Fauquier County, VA
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Historic preservation planning is the systematic process by which a community develops a vision, goals, and strategies for the preservation and protection of its significant historic and cultural resources and the implementation of those strategies, which are generally based on analyses of resource data and community values. Below are various programs, agencies, organizations, and source material pertinent to preservation planning in Fauquier County.
County Government Resources
- See contact information (at right) for the Fauquier County Historic Preservation Planner in the Planning Division of the Department of Community Development.
- Fauquier County Comprehensive Plan, Chapter 2B
- Fauquier County Historic Resources Plan
- Fauquier County Architectural Review Board
- Fauquier County Cemetery Field Documentation Form: Although cemeteries are one of Fauquier County’s most significant heritage resources, they are also one of the most endangered due to lack of identification and inventory, misuse, demolition by neglect, and lack of limits of burial study and mapping. To help identify and protect these important cultural resources, citizens are invited to complete the Fauquier County Cemetery Field Documentation Form.
Technical Assistance
- Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR): The Department of Historic Resources is the Virginia State Historic Preservation Office. The agency’s mission is to foster, encourage, and support the stewardship of Virginia's significant architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources. Contact DHR for more information regarding the State and Federal Historic Tax Credit Programs, the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register, historic property survey work, qualified local craftsmen, the Section 106 review process, and preservation easements.
- Technical Preservation Services: Technical Preservation Services (TPS), a branch of the National Park Service, is the nation's leading provider of information and guidance on the care of historic buildings. TPS offers free publications, ranging from technical assistance with energy efficiency, window repairs, and historic masonry to help with historic tax credits for rehabilitation projects.
- Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties
- Preservation Briefs: Over 40 free historic building treatment publications. Learn about historic building treatments, including repointing mortar joints in brick walls, roofing, repair of windows, dangers of abrasive cleaning, controlling moisture, conserving energy, and more.
- Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings: First set of official NPS guidelines on how to make changes to improve energy efficiency of buildings.
- National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT)
- A Citizen’s Guide to Section 106 Review, published by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Fauquier County Preservation Brochures
- Historic Preservation Easements
- Maintaining Your Historic House
- National Register of Historic Places
- Protecting Archaeological Sites
- Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits
- Virginia State Cemetery Laws
- Maintaining Cemeteries
Research Sources
- Fauquier County Public Library, Virginiana Room
- Fauquier County National Register Property and District Nominations
- Fauquier County Historic Maps (1876 and 1914). Hard copies of the 1937 aerial maps are available in the Fauquier County GIS Department office.
- Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County
- Fauquier Heritage and Preservation Foundation and the John K. Gott Library
- Library of Virginia
- Library of Congress
Advocacy & Educational Organizations
- Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County
- American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP): ABPP is a division of the National Park Service that promotes the preservation of significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil. The goals of the program are 1) to protect battlefields and sites associated with armed conflicts that influenced the course of our history, 2) to encourage and assist all Americans in planning for the preservation, management, and interpretation of these sites, and 3) to raise awareness of the importance of preserving battlefields and related sites for future generations. The ABPP focuses primarily on land use, cultural resource and site management planning, and public education. Grant opportunities are offered periodically.
- Fauquier Heritage and Preservation Foundation, Inc.
- Fauquier Historical Society and Old Jail Museum
- Monroe Park and the Gold Mining Camp Museum (Parks & Rec)
- Mosby Heritage Area Association
- National Barn Alliance: National Barn Alliance seeks to provide national leadership for the preservation of America's historic barns and rural heritage through education, documentation, conservation, and networking.
- National Trust for Historic Preservation: The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a national nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places.
- Piedmont Environmental Council
- Preservation Virginia: Preservation Virginia, the statewide non-profit preservation organization, provides leadership, experience, and services to the public by developing preservation policy, programs, and strategies with individuals, organizations, and local, state, and national partners.
- The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area
FAQs
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I have an old abandoned cemetery on my property. What are my legal obligations?
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Does my historic property and rehabilitation project qualify for historic tax credits?
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Is my property in a historic district?
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How do I begin a major maintenance or rehabilitation project of my historic building?
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How do I begin to preserve a historic cemetery?
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Someone else now owns the land where my ancestors are buried. What are my rights regarding that cemetery?
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What do I do if I discover human remains?
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What do I do if I see willful damage to or displacement of gravestones, cemetery fences, or monuments?
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What is a conservation easement? What are the benefits of placing my property in a conservation easement?