Park. The area has more stories to tell. I have called on Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton and other federal legislators to push for this outcome, but progress has been slow.
I have been proud to support preservation of the Manassas battlefield and Northern Virginia’s historic monuments and I will continue to seek protection of the stories of those who came before us.
How can you help? Call Congresswoman Wexton, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and your representatives on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. Urge them to preserve history, and the lessons learned from it before these historic sites are altered forever.
Supervisor Jeanine Lawson has represented the Bristow District on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors since 2014. She is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Congress in the 10thcongressional district. She can be reached at jlawson@pwcgov.org.