THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994 TAG: 9406220173
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By CRYSTAL YEDNAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940624 LENGTH: Medium
Orange lilies are planted at the tombstone of his mother. Her name has not yet been carved into the gray stone; she died just a year ago.
{REST} Williamson pulls down one of the branches of the tree, inspects a leaf and identifies it as that of a dogwood tree. His sister, Carol Byrd Williamson, explains how his mother taught all three children about nature on Sunday walks through the woods near their home.
That's why Carol wanted to help Chesapeake Arboretum Inc. find a new site - so the city's children could learn about nature like she did.
The arboretum's new site will be on 17 acres of the Williamsons's property and on about 30 acres owned by their neighbors, the Halls. Pieces of land from both properties are being pooled together to create the arboretum.
The arboretum is part of a proposal to develop the area off Oak Grove Road. In a few years, the land that now belongs to the Williamsons and the Halls will be covered with more than 540 new homes.
The plan is to reduce the lot sizes, cluster the homes together and set aside open space for parks and recreation. The city will lease that open space to the arboretum group.
The Halls and Williamsons aren't entirely pleased about giving up land that has been in their families for generations.
``We've always farmed it, but the fact is that we're surrounded by developed property,'' Herman Hall said. ``We've had problems moving equipment, with pilferage and vandalism. The more people around, the more problems we've had.''
Pete Williamson says high taxes and low returns from farming convinced his family to develop the land. The fact that part of the land will be used for the arboretum makes him feel a little better.
``My mother was always very interested in green things and gardens,'' he said.
It was his sister's idea to use the family's land for the arboretum. She heard about the homeless arboretum group while she was caring for her mother, who was ill with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Carol's mother, Evelyn Byrd Williamson Williamson, spent her entire life on the land. She was born at 624 Oak Grove Road. She died 89 years later at 609 Oak Grove Road.
``I'm probably going to cry talking about this,'' Carol said, then paused. ``The more I got into this, the more I wanted this to happen on our property.''
Carol talked with the engineer planning the development, Jim Bradford, who in turn spoke with the Halls about plans for the arboretum.
Like the Williamsons, the Halls were planning to develop their land in the cluster style.
Carol said it wasn't hard to convince the Halls to help because ``the Williamsons have been friends with the Hall family forever.''
Both properties are rich in natural resources. The boundary is marked by old trees, and a clear-water, sand-bottom stream divides the two farms. The Williamson and Hall children used to swing over the waterway on vines.
A white, two-story home on the Williamson property dates back to the 1700s. The home goes back to a time when all of Oak Grove Road was nothing but Williamsons. The history of the family is tied up in the structure itself. The year 1822 is inscribed on the chimney, marking the year the family put an addition on the home.
Carol originally planned to dedicate part of the land to a farmer's museum, to honor the long line of farmers in her family. But when the arboretum group heard about the home, it was decided that the organization could use it as an office.
The family cemetery will be preserved along with the home, allowing the Williamsons to hold on to their family's history.
A smaller white house down the street that also belongs to the Williamsons will be used for exhibits and classes.
Byron Carmean, a Chesapeake science teacher and board member of the arboretum group, has walked the site several times. He already is planning to bring his students on field trips to the arboretum.
That way he'll teach them about nature in the same way - and in the same place - that Carol Williamson's mother taught her children. by CNB