.jpg) More than 83,000 acres in southern Albemarle County are now officially on the National Register of Historic Places. The Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District is the largest such area east of the Mississippi River. Unlike most designations, which are usually requested and funded by local government, this was entirely resident driven—they even paid for the historical survey, done by Arcadia Preservation, LLC. "The landscape is pretty intact," says Jennifer Hallock of Arcadia. "You can read the landscape as it evolved." The area’s most famous landmark is Monticello, but it also includes 2,253 buildings, sites, structures and objects that contribute to its, uh, historicness. While district residents can now seek state and federal tax credits, the distinction doesn’t give local authorities any additional developmental controls. Anyone hankering for an interstate through that part of the county will be sorely disappointed to learn that the designation does make it harder for state and federal agencies to put a highway through the district. |
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