Revolution monument near park: A matter of ownership

George W. Bryson / How I See It
Published: March 23, 2008

At the Town Council meeting this month, once again there was a coverup in what has been going on regarding the Daughters of the American Revolution monument between Yowell Meadow Park and the Lakeview subdivision.

I thought freedom of information was important to the local papers, but it seems to be selective as to what is made known to the citizens.

At the meeting, I provided the council members, mayor and town clerk information with pictures relating to the situation. The information was collected when my wife was regent of the Culpeper Minutemen chapter and the Lakeview subdivision developer (K&M) had graded nearby land where it was almost impossible for the elderly ladies to get to their monument.

Upon seeing the condition of that area, my wife and I met the town engineer. He said that the developer had proffered that lot to the ladies. We questioned him and he said they had more than what they had.

This was years ago. I have continuously gone to council meetings trying to get them to have the developer deed the lot, as promised to my wife, to the DAR.

The DAR owned the lot (20 feet by 20 feet) by deed from E.P. Duncan, then owner of Catalpa Farm. According to my research, this deed was recorded in the clerk of the courts office with rights of ingress and egress, dated Nov. 15, 1924. There was another survey made with a plat, and this was recorded on the second day of June 1971.

A survey was made for the Culpeper Federal Bank in the late 1990s showing the location of the monument lot almost five feet into the Catalpa Farm land.

When the developer divided the lots in this section, he showed the monument with what he labeled the monument lot. This was what the town engineer told my wife had been proffered. He didn't show us a written agreement.

A man by the name of Kamel told my wife to go ahead and landscape the lot, that he was going to deed it to the DAR. Time went by, and this wasn't done.

Now, several easements have been placed on that lot for access to a storm drain management pool and utilities. But because of the dedicated efforts of volunteers, there are also steps and a walkway for a walking and bike trail.

Despite all of this, the town now owns the monument lot, as council voted March 12 to accept it as a donation from the landowner.

It doesn't take long, if you understand what has taken place, that all of this was to keep the monument from having to be moved. It was also done to protect what the town has been involved in, and it appears from what happened at the town planning meeting that it was a way for K&M to get additional lots.

I am sure that most of the women in the DAR chapter don't know what has transpired. What has been done to the different monuments at Elkwood, Fairview Cemetery and on Monument Avenue is certainly not right.