DHR Workshop for Historic Preservation in Southwest Virginia

A DHR presentation at the Bristol Train Station.

—DHR Staff will discuss programs and offer Q-and-A sessions focused on preserving sites and buildings in the region on April 30 in Abingdon—

Residents, property owners, and citizens interested in preserving historic buildings, places, and archaeological sites in Southwest Virginia are encouraged to attend a free “Workshop for Historic Preservation in Southwest Virginia” scheduled for April 30 in the town of Abingdon when DHR staff will discuss various state and federal preservation programs.

The workshop, which requires no registration, will convene at the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace (formerly Heartwood Artisans Gallery), located at 1 Heartwood Circle, in Abingdon. It begins at 1 p.m. and runs until 5 p.m.

During the event, DHR staff will present six short, 20-minute overviews about programs DHR administers:

• the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places;
• state historical highway markers;
• Cost Share, a funding program designed for localities seeking to support local historic resources;
• state and federal tax credits for rehabilitating historic properties listed on the state and national historic registers;
• the Certified Local Government program, which makes available federal grants distributed by DHR to participating CLG communities; and
• DHR’s efforts to preserve and investigate Southwest Virginia’s archaeology.

After the presentations, DHR staff will host small group question-and-answer discussions focused on each of the programs in order to allow workshop attendees to discuss with DHR staff items and topics of particular interest relating to each of the programs presented.

The workshop will also feature a presentation on The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.

The Southwest Virginia Community Heritage Foundation is hosting the DHR workshop, with support from Abingdon’s planning office.

For questions about the event, please contact either DHR’s Randy Jones at randy.jones@dhr.virginia.gov or David Edwards at david.edwards@dhr.virginia.gov (540) 868-7030.