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Crozet gazette the
crozetgazette.com
September 2012 VOL. 7, NO. 4
County Gets Possession of The Square
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Pleasant Green, about a half mile west of the Crozet depot, is believed to be the oldest house in Crozet. Its original section dates to 1814. It is the ancestral seat of the Wayland family, who once owned 1200 acres from Crozet Avenue to Mint Springs and became prominent orchardists. Claudius Crozet stayed in the house and Benjamin Ficklin, credited with actually setting up the Pony Express, was born at Pleasant Green in 1827. [Courtesy of Phil James Historical Images]
Crozet Historic District Likely The Virginia Department of Historic Resources’s State Review Board is very likely to approve the application for an historic district in Crozet at its Sept. 20 meeting in Petersburg, VDHR official Marc Wagner told the small crowd who attended an informational meeting on the proposed district at the Albemarle County office building in Charlottesville August 10. “The nomination does meet our standards and it will go to the board,”
Wagner said. “It’s not a local designation, but an honorary designation according to national standards. “There is a very strong likelihood Crozet will be approved,” Wagner predicted. “This nomination is wellwritten and it won’t be stopped on a technicality.” Wagner said the Commonwealth now has nearly 600 officially recognized historic districts. Nearby, districts are established for Batesville, continued on page 9
After years of disputes over who owned The Square, the central parking lot of downtown Crozet, CSX railroad legally transferred ownership to Albemarle County in July. The move means efforts to improve the lot can now be undertaken on a solid footing. CSX retained ownership of a pipeshaped strip of land 50 feet off the centerline of the main track in order to get access for maintenance. CSX has said it’s particularly concerned that it be able to reach the railroad trestle with heavy equipment should it need repair. At the east end of the lot, the railroad reserved an area permitting a 28-foot-wide gate to be installed. County transportation engineer Jack Kelsey said the county has no plans for improving the lot and it is not included in the long-awaited streetscape project that will renovate Crozet Avenue from The Square to Tabor Street. Ownership does enable utility easements necessary to the project, which includes removing poles and lines from Crozet Avenue. Kelsey said county officials are hoping whoever turns out to be the new owner of the J. Bruce Barnes Lumber Company parcels will be interested in joining in improvecontinued on page 9
Another Kids’ Summer Reading Record For Crozet Library Crozet Library held its annual summer “cookie countdown” August 14, the occasion where it wraps up its summer reading program, which is designed to keep kids engaged with books while school is out. This year the event also marked the official kick-off of the campaign to raise $1.6 million to furnish the new library under construction. The librarians admitted they were worried over whether
western Albemarle kids could match last summer’s record of 12,298 books read. Fewer children participated this summer. But in the end, after some teasing suspense and fanfare, they revealed that the area’s young readers did it again: 12,455 books read. “You guys are awesome!” Crozet librarian Wendy Saz said. “Amazing reading!” Pete and Ellen Vigour percontinued on page 34
The Crozet Library parade float at the Cookie Countdown