University of Virginia Library

Greenings

—William StyronLie Down in Darkness

Flying east from Albemarle, passing over
the western end of Louisa County, Styron's
crow would not fail to notice Green Springs,
an area of level farmlands approximately six
by eight miles square, northeast of Zion
Crossroads. It stands in sharp relief from the
surrounding bareness, taking its name from a
mineral spring which was popular as a
watering place in the past. Bounded roughly
by state routes 250, 15, 22, and 613, Green
Springs is remarkable for the rich green hues
covering its gently rolling and more fertile
landscape.

And more. Green Springs' rich soil helped
make 19th century Richmond an export
center for grain and flour. Today, a unique
aspect of the area is the survival, in their
original form, of a number of 18th and
19th century plantation houses, which adjoin
in a contiguous whole an undisturbed
example of a plantation community.

"One emerges," writes Frederick Hartt,
chairman of the University's Art Department,
"from the surrounding woods into a sunlit,
bowl landscape of the greatest beauty, ringed
with 26 handsome farm houses...gems of
American architecture, worth preserving just
as Williamsburg has been preserved."

Mr. Hartt, who was sent by the U.S.
Government during World War II to Europe
to assist in preserving works of art from
destruction, continues: "Most important of
all, (the farms) are in perfect harmony with
their surrounding landscape, without a single
disturbing element. In all my travels I have
never seen a more delicate balance between
human activity, rural architecture and natural
beauty."

When the Virginia Department of Welfare
and Institutions announced plans for the
construction of a $3.7 million prison facility
at Green Springs, Mr. Hartt became an early
leader in the fight to have the site relocated in
another section of Louisa. He and many
others - including the Green Springs
Association and the Virginia Historic
Landmarks Commission - forwarded urgent
pleas to state officials citing the hazards
inherent in the proposed facility.

Photo By Saxon Holt

Wild Canadian Geese In Flight

Pond At Bracketts Shelters A Multitude of Wildlife

The prison facility, they argue, if placed
on a 200-acre tract in the center of Green
Springs, would shatter the natural
equilibrium. Plans call for a hexagonal
building 600 feet in diameter with a guard
tower 60 feet high. Emptying 70,000 gallons
of sewage daily into a nearby stream, the
prison might upset the water table and disrupt
farming in an area where, it is noted, not all
the landowners are gentlemen farmers.

Moreover, pollution of the stream will
result in the destruction of wildlife. Traffic
increases, security fences and the harsh
lighting required at a detention center would
wipe out the pastoral scene irrevocably.

After months of haggling with
unresponsive state officials, opponents of the
Green Springs plan finally took their case to
court. Last week, the Fourth U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals handed down a decision to
delay federal funding of the project, pending
a study by the Law Enforcement Assistance
Administration (LEAA) to determine the
facility's potential impact on Green Springs'
environment and its cultural-historical profile.
Unfortunately, the decision allows that the
state is free to proceed with its plans (without
further study) should it choose to build
without federal assistance.

Should the Welfare and Institutions
department move ahead with the construction
- and there is every reason to believe that will
happen - the LEAA report, regardless of its
implications, will have no effect on the future
of Green Springs. A spokesman for the
department, George Minter, has stated flatly,
"We will be proceeding with developing the
project as rapidly as we can clear up the
administrative procedures" required by
federal law.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Green
Springs Association are promising to continue
their fight to have the facility moved. Without
questioning the need for an additional prison,
they argue that Louisa County contains
numerous sites equally suitable for such an
installation - in areas where the disruption
could be kept to a bare minimum. A
spokesman for the association stated, "In this
age of environmental awareness it is
unfortunate that the state officials of Virginia
should be so callous in their attitude toward
our heritage."

She added, saying that further litigation is
imminent, "We will take immediate action to
prevent further activities by the state. The
citizens concerned are absolutely committed
to fight as long and hard as necessary to
prevent construction."

We can but echo Mr. Hartt's words in
summary: "It is extremely foolish of them
(the state) to go ahead in the face of such
widespread public opposition." And until the
question has been pushed
conceivably as far
as the U.S. Supreme Court, there can be no
doubt that the fight to save Green Springs is
still very much alive. Because, as many
suggest, the officials in charge of the prison
project are not evil men - they are badly
misguided, but not malicious - the hope
persists they will be brought to grips with the
tastelessness and rank stupidity of their plan
for the future of a unique community.