Fort Monroe commemorates 10th anniversary of Army’s pullout from the military post
When the Army transferred the management of the storied Fort Monroe to Virginia in 2011, an early vision hinged on tapping into the fort’s real estate potential.
With the property’s management — the Fort Monroe Authority and its Board of Trustees — there were discussions about the infrastructure, utilities and what environmental hazards were buried beneath it. A fiery debate over transferring 40-acres of coastal land facing the Chesapeake Bay to the National Park Service still burns. A push to move sections of the 565-acre site into the marketplace for commercial redevelopment is on the front burner.
In recent years, however, officials have focused more on promoting the fort’s history.
“I think that what we have realized over the course of the last 10 years, is the amazing opportunity for education and an interpretation of history,” says Fort Monroe Authority executive director Glenn Oder. “That’s never been discussed before.”
Saturday, Fort Monroe Authority and the National Park Service will host an all-day commemoration for the 10th anniversary of the Army’s transfer of Fort Monroe to Virginia. The commemoration will feature a special tribute to the fort’s 188-year past, its present and future, and a Fort Eustis-based band will play live music. A color guard will raise the U.S. flag over the ramparts on top of the inner fort.
Guest speakers include Lt. Gen. Marie Gervais, deputy commanding general at Fort Eustis, the first woman in this role. Throughout the day, the commemoration will have a festival-like feel with living historic interpreters, interactive booths, artifact and archival collections and food. The event hopes to draw former military personnel and the community to the sprawling island campus surrounded by Mill Creek and the Chesapeake Bay.
“These three entities are coming back together to celebrate progress, “says Françiose Bonnell, Fort Monroe’s director of museums, education and interpretation. “Did anybody have any concept of what we would look like today? And the answer is probably no.”
Over the past decade, Hampton Roads has witnessed substantial change at the fort. The closure of the base began in 2005, along with nearly two dozen military installations around the country, said Fort Monroe spokeswoman Phyllis Terrell.
In 2011, when then-president Barack Obama designated it a national federal monument, the authority juggled shared ownership with the Army and the park service. As it sought to work out kinks with deed transfers, officials there faced challenges with salvaging aging buildings and preserving historic structures.
And all on a shoestring budget.
The authority receives state funding annually — $6.1 million as of this fiscal year — to manage the property. It also sought ways to generate additional revenue with housing rentals — effectively becoming a landlord to hundreds of tenants. It leases to businesses and other community organizations. In 2011, there were less than five businesses at Fort Monroe. Now it’s home to 30 businesses, restaurants and state agencies.
The Army’s pullout also hit Hampton’s purse strings. Fort Monroe had employed up to 4,500 military, civilian and contractor employees, Hampton City Manager Mary Bunting said in an email. The effort accounted for over $300 million in economic activity for Hampton. The closure took place during a national recession and when real estate values had nosedived in Hampton.
The city now partners with the Fort Monroe Authority with its efforts to push tourism and redevelopment, but there are still tons of challenges.
“Every single component at Fort Monroe has outlived its useful life expectancy,” Oder said. “Roofs that were designed to last 50 years are 100 years old. Air conditioners that should have been replaced at 15 years, are 25 years old.”
In 2018, work began on renovating the former coast artillery building, into the Visitor and Education Center on Ingalls Road. Parts of the building resemble a mini museum with more than five centuries of history that took place at Old Point Comfort. The history includes the story of the first Africans who landed in the Virginia colonies in 1619. It also featured the three Hampton slaves who sought refuge at Fort Monroe. They became contraband of war and later a catalyst for a movement of thousands more who came to “Freedom’s Fortress.”
Other notable changes to the landscape include renovations at the Casemate Museum, formally an Army museum. The museum preserved a casemate cell where former Confederate president Jefferson Davis was briefly incarcerated in 1865. Nearby the museum, an iron arch built on the ramparts memorialized Davis with his name splayed across the top in gigantic metal letters, but since 2019, state officials had his name stripped off.
Now the authority is working with a sculptor to design and install a large-scale memorial honoring first Africans. Fort Monroe officially announced plans for that memorial during the 400th anniversary commemoration in 2019, which drew thousands from around the world.
As of July, the Pack Brothers Hospitality, Smithfield-based developers, have entered into a $40 million deal with Fort Monroe to redevelop the marina.
The commemoration runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional information is available at fortmonroe.org or calling 757-690-8181.
Lisa Vernon Sparks, 757-247-4832, lvernonsparks@dailypress.com
