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IMPLE VALUES PREVAIL in the communities of Culpeper, Raccoon Ford and Winston--also known as ZIP code 22701.
Folks tend to shout across a busy diner when they see someone they know.
Motorists on Main Street usually yield to pedestrians.
And an American flag waves proudly from the green, antebellum house that Willie Martin has called his home since 1928.
Martin, who can still point to the room in which he was born that year, fondly remembers growing up on Culpeper's Southeast Street in the 1855 house that originally stood on a six-acre lot.
"Back many years ago, we had cows. Now, still, everybody's got big lots and mows grass," he said.
His father, T.I. Martin, was mayor from 1957 to 1970. The younger Martin recalled that at the time he could stand on the town's main drag, Davis Street, knowing half the people who passed by name and recognizing the other half.
For some of the ZIP code's approximately 22,000 current residents, however (roughly the same number as live in the city of Fredericksburg), the region's easygoing days may seem numbered.
The growing challengeMigration is rapidly changing Culpeper's rural landscape. From 2000 to 2004, the town's population increased 15 percent, compared with a 13 percent increase over the previous 10 years. That made it the fastest-growing town in Virginia.
Meanwhile, the entire county of Culpeper grew by about 40 percent over the past 15 years, and another 40 percent population boost is projected for the next 15 years.
By 2020, in fact, Culpeper County planners anticipate a population of about 55,000--essentially double what it was in 1990.
The influx has been welcomed for the most part among longtime residents of the town, which 30 years ago was dead by comparison. "We're getting some nice growth," said Martin, a member of the Tourism Advisory Committee.
Many of the newcomers are former residents of Fairfax and Loudoun counties who drifted down U.S. 29 in search of cheaper living conditions, wide-open spaces or a place to raise a family. In the process, they've boosted Culpeper's economy. The county currently is awaiting the arrival of Target and Kohl's department stores.
Additionally, the Germanna Technical Center, the Library of Congress' National Audio-Visual Conservation Center and a new high school, all forthcoming projects, are expected to usher in an "educational renaissance," said Culpeper native John J. "Butch" Davies, a lawyer and former General Assembly delegate.
But Davies added that the pace of growth has been a challenge, if not a concern, for locals.
Culpeper now must implement smart-growth techniques that will sustain the county's agricultural charm and protect the well-being of lower-income residents, while providing added services to entice wealthy newcomers.
"We've benefited from the realization of practical government here," Davies said. "We don't want to lose that balance."
'A high and pleasant situation'
Perhaps Culpeper's residents had an eye toward future development during the county's 1949 bicentennial celebration. About that time, said Martin, the county got a new nickname, "The Hub of Northern Virginia."
These days, four major thoroughfares meet in Culpeper: State Route 3, U.S. 15, U.S. 29 and U.S. 522. They connect not only with Northern Virginia and the Washington exurbs, but with destinations like Fredericksburg, Charlottesville and Winchester.
"When they market real estate, they say 'location, location, location,'" said Davies. "We've been blessed with a great location."
In fact, Culpeper's location has always played a significant part in its identity. Two months after the county received its charter, a 17-year-old George Washington came to Culpeper as official surveyor and described it as a "high and pleasant situation," according to local history.
The town also saw major Civil War conflicts at Cedar Mountain and Brandy Station.
"Culpeper was more marched-across and camped-upon than any locality in the nation during the War Between the States," said Virginia Morton, a tour guide and author of the fictional "Marching Through Culpeper."
Following a September 1863 Confederate defeat, more than 120,000 Union troops took up winter residence in Culpeper. Houses like Martin's on Southeast Street were used as hospitals.
"Culpeper was literally laid bare," said Davies.
It was the town's perseverance in rebuilding after the war, though, that left a more permanent mark on the community, he said.
"From that came a spirit of independence, a little bit of a maverick streak. I think it's still there."
A Main Street communityIronically, it wasn't invading forces but a loss of interest that proved Culpeper's undoing in the 20th century.
According to some, it was the appearance of the U.S. 29 Bypass in 1972 that hurt the local economy by allowing traffic to go around town. Davies said the relocation of the liquor store to the Southgate Shopping Center also may have been involved.
Either way, the downtown district lost many of its storefronts through the 1970s.
The town's historic buildings, lacking much-needed infrastructure and support, began to crumble under the weight of the modern era.
"It wasn't a ghost town, but a very small community--everybody knew everybody," said Morton, who arrived from Chesterfield County in 1969. "There weren't a lot of young couples."
In the late 1980s, the town undertook the project of revitalizing its downtown.
Following a comprehensive plan that incorporated design and promotion, Culpeper achieved the status of a Virginia Main Street Community in 1988. In the early '90s, it made the Top 10 in Norman Crampton's guide, "The 100 Best Small Towns in America."
More than bricks and mortarTourism is now a major industry in Culpeper. In fact, said Morton, many of those who are new to the area seem more interested in taking tours and reading about its history than longtime residents do.
Those arriving from overdeveloped regions also are motivated not to let the same thing happen in Culpeper, she said.
"It's the epitome of small-town America, and we'd like to keep it that way."
Davies said "pride of place" had part to do with Culpeper's sense of identity. But keeping residents active and involved was fundamental to preserving that idea.
"It's people who make a community," he said. "Bricks and mortar are just serving a community."
By taking part in the community, townspeople embraced the spirit of small-town life, said Julie Settle, a branch manager at Culpeper's SunTrust Mortgage.
For the past decade, Settle, a 15-year Culpeper resident, co-chaired the town's Fourth of July Committee, which plans an annual parade and fireworks display in Yowell Meadow Park.
"Small town and patriotism go hand in hand," she said.
So when Culpeper's Army Reserve unit was called into active duty last spring, the 34-year-old mother of two coordinated the troops' send-off to Iraq.
Settle was so inspired that she also began an Adopt-a-Soldier program for community members to correspond with troops from Culpeper and the Piedmont area.
Martin, who volunteered with the local fire department and rescue squad, agreed that people's participation was the secret to a thriving community. But for him, the changes each passing year bring seem only to add to the spirit of Culpeper.
"Newcomers have come and all taken part in what's going on," he said. "Everybody's trying to make the town better."
BEN SELLERS is a Life reporter with
