Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 4, 1994 TAG: 9401040178
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: THOROUGHFARE LENGTH: Medium
The gradual pace of development surged ahead dramatically late last year, as Walt Disney Co. and a group of investors proposed major projects within sight of Primas' house.
To her right, amid the cornfields, creeks and woods about 1,500 feet away, Disney has assembled the land for its third U.S. theme park. To her left, behind a screen of trees 100 feet away, investors hope to build Virginia's first thoroughbred race track.
"I think it's going to be a tragic situation for all of us who live in the area," said Primas, 76.
About 100 people live in Thoroughfare, which was founded by former slaves at the edge of a plantation. Many in the village at the crossroads of Virginia 55 and Thoroughfare Road are retired.
They face the possibility of being wedged between Disney's America, with up to 30,000 visitors a day after its scheduled 1998 opening, and the racetrack, which could draw 3,000 people a day as early as 1996 if the site is chosen over five others. Some fear that crime, traffic, pollution, rising property taxes and condemnation of their land for roads will wipe out the community.
"This area is the oldest still-surviving African-American community in Prince William County," said Elizabeth Nickens, another Thoroughfare resident. She said the area has produced generations of "stable, healthy" citizens, including physicians, teachers, dentists and ministers.
Spokesmen for Disney and for the racetrack investors say their projects have potential benefits for Thoroughfare.
"We expect our park will help bring history to life and inspire and spark interest in historic areas and historic landmarks," Disney's Jane Adams said.
As for residents' fears that the Disney project might cause the condemnation of their land and make property taxes unaffordable, she said, "We would expect to be able to make a positive contribution to the tax base, which could possibly lead to lower taxes for residents."
Greg TenEyck, representing the track-investment group, the Virginia Jockey Club, said, "We feel our racetrack fits in real well with the tradition and heritage of that area.
"If the land values rise . . . as everyone expects them to, [local residents] may have hit the lottery."
Seven weeks ago, a Disney real estate executive said the company hoped to build an attraction that could "make you feel what it was like to be a slave."
The remark, since disavowed by Disney Chairman Michael Eisner as "presumptuous," nonetheless contrasts how the company plans to represent the past with Thoroughfare, a living piece of history.
Originally part of the Cloverland plantation, the area includes a five-story, pre-Civil War flour mill, a black church founded in 1865, an early segregated elementary school and cemeteries for slaves and manor residents.
Primas, a former schoolteacher and a descendant of slaves, said her husband's grandfather bought the land where her white wood-frame house now stands from the owners of Cloverland in 1872. The Primas property became the center of the neighborhood and contains the burial ground for more than 25 people.
"How do they expect this is going to be a crime-free area? How do they expect it will not be overwhelmingly congested? It's hard enough driving as it is," Primas said.
Across the street are Charles and Margaret Chambers, 78 and 72, who have lived in Thoroughfare since 1948 and ran the local grocery store for 25 years. Unlike about 70 percent of Thoroughfare residents, they are white.
They saw Interstate 66 come through the area, successfully fought plans for a county dump nearby and witnessed the gradual integration of the community.
Now they worry that their last years might be spent fighting rising tax bills as land values increase. They worry that their home will be condemned to make way for the widening of Virginia 55.
Some residents are optimistic. Next to the railroad tracks that cut through the town, Tim Thompson, a 37-year-old Illinois native, now runs the town grocery store.
"I feel bad for the Primases and the other people if taxes go up, but I feel that would have happened anyway," said Thompson, who owns a home nearby. He believes business at his two-room grocery would improve because of the projects.
"It's sad that a person can work 30 years, 40 years, pay taxes on their house, then retire and be taxed out of their home," Thompson said. "But I really think it's not going to be as drastic as they think."
by CNB