Ground broken on Fort Nonsense park project
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Groundbreaking for the new historical park at Fort Nonsense in Mathews was held Tuesday in spite of a persistent rain. Participating in the ceremony were, from left, project manager Frank Lansinger of the Mathews County Historical Society; MCHS president Reed Lawson; county supervisor O.J. Cole; Terry Putt; supervisors Neena Putt, Charles Ingram and Edwina Casey; former county administrator and MCHS member Steve Whiteway; former project manager Pete Jennette of MCHS; county administrator Mindy Moran, and Bill Spivey of Land Studio, the company that designed and is overseeing the project. Photo by Sherry Hamilton
It was the culmination of 10 years of focused work for the Mathews County Historical Society and the group of members who conceived of the project and are seeing it through to its conclusion.
Those members were Carlton Brooks, Frank Lansinger, Steve Whiteway, Pete Jennette and Earl Soles, said the society’s president, Reed Lawson, adding that the project was also guided by the efforts of the organization’s past presidents, Steve Wilson, Stu Allen, Terry Pletcher and Doug Wilton.
"Our thanks to them for their perseverance and tenacity, their time and energies to make this day happen," said Lawson. "Our thanks to the county for accepting Fort Nonsense and to VDOT and Land Studio for creating this perfect gateway historical park."
Land Studio is the design and engineering company that developed and guided the project.
Lansinger thanked the 30 or so people who braved the rain and mud to attend the brief ceremony. In spite of the weather, he said, "it’s a wonderful day."
"It has taken 10 years to achieve this with fits and starts and everybody doing their best to make it happen," said Lansinger. He said he expected construction to take three or four months, and pointed out that the construction company had already started marking trees that will have to be removed to clear the earthworks and make the terrain of the fort visible.
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