
DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997             TAG: 9704230443

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   85 lines

MARKERS POINT OUT HISTORY ON HIGHWAYS

They are drive-by history lessons, bits of Virginia's past commemorated in 100 words or less at the side of the road.

It's a system of more than 2,000 historical markers that explain people, events and places worth remembering. And some of Chesapeake's significant icons lost to foul weather, unruly drivers and youthful pranksters are getting a second chance to tell their stories.

In the next couple of years, all of Virginia's cities and counties will have a chance to dip into a pot of federal transportation money for 80 percent of the $1,100 cost of replacing or correcting a historical marker. Money will be doled out alphabetically by cities, placing Chesapeake toward the front of the line for cash. The city's leaders plan to replace four markers along Chesapeake's western border.

The markers, replacing ones erected before Chesapeake became a city in 1963, will go up along Route 17 for the Dismal Swamp Canal, Route 337 for Fort Nelson and Craney Island and Route 460 for Dale Point.

``We surveyed them around the state to see what was missing or erroneous, and we contacted local governments to see what they were willing to replace,'' said Katherine Long, manager of the marker program for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. ``Some didn't respond, and some said they would spend only a little money, and some said they wanted to do them all.''

The 70-year-old system, initiated as a tourist gimmick and maintained because of popularity, includes about 2,000 markers, but nearly 300 are missing - prompting the federal government to offer grants.

And while today a state board approves new markers and the Department of Historic Resources investigates and approves the texts, previous methods of erecting the signs were not as well-researched. The markers tended to depict Revolutionary War or Civil War heroes - mainly white men - to the exclusion of women, minorities and those contributing to society culturally. Blacks and Indians often were given harsh treatment. Many of the signs have been replaced, and to a lesser degree, other cultural, religious and educational icons have been added.

While about 600 of the signs went up in the first three years of the current program, the pace has slowed. About 10 to 20 new markers are approved by the Board of Historic Resources each quarter when the panel meets. Since 1976, the signs, commemorating subjects more than 50 years removed, have been largely paid for by historical societies and other interested groups willing to foot the bill for a cast-iron, 3-by-5-foot sign.

Some markers remain standing, but cannot be easily seen because of growth in the city and road expansions. For example, there is no parking near a marker erected in 1934 commemorating the Battle of Great Bridge on Battlefield Boulevard, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares. The Virginia Department of Transportation, which maintains the markers, advises the state on where to put new signs.

Of Chesapeake's dozen markers, eight need replacing, according to the Board of Historic Resources. City officials chose not to replace markers for the Battle of Great Bridge or one for Great Bridge. Two others, the Great Bridge Chapel and Hodges Ferry, are expected to receive board approval in June.

Stuart Smith, president of the Chesapeake Historical Society, said he believes the markers are worthwhile.

``A lot of people use Route 17 going to Nags Head, and a lot don't know about the Dismal Swamp Canal and that it was hand dug and is among the oldest in the country,'' Smith said about one of the markers being replaced. ``It's not a lot of information but enough to whet someone's appetite enough that they would want to look up more . . . Now there are guides out, so you don't even have to stop anymore; you can just look up the number and keep driving.''

As for the other markers:

Fort Nelson (near Portsmouth Naval Medical Center) - Marks a Revolutionary War battle in which the British nearly destroyed the fort and a Civil War battle when it was overtaken by the Union Army;

Craney Island (northeast of the Elizabeth River) - Commemorates when the British attacked it during the War of 1812 and battles with the USS Merrimack and USS Monitor during the Civil War;

Dale Point (U.S. 460 west of Portsmouth) - Honors Commodore Richard Dale, a Revolutionary War leader. MEMO: More information and the markers' complete text can be found in

a guide book published in 1994, with corrections released in 1996, by

the University of Virginia Press. A publication called ``Notes on

Virginia,'' compiled by the Department of Historic Resources in 1989,

offers a history of the marker program. ILLUSTRATION: STEVE EARLEY/The Virginian-Pilot

The federal government will pay for new historical markers, and

because the money will be spent alphabetically by city, Chesapeake

is near the top of the list. New signs will join this marker at the

site of the Battle of Great Bridge.