
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 1, 1995                   TAG: 9501030101
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: STAFFORD                                 LENGTH: Short

CASH SOUGHT TO HELP RESTORE FERRY FARM

Administrators of Ferry Farm, the site of George Washington's childhood home, hope to get cash from both the state and federal governments next year to begin a lengthy restoration project.

A nonprofit group formed to raise money for the site in southern Stafford County will ask the General Assembly for a one-time grant of $500,000 to build a replica of the 18th-century Washington family home.

Also, the George Washington Boyhood Home Foundation is waiting to hear whether Congress will help by issuing a commemorative coin depicting the site. Sales of a Ferry Farm coin could bring in up to $6 million, the foundation estimates.

The General Assembly request comes as the state faces a $350 million budget shortfall and Gov. George Allen has proposed cuts in the budgets for other historic and cultural attractions.

``I want to stay optimistic,'' said Cessie Howell, spokeswoman for the foundation and wife of Del. William Howell, R-Stafford.

Howell pledged help in convincing colleagues in Richmond.

``I think you can make an argument that if money is going to be given to historic properties, Ferry Farm would certainly be appropriate for a one-time grant,'' Howell said.

The foundation is also soliciting private and corporate donations, Cessie Howell said. This month, the foundation hired a company to raise money with a direct-mail appeal. About 32,000 letters went out the week before Christmas, she said.

by CNB