Designation for Battlefield Divides Va. Review Panels
Two review panels have split on whether the 1,100-acre Civil War battlefield at Bristow in Prince William County should be designated as a national and state historic landmark.</br></br>The Virginia Historic Resources Board deferred the nomination of the battlefield to the state's Register of Historic Landmarks.</br></br>A separate review panel, the State Review Board, earlier this week voted to recommend that the property be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The land was the site of the Battle of Bristoe Station.</br></br>The director of the Historic Resources Department appoints the State Review Board to screen applications to the National Register. The governor appoints the Historic Resources Board to review applications of sites to the state register.</br></br>Bristow landowners fear the historic designations will reduce their property value. Officials from the state Department of Historic Resources have assured the residents that nomination to the state and national registers does not bar development of the land.