President Bush signs law allowing expansion of George Washington Birthplace in Westmoreland, but money not likely to come until later.

By FRANK DELANO
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 12/19/2002

Bush OKs plan for national monument

President Bush has signed into law a bill to add 115 acres to the George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Westmoreland County.

The legislation gives the U.S. Department of Interior and the National Park Service the au-thority to negotiate with "willing owners" the purchase of private land surrounded by the 550-acre federal park, said Rep. Jo Ann Davis, whose 1st District covers most of the Fredericksburg area and the Northern Neck.

Larry A. Muse, a Westmoreland farmer, owns about 108 acres of land surrounded by the park. The property, which has been in his family for more than 300 years, is currently listed for sale at nearly $2 million.

Bush's approval Tuesday of the authorization cleared "a huge hurdle," said Chris Connelly, an aide to Davis. Now, he said, The National Park Service must "hammer out a deal" with the owners, he said.

A federal appraisal of the property also must be made. A congressional appropriation to buy the property cannot exceed the appraisal, Connelly said.

"It's just a matter of time before Congress appropriates the money," he said. "A 2003 appropriation is an outside chance, but the odds are better for 2004."

Alex Long, a real-estate agent representing Muse, said, "Whoever comes first with the money gets the brass ring."

"I think George Washington would be just as happy with a private party owning it as he would be with the federales owning it," he said.

Two tracts of Muse land are advertised on Long's Web site. A 44-acre parcel with 2,000 feet of Potomac River shoreline is listed at $995,000. A 63.5-acre tract beside Popes Creek also is for sale at $995,000.

Westmoreland County assesses the two parcels for tax purposes at $287,000.

Long said a number of private individuals "have looked at it and been very interested in it." He also said he has been discussing the sale of the land with a "third-party nonprofit organization" he declined to identify.

Susan Friend, a spokeswoman for the Trust for Public Land, said that organization was aware of the Muse property and hopes it can be acquired for public use. The trust's Lower Potomac River Initiative has helped protect more than 5,000 acres along the river and its tributaries in Virginia and Maryland, Friend said.

Long has said that Muse wants to reserve his home and four acres from sale to private or public parties. A Muse cousin owns another residence on one acre.

Near the two houses the Muse Reunion Association own a 1,600-square-foot plot where a monument commemorates John Muse (1633-1723), who settled the property in 1668 and founded the Muse family in America.

Rep. Davis introduced legislation a year ago to authorize acquisition of the property. It passed the House in September and the Senate last month.

The authorization also requires the George Washington Birthplace National Monument "to preserve and interpret the history and resources associated with George Washington, the generations of the Washington family who lived in the vicinity and their contemporaries, and 18th-century plantation life and society."

Date published: 12/19/2002