Virginia Man Accuses Developer Of Harming 200-Year-Old Grave
STAFFORD, Va. (AP) -- A Virginia landowner and a housing developer are engaged in a dispute over reported damage to 200-year-old headstones at a revolutionary war-era cemetery.
The Freelance-Star reports 70-year-old Gordon Silleck noticed headstones displaced and ground disturbed at Liberty Hall farm, a property he says was once owned by his distant relatives in Stafford, Virginia. Sellick says the burial ground houses his great-great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather, a Civil War veteran.
Today, most of the land is cleared for Liberty Hall Estates, a housing development by Jumping Branch Farms. County officials say photos show vegetation removed, equipment tracks and headstones moved. They've cited the developer for violating cemetery preservation ordinances.
The developer's attorney says his client didn't damage the cemetery and has appealed the Board of Zoning Appeals' nine citations, but three remain.
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