Prince William County — central to the story of the Civil War — is already planning its 150th-anniversary commemoration, set for July 2011.
“Our number one goal is to bring people to Prince William County,” said Creston Owen, chairman of the nascent group Virginia Civil War Events Inc.
Officials highlighted business and tourism opportunities that could accompany the commemoration.
Plans include an event in Prince William County devoted to the First Battle of Manassas — a seminal event and one of the first key land battles of the war. The skirmish is also known as the Battle of Bull Run, with the discrepancy often divided along regional lines, with Southerners opting for Manassas and northerners calling it Bull Run.
Officials need to work hard to promote and market the July 21, 2011, anniversary event, said Ed Clark, superintendent of Manassas National Battlefield Park. Many visitors will come solely because of the history behind the battle without realizing there was a second battle, he noted.
Clark said he hoped a variety of elected officials and historians would be able to attend. President William Howard Taft attended the 50th anniversary, and officials hope to have a similarly “special honored speaker” at the 150th, Clark said.
“We’re a little bit ahead of other jurisidictions [in planning], and we’re very proud of that,” said Brendon Hanafin, the county’s director of historic preservation.
Still, funding presents an issue, even this early in the process. The cost per year for the county’s support and the events is estimated at $95,000.
All of the county’s financial support would have to come from the transient occupancy tax, said Budget Director David Tyerar. The TOT is a levy on tourist facilities such as hotels, motels and boarding houses that offer rented guest rooms for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Three of every five cents go toward tourism-related items in the county.
