Charlottesville, Virginia – The Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® (CAAR) has received a $1,500 Placemaking Micro-Grant from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) to help with a grassroots effort to honor the sacrifices made by Albemarle County residents and landowners who were displaced when the Shenandoah National Park was established in the 1930s. In addition to the grant money received, CAAR will also make a $500 donation to the project.
The Albemarle Blue Ridge Heritage Project (ABRHP) will consist of a memorial and shelter within the Patricia Ann Byrom Forest Preserve Park in the Blackwells Hollow area of western Albemarle. The memorial will be a monument, in the form of a stone chimney, with a plaque honoring the families and their sacrifices. Additionally, the Albemarle project intends to build a shelter that will include information panels and can be used for mission-related cultural events.
“CAAR is a huge advocate for the protection of private property and homeownership rights,” said Donna Patton, CAAR President. “Once CAAR learned about the proposed memorial in Madison County last year to honor those families that were displaced when the Shenandoah National Park was established, there was no hesitation that we wanted to be involved. The same commitment rings true for the Albemarle County memorial project, and the future memorials in the other six counties that the Shenandoah National Park impacted.”
”This is a grassroots effort to honor families who lost their homes in western Albemarle, so it’s especially gratifying to have this generous support from the home experts in the Realtor® community,” remarked Paul Cantrell, ABRHP Steering Committee Chair.
The permanent memorial is already underway and local media is invited to view its progress on Wed., Aug. 31st at 10 a.m. The memorial chimney is expected to be completed in early November of this year and the shelter by spring 2017. An update on the exact date and time of the revealing will be communicated when available.
If you would like to donate money to this memorial project, please visit www.blueridgeheritageproject.com/albemarle.
About the Blue Ridge Heritage Project:
The Blue Ridge Heritage Project’s vision is to build a memorial in each of the following counties: Albemarle, Augusta, Greene, Madison, Page, Rappahannock, and Rockingham. As of now, the Madison County memorial is complete and can be seen in at the Old Criglersville Elementary School. The memorials hope to encourage historical and cultural tourism to each area and educate visitors about the people who lived in the area of the Blue Ridge Mountains before the Shenandoah National Park was established.
About CAAR:
The Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® serves more than 1,000 real estate professionals and affiliate members throughout the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. Widely recognized as the leading voice for real estate in Central Virginia since 1925, CAAR members bring professionalism and high ethical standards to every business transaction. The Association advocates for the protection of private property rights and provides tools and technology for members to achieve expertise in serving the needs of customers and clients. The CAAR membership is committed to enriching the region’s neighborhoods by engaging in a variety of educational programs as well as community service events each year.
