HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2013-12-13 Leesburg Plants 108 Living Legacy Trees
MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: Shuan Butcher
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 540-882-4929
shuan@jthg.org
Town of Leesburg Dedicates 108 Trees as Part of Journey Through
Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Project
New Plantings Part of Enhanced Transportation Project
and Will Tie in With Region’s Civil War History
Leesburg, VA (December 13, 2013) – As part of an elaborate landscaping plan with the Town of
Leesburg’s South King Street widening project, 108 newly planted trees will be geotagged as part
of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Project. This project of
national significance was created to commemorate the Civil War Sesquicentennial by planting or
dedicating one tree for each of the 620,000 soldiers who died, as a living memorial for their
individual and combined sacrifices.
Phase One of the South King Street project will be complete once all the trees have been planted,
which is expected to take place within the coming weeks. The project included widening South
King Street from two to four lanes from Governors Drive to Greenway Drive, adding a
landscaped median, and planting the referenced trees as well as additional trees and shrubs. A
second phase of the South King Street project, which will include similar improvements and
additional Living Legacy Project trees, will get underway in 2014. In addition, the realignment of
Virt’s Corner has added a new gateway feature to the Town’s southern limits and Living Legacy
Project trees will be included in the landscaping as part of the new gateway.
Trees planted as part of the Living Legacy Project will eventually stretch along the Journey
Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway, a 180-mile swath of land that runs from
Gettysburg, PA to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. The Town of Leesburg
not only sits on the scenic byway, but it is near the geographic center of the region. In addition,
the town has been an active partner of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership from
the organization’s beginning. Currently, Leesburg Mayor Kristen Umstattd chairs the
organization’s Council of Elected Officials.
“We are delighted to have been able to coordinate the landscaping plan for our South King Street
widening project with the Journey’s Living Legacy Project,” said Mayor Umstattd. “It is a
tremendous honor to be part of this project, and we are looking for other opportunities to include
additional trees within the Town limits.”
Upon completion, the Living Legacy Project will be the first 180-mile landscaped allée in the
world and the only allée dedicated to honoring the most defining moment in American history.
The project will create a unified color palette that reminds visitors that they are, indeed, on
hallowed ground. It was upon the battlefields within this region that many of the soldiers who
fought, died during the American Civil War, one of our country’s most defining moments. A
signature palette of seasonal trees and plantings, including redbuds, red oaks, red maple, and red
cedar have been selected to represent the courage and valor of the individuals being honored with
this project. The native selection is appropriate to the diverse landscapes along this historic
corridor, and remains sensitive to the local ecology, scenic views, and development patterns.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is actively engaged in raising the necessary
funds to complete this $65 million initiative. Individuals, businesses, schools, and community
groups from around the world can contribute to this project. The JTHG Partnership is seeking
$100 contributions to support and plant each tree. Donors may select a soldier to honor, as the
trees will be geo-tagged to allow Smart Phone users to learn the story of the soldier, providing a
strong educational component to engage interest in the region’s historical heritage and literally
bring the tree to life. Over 350 organizational partners of the Journey Through Hallowed
Ground Partnership are already engaged with the Living Legacy Project. “Fifty years from
now, during the bicentennial of the Civil War, the Living Legacy Project will be considered the
finest example of homage in our country,” said JTHG President Cate Magennis Wyatt. “Now
is the time to create and implement a living legacy for those who gave ‘the last full measure,’
many of whom have never been honored.” For more information on the Living Legacy Project,
visit www.hallowedground.org.
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The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area is a 180-mile long, 75-mile wide area
stretching from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia
that contains a vibrant natural, historical, and cultural landscape. With 400 years of European, American
and African-American heritage, it’s known as the region Where America Happened™. It contains more
history than any other region in the nation and includes: National and World Heritage sites, over 10,000
sites on the National Register of Historic Places, 49 National Historic districts, nine Presidential homes, 13
National Park units, hundreds of African American and Native American heritage sites, 30 Historic Main
Street communities, sites from the Revolutionary War, French-Indian War, War of 1812 and the largest
collection of Civil War sites in the nation.