TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Wilderness Walmart OK’d

Bad news. Looks like the Wilderness Walmart will go in after all.

ORANGE, Va. – Local officials early Tuesday approved a Walmart Supercenter near one of the nation’s most important Civil War battlefields, a proposal that had stirred opposition by preservationists and hundreds of historians.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to grant the special permit to the world’s biggest retailer after a majority of more than 100 speakers said they favored bringing the Walmart to Locust Grove, within a cannonball’s shot from the Wilderness Battlefield.

Historians and Civil War buffs are fearful the Walmart store will draw traffic and more commerce to an area within the historic boundaries of the Wilderness, where generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee first met in battle 145 years ago and where 145,000 Union and Confederate soldiers fought and more than 29,000 were killed or injured. One-fourth of the Wilderness is protected.

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Fred Ray

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Comments

5 responses to “Wilderness Walmart OK’d”

  1. Coly Hope Avatar
    Coly Hope

    Perhaps people will not shop there and they will lose business and have to shut down. This will send a message to those fat cats that people won’t put up with that crap anymore.

    Coly

    Reply
  2. Mike Weeks Avatar
    Mike Weeks

    I don’t understand. Everything I’ve read about this Wal-Mart going up has pointed out that there are viable alternatives, and that there is considerable high-profile outrage against the plan, but it’s still going forward. There has to be a good deal of local support in the area for this Wal-Mart, or we wouldn’t even be talking about it. Could someone in the Fredericksburg, VA area please fill us in on local sentiment? I feel like we’re all missing something.

    Reply
  3. Jeff Felton Avatar
    Jeff Felton

    It seems like that is always the rationale for building yet ANOTHER Wal-Mart…”Oh!..it will bring jobs blah blah blah! I live in the Raleigh area and there are at least 4 within 20 minutes of my house. Definitley hasn’t helped the economy.

    Reply
  4. Naim Peress Avatar
    Naim Peress

    The Orange County residents who spoke at the hearing in favor of the permit made it clear that their primary concern was shopping, not historical preservation. With such an electorate, the result is unfortunately no surprise.

    Reply
  5. admin Avatar
    admin

    I missed this due to my vacation. Thanks to Fred for carrying on without me. It’s pretty sad that this is actually going to happen. Ridiculous.

    Brett

    Reply

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