Those responsible for helping to protect three historical sites in James City County were awarded the 2014 Historical Preservation Awards.
The James City County Historical Commission on Tuesday commended Boy Scouts of America Troop 103, AES Consulting Engineers President Richard Costello, and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Preservation Virginia for their work in cleaning, protecting and stabilizing historical assets.
Commission Chairman Lafayette Jones, who said the awards are given annually to groups protecting the county’s “rich heritage,” commended the three award recipients during the Board of Supervisors meeting.
Boy Scouts Troop 103: Church on the Main
Boy Scouts Troop 103 – entering its 90th year of service – was recognized for a decade of work at the Church on the Main site near Jamestown. The troop was responsible for creating a park and rescuing the “archaeological site from being a dumping ground.”
“Troop 103 blazed the original trail leading to the Church on the Main site, which made it accessible to the public and is now known as the County’s 3.4-mile Greensprings Trail,” the resolution of award read.
The Anglican Church on the Main was constructed in the mid-18th century to replace the church on Jamestown Island, according to a historical marker at the site. “By 1857 all aboveground traces of the church were gone,” the marker reads. The Rev. James Madison – who went on to become president of the College of William & Mary – served as rector from 1777 through the end of the American Revolution.
The troop annually tends to the Church on the Main site in celebration of Andy’s Earth Day. Andrew Outlaw, son of Historical Commission member Alain Outlaw, died after a canoeing trip in 2003. He had been an active member of Troop 103, and his service and passing were recognized by the Virginia Senate in a 2004 resolution.
Richard Costello: Norge Train Depot
Richard Costello, president of AES Consulting Engineers, was recognized for donating engineering services to the Norge Train Depot preservation. The firm designed the plan for the depot’s new home next to the James City County Library on Croaker Road, and surveyed the site, staked the site for construction and designed utilities and a landscaping plan.
Costello’s contribution made it possible for the group restoring the depot to gain grant funds for the project’s completion.
“The official opening of the Norge Train Depot … would not have been possible without the contributions of Mr. Costello and the staff of AES Consulting Engineers,” reads the resolution of award to Costello.
The Norge Depot was first built in 1907 on Peach Street, where there had been a train stop since 1882. James City County acquired the depot, which had been closed since 1969, in the 1990s. It reopened as a museum in May 2013.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Preservation Virginia: Jamestown Church Tower
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Preservation Virginia earned a Historical Preservation Award for their work to protect and conserve the Jamestown Church Tower at Historic Jamestowne.
Though the tower’s original construction date is unknown – some historians say 1630s, others say 1690s – it is the only remaining above-ground 17th-century structure on the island. The tower fell into disrepair over the years, and work was executed to stabilize it in the 1800s and in the early 1960s.
In 2012, Preservation Virginia enlisted the help of Colonial Williamsburg staff in stabilizing and preserving the brick structure, then in “critical condition.” Stabilization work began in July 2013, and the upper portion of the tower is complete. The lower section is scheduled for conservation this year, and fundraising efforts have begun to complete the final part of the project.
“Thanks to the partnership and expeditious work of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Preservation Virginia, the Jamestown Church Tower will be able to stand for another several centuries to benefit visitors to this region and the residents of James City County,” reads a commission resolution about the award.