Last May, we were grateful to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for placing the Wilderness Battlefield Area on its annual list of the country’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, citing the threat posed by the Wilderness Crossing development proposal and its potential influx of residential, commercial, industrial and data center infrastructure at the edge of the national park.
The American Battlefield Trust has been leading the charge against this mega-development, joined as plaintiffs by the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield, and local residents. Likewise, we’ve partnered with the Coalition to Protect Prince William County to file suit over an even-larger data center development in Prince William County impacting the Manassas Battlefield. And those aren’t the only instances: the proliferation of data centers in Virginia and neighboring states is casting a shadow over the future of our historic battlefields.
It’s the remarkable scale and scope of the threat that our friends at Preservation Virginia are responding to this week, placing the collective group of “Historic Sites Impacted by Data Centers” on its 2025 statewide endangered listing. As the report explains, the threat of data centers is not limited to just battlefields. Further, because of the broader infrastructure needed to supply data centers with massive quantities of water and electricity, the impact on historic treasures stretches far beyond the footprint of the bleak, football-field-sized buildings themselves.
We are thankful to have strong and determined allies with us in the trenches on these fights, such as groups filing amicus briefs in support of the cases and working alongside us to advance the cause.
With renewed attention on the data center threat, I also want to offer you this update on our lawsuits.
As you may recall, in the Prince William Digital Gateway matter, a circuit court judge ruled against our case moving to trial last October. But we believe the court erred in its interpretation of state law and a county ordinance. We appealed the ruling, focusing on serious procedural failings by the county. A key point of argument is the lack of proper notice given to the community in announcing the final hearing of the rezoning process, a point also raised by a separate lawsuit on the matter. We anticipate we will have a hearing before the Virginia Court of Appeals sometime in the late summer or early fall and will provide updates once solidified.
On the Wilderness Crossing case, a similar demurrer hearing was held in March. Unlike the Prince William County hearing, the judge did not rule immediately from the bench, so the matter has not yet been resolved. A formal decision from the judge is not expected until late summer or early fall. However, we feel confident in our argument that this case deserves to be moved to trial. During the same session, the judge ruled in our favor that amicus briefs from allied organizations, including the Piedmont Environmental Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, would be admitted to the formal record in the case.
We can’t let up the pressure in either of these high-stakes cases, because we know they could be just the tip of the iceberg. Battlefields and other historic sites across the state and throughout the country are similarly vulnerable to this intensive and insensitive development. And we can never forget that behind these data centers are some of the wealthiest corporations in the world. Thank you for standing with us – your support for the Trust’s advocacy work enables us to fight the good fight in defense of history.
With great appreciation,
Jim Campi
Chief Policy and Communications Officer
American Battlefield Trust
P.S. A gift toward our advocacy efforts helps us push back against inappropriate development on America's battlefields — just like we have done at Princeton, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and elsewhere. Please make a gift to support our advocacy work today!