Dumfries Leaders Question Need, Guidelines for Town’s Historic District

DUMFIRES, Va. — Jennifer Stringfellow likes Dumfries and its older houses. She ought to, as she is the head of the town’s Architectural Review Board (ARB), a volunteer commission charged with overseeing development, changes, and preserving the town’s historic district that includes an old street grid, something that resembles Old Town Alexandria’s layout.

The small town, Virginia’s oldest continuously charted town of 5,000 residents, wasn’t always known for its busy U.S. 1. When it was founded in 1749 it was one of the nation’s largest deep water ports, and water flowed right up to present day Main Street and the street grid. Many of the old homes and buildings are no longer there, but the Weems-Botts House, Williams Ordinary, the Anderson House that sits about a block away from the Weems-Botts House, Town Hall, and homes that are more than 50-years-old are all in the district.

On Tuesday, Stringfellow volunteered to come to a regular Town Council meeting where she thought she was going to get feedback from elected leaders on a new 13-page document that will better help residents living in the historic district understand what changes they can and can’t make to their homes without approval – everything from painting the outside walls to adding a new room. But instead, some on the council took aim at the historic district itself and questioned why if there are so few historical buildings remain, why have an historic district at all?

“There are a lot of people who think they are now back in the historic dist, and who have a lot of problems with the historical dist, and people feel very strongly about not being in the historic district,” said Councilwoman Gwen Washington, who lives in the district.

Councilman Charles Brewer also said there has been a lot of talk about a historic district that includes homes built in the 1980s and newer. There was also talk about reducing the size of the historic district, and that touched a nerve.

“You talk about the 1749 original outline of the town, and you to sit in front of that flag that says ‘first charted town,’ and not to include that original street grid of the original town, I find that paradoxical,” said Stringfellow.

Homes less than 50-years-old inside the historic district are not considered historic. The new ARB guidelines are also said to be more thorough than the old ones, and have been crafted by volunteers on the ARB and by former Dumfries Zoning Administrator Morgan Brim who left the town for a job in Manassas. His replacement, Laura O’Dell who comes from Strasburg, has taken over where Brim left off. She said Town Council members and the ARB are set to discuss the new guidelines during a joint meeting at town hall at 6 p.m. May 14. It’s open to the public.