1997 Menokin Receives First of Three Easements
Aerial Photograph of Menokin in early 2000’s.
Three easements were secured for Menokin with the help of early Menokin Foundation team members including Martin King, George Freeman, Helen and Tayloe Murphy and Calder Loth in order to protect Menokin from development, as well as to raise funds to begin preservation projects.
Gov. Tim Kaine and Calder Loth from article on endorsement of Menokin Easement from the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1997
The three easements included:
1997 — Deed of Easement with the Commonwealth of Virginia, Board of Historic Resources (VBHR) for protecting “the historic curtilage” around the Menokin ruin. The easement consisted of less than 2 acres but was the first important step in saving the Menokin property in perpetuity.
2005 — Deed of Easement for a Wildlife Habitat Conservation between the Menokin Foundation and US Department of Fish and Wildlife Service. This easement raised the first major funding for the Menokin Foundation to begin archaeology and early exploratory analysis of the ruin to determine a course of action for historic preservation.
2008 — Commonwealth of Virginia, Board of Historic Resources (VBHR) created an easement of the remaining 172 acres of Menokin’s historic property called the “Menokin Core Area.” This 172 acre easement protected areas of heavy agricultural activity and included archaeological sites of human habitation from pre-colonial colonization to enslaved laborers of African ancestry.
Additionally, a land grant was made as a “Deed of Exchange” in May, 2006 between Menokin and its neighbors to secure a parcel of land to allow access and signage to the property from Menokin Road. This land exchange resulted in the 500 acres of protected landscape that exists today.
Read the easements in full via the links below:
1997 — Commonwealth of Virginia, Board of Historic Resources (VBHR)
2005 — US Department of Fish and Wildlife Service
2008 — Commonwealth of Virginia, Board of Historic Resources (VBHR) “Menokin Core Area”