Proposed tourist direction signs for Stafford County have taken a new turn, thanks to the George Washington dig.
A special Wayfinding Task Group, comprising a design firm and a dozen or so county, state and federal officials, has been working since last May on new tourist signage for Stafford's highways and byways. The goal is to catch visitors' attention and guide them to the county's historical, recreational, cultural and scenic offerings.
The team last met formally June 12 and looked at initial design proposals by Frazier Associates, a Shenandoah Valley firm. It also did the signage for the Williamsburg-Jamestown-Yorktown triangle in connection with last year's 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America.
Major aspects of the Stafford designs in June included colors, a stylized river (representing the Potomac and/or the Rappahannock) and a slogan, "Foundation of Freedom," seen as a reference to the many Founding Fathers linked to this area. The group then adjourned to mull the fine points of the proposed designs.
Three weeks later, on July 2, came the announcement at Ferry Farm that a three-year archaeological dig had confirmed the discovery of the foundation of the home where George Washington lived from age 6 until his teens.
"This changed everything," said M.C. Moncure, Stafford's tourism manager and a member of the task group.
Over the summer, Frazier Associates went back to the drawing board. Last Thursday the group met for the first time since June and looked at computer projections of four new designs. There on the screen was George.
The colors--marine blue, maroon and white--remain the same, as do the typefaces and basic sign structures. Out are the river design and the "Foundation of Freedom" slogan. In are the slogan "George Washington's Boyhood Home" and variations on a Washington profile. A quirky proposed addition is a silhouette of a Colonial youth rolling a hoop.
The group discussion was lively. Paul Milde, one of two county supervisors on the committee, said he liked the designs, although he questioned the silhouetted hoop-roller. Chairman George Schwartz said he thought the hoop figure emphasized the "boyhood home" aspect of the signs. There was a general enthusiasm for the new concept.
Group member Rick Burgess, VDOT's senior transportation engineer for highway sign programs, said, "I think this has real originality to it." He said that, once the signs were up, there would be a three-year state evaluation period during which the signs could be ordered changed if safety issues arose.
The Board of Supervisors has to initially approve the designs and the cost of putting the signs up before work can proceed. It is hoped that at least test versions of the signs could be in place by spring. "I think the new signage could be one of the most exciting things to happen to the Stafford tourist industry," Moncure said.
Hugh Muir: 540/735-1975
Email: hmuir@freelancestar.com