In late 2009, Orange County supervisors approved a special use permit for a proposed Walmart on 55 acres of land located near the 2,774-acre Wilderness Battlefield. Last March, a spokesperson for Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield—which filed a civil suit against Orange County supervisors to prevent the store’s construction—told C-VILLE that preservationists can’t easily relocate a battlefield.
"They can relocate a building that hasn’t even broken ground yet," she said.
Ultimately, that may be the path Walmart takes. This morning, representatives for the store told an Orange County Circuit Court that Walmart would no longer pursue the special use permit for the site, according to reports. According to the Culpeper Star-Exponent, Walmart will hold and preserve the land, but not develop it.
Stay tuned to c-ville.com for more as the story develops. And, to see how Walmart and Wilderness made their way to the courtroom, click here.