JMU Builds New Road for Turner Ashby Monument
By WHITNEY SUNTUM
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- JMU is finally constructing a new entrance for the Turner Ashby Monument after a struggle between the college and local residents concerned about preserving the land around it in its original form.
The Turner Ashby Monument is the historic site where Confederate General Turner Ashby fell during the Civil War Battle of Harrisonburg on June 6, 1962. General Ashby was shot and killed near a tree, which has been replaced by a pin that exists at the monument.
What became a sometimes contentious argument over the new road arose because the Turner Ashby Chapter 162 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) owns the monument, while the land surrounding it belongs to JMU.
The university has been proprietor since 2003, when it bought about 47 acres of land, reported an article in Harrisonburg's Daily News Record (DNR). The property includes the piece of land on the corner of Neff Avenue and Port Republic Road, which “the university intends to use for recreational fields,” said JMU spokesman Don Egle.
It was a year and a half ago when JMU proposed making the new road so the monument would be more accessible, encouraging more visitors and field trips, according to Egle. But, the UDC, was hesitant because of the historic land that would be used. The UDC chapter president, Nancy Gum, told the DNR that she preferred that the road stay in the same spot. Along with the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), she has been trying to preserve the historic land as much as possible and even attempted to have it declared a state park, according to the DNR.
In August, the DNR reported that Gum feared “everyone has forgotten or decided to ignore that there was a battle of Harrisonburg.”
Since then, the UDC, JMU and their attorneys have met to discuss their differences. Egle reported JMU and the UDC have worked closely, determining the logistics for the new road and have discussed the idea of creating a buffer zone around the monument in the future.
Now that the road is under construction to be moved, Gum said, “she is happy with the outcome, it will be a great improvement.” Gum hopes that after the new road is built visits will increase “by tourists and all.”
Betty Martin, Treasurer of the Turner Ashby Chapter of the UDC, and former chapter president said, “we have our doubts,” when asked about the new road in an interview. “We are concerned about having enough space for the buses to turn,” said Martin. But if the construction goes well, Gum and Martin agree that the new road will be, “best for both,” JMU and the historic land.