Charles Hurt

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Dr. Charles Hurt is a developer, owner of the Virginia Land Company, and one of Albemarle County's second-largest landowner, holding 3,155 acres with a 2009 assessed value $132 million[1]. Hurt keeps a low profile and prefers not to be the public front for his operations[2].

Hurt also has an ownership stake in Dominion Development Resources[3].


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Hessian cemetery?

In 1978, Hurt sought permission from Albemarle County to move a graveyard in the Ivy Farms subdivision off of Garth Road. The cemetery in question dated back to the 18th and early 19th centuries. [4] The request was opposed by Harry Garth as well as the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society.[5] Bernard Chamberlain of the society maintained that the remains were of Hessian and British prisoners of war who had been kept in Albemarle County after the Battle of Saratoga. By March of 1982, a compromise was reached. Hurt was allowed to build next to the site and had to place a plaque commemorating the burial ground. Whether the Hessians are truly buried there remains a mystery. [6]

Around the turn of the twenty-first century, the site of Monasukapanough was owned by Hurt, who offered 20 acres of his property (including the area of the former village) on a long-term, no-payment lease to the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle (SOCA) for a new soccer complex. At the urging of the UVA professor Jeffrey Hantman (who wished to begin excavating the area with his students), representatives of The Archaeological Conservancy and the Monacan Nation began working closely with both Hurt and SOCA to protect the portion of the field that included the site of Monasukapanough as a permanent archaeological preserve. According to Hantman, Albemarle County officials had already known the site was likely a significant historical location and for this reason had flagged the county planners; however, due to no zoning ordinances for private land existing at that time, none of the federal laws on the subject were activated. In 2001, Hantman and his students conducted a field school on the site and contributed their time, working with SOCA officials in a spirit of cooperation.

References

  1. Charlottesville and Albemarle's top 10 private property owners Chiara Canzi, C-Ville Weekly, 3/24/09, retrieved 10 Jun 2009.
  2. "When it comes to power in Charlottesville, who's at the top?" Weblog post. C-Ville Weekly. 28 Apr. 2009. Web. 14 Aug. 2009. <http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=121304064644348&z_Issue_ID=11802704092637778&ShowArchiveArticle_ID=11802704093940216&Year=2009>.
  3. Money pit: Quarry offered as dredging base Hawes Spencer, The Hook 15 May 2008, retrieved 10 Jun 2009.
  4. Print: Hurt Wants To Move Old Cemetery, Peter Bacque, Daily Progress, Worrell Newspaper group October 7, 1978, Page .
  5. Print: Plan To Move Old Graveyard Opposed, Peter Bacque, Daily Progress, Worrell Newspaper group October 12, 1978, Page .
  6. Print: Hessian Site Compromise Reached, Robert Brickhouse, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises March 4, 1982, Page .