The second public meeting on the proposed designation of Gwynn’s Island as a historic district will be held at 6 o’clock tonight, Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Gwynn’s Island Civic Center at 1996 Old Ferry Road.
A handout prepared by Marc Wagner of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources provides facts about the island and answers to some questions that were raised at a recent Gwynn’s Island Civic League meeting.
Wagner noted that the Gwynn’s Island Historic District would cover history from early colonial settlement to the Revolutionary War, as well as the island’s boat building and waterman heritage, among other things. He emphasized that not every community is eligible for historic designation and that being listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places “is a tremendous honor for a community.”
“It’s a patriotic recognition that a community or large area represents significant history in the commonwealth,” he said.
In numbers, the Gwynn’s Island Historic District would include 673 structures that contribute to the district, as well as 768 structures that do not contribute because they’re more modern buildings. The numbers seem high, he said, because sheds and secondary buildings are included.
Mathews tax records show that there are 1,059 property owners on the island, which covers 1,425 acres, including the bridge and a small area on the land side of the bridge.
In answer to questions raised from residents, Wagner explained that designating an area as an historic district has no effect on property assessments or taxes.
“Those are in the purview of the county or dependent on the local real estate market,” he said.
It will also have no effect on building, demolishing, repairing or rebuilding homes, seawalls, piers and other structures or obtaining permits for such construction. Landowners will still have to abide by local building regulations and consult with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for some work on the waterfront, regardless of whether there is a listed historic district.
While the Code of Virginia allows localities to create their own local historic districts, Mathews County has expressed no plans to create a historic district on the island, said Wagner. He explained that this was not done when the Mathews Downtown Historic District was listed five years ago, and he said most counties in Virginia do not have local district ordinances. They do, however, have multiple state and federal honorary districts, he said.
A listing in the two historic registers does not create any federal or state park, said Wagner, and the National Park Service and Virginia State Parks have no direct role in a historic district. The National Park Service just serves as the keeper of the National Register list, he said, and it reviews district nominations and places them on a list of significant places.
While people have expressed concern about an increase in tourist traffic, Wagner said that hasn’t happened in other historic districts, including places like Tangier, which wants more tourists. If a locality wants more tourism, the Virginia Tourism Corporation will work with it if asked, he said. And a listing as a historic district doesn’t not mean that tourists are allowed to trespass on private property.
Benefits that could come from being listed in the historic registers include such things as “a leg up” when applying for state and federal grants or seeking aid after a storm has damaged property. There is also a Rehabilitation Tax Credit program that can be used on historic buildings that need “substantial investment,” said Wagner.
Finally, when large projects such as harbor dredging or bridge or jetty construction or replacement are proposed, DHR may be contacted to make recommendations that improve the project design to lower impacts to historic areas.
However, said Wagner, “the district does not stop a project. It does not save historic resources that may be in the way of a project.”
“For instance,” he said, “if a historic bridge has served to the point where it is worn out and VDOT can’t work with the older materials, the bridge will get replaced.”
For more information about the proposed listing, visit dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/057- 5467_Gwynns_Island_HD_2023_NRHP_DraftFINAL.pdf.