Laura Bush honors county

STAFFORD — First Lady Laura Bush has designated Stafford County as a Preserve America Community.

Bush is the honorary chair of the Preserve America initiative, which is an effort spearheaded by the White House to encourage and support community efforts to preserve and enjoy America’s priceless cultural and natural heritage.

“Preserve America Communities demonstrate that they are committed to preservingAmerica’s heritage while ensuring a future filled with opportunities for learning and enjoyment,” said Bush said in a released statement. “This community designation program, combined with the Preserve America Grant Program, Preserve America Presidential Awards, and other federal support, provides strong incentives for continued preservation of our cultural and natural heritage resources.”

Stafford was recognized for its efforts to ensure that the community protects and celebrates its heritage, uses its historic assets for economic development and community revitalization, and encourages people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism programs, according to the Advisory Council on Historical Preservation.

Specific projects that helped Stafford win the “Preserve America Community” designation are the 2006 Discovery Days Festival, efforts to create a Stafford County museum, the Stafford County Historical Commission, historic trail development, tourism marketing and the Historic Marker Program, among others.

“We have so many historical treasures in Stafford, from the recent discovery of the remains of George Washington's boyhood home at Ferry Farm to Pocahontas living on our shores, to Government Island, from which stone was quarried for the White House and the U.S. Capitol, and we are committed as a
community to preserving each and every one of them,” said George Schwartz, D-Falmouth, chairman of the Stafford Board of Supervisors.

— Press release