A historic Black farming community in western Prince William County, Virginia, which used to be known as “The Settlement,” will soon be the location of up to 210 new homes.
Last week, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved a rezoning, which will allow the Grayson Overlook project to move forward. According to county documents, up to 210 single-family homes will be built on four properties in the area bordered by Old Carolina Road, U.S. Route 29 and Carver Road.
“The Settlement” was one of the few places in the county where emancipated formerly enslaved people could purchase land after the Civil War through the Jim Crow period.
“I am the grandson of the original property owners,” Clayton Powell told the board during the hearing.
The property was purchased in 1920, by his late grandparents Alfred and Frankie Strother. It was a farm until they died in 1969, Powell said.
His grandparents bought the property “with the intention of passing down their wealth to the next generation,” which included his mother and uncle. But because the land is zoned only for agriculture, its current owners have not been able to sell.
Powell’s cousin, James Jackson, said all his siblings died waiting for the land to be rezoned so their children could cash in on their ancestors’ investment.
“Can you imagine just waiting on anything for 26 years?” Jackson said. “You get to be disappointed and bitter, because all around you there’s development and our property is still sitting there — when are we going to get a green light?”
As part of the development, K. Hovnanian Homes will extend Thoroughfare Road, from where it currently ends at Old Carolina Road to Newfoundland Way. The company will also add additional turn lanes where Old Carolina intersects with U.S. 29.
Raymond Bernot, who lives on Old Carolina Road, expressed concern about adding traffic from 200-plus homes: “I don’t know where the people are going to go.”
The development will include playgrounds, athletic courts, a pavilion with a fire pit and benches, and a gazebo near the community’s stormwater management pond.
Supervisor Tom Gordy, whose Brentsville district includes Grayson Overlook, said the school board will likely have to redraw school attendance zones. Gordy said the board worked with the families and neighbors, and developers will include three historical markers to commemorate the history of The Settlement.
Gainesville district supervisor Bob Weir was the sole opposing vote, saying the development continues a county problem of approving freestanding developments without considering how to maximize county resources.
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