Cultural Heritage Drives Economic Development

Old Dominion Resource Conservation & Development Council used history to increase the local economy through tourism.  The Wilson Kautz Driving Trail offers historical interpretation at 26 Civil War sites in nine counties and the City of Petersburg.  The RC&D provided funds from the Virginia Department of Transportation to build the trail.  They also researched historic locations, contracted for interpretive signs, and coordinated marketing of the trail.   

The trail has proved a boon to local economies.  In fact, Civil War trails are the second most popular visitor attractions in the state.  Since the trail opened, thousands of people have come to Southside Virginia.  These Civil War trails have boosted the region’s economy by more than $6 million.

Along the trail, large metal signs recount the battles which occurred on this land-- the most fought over ground during the final days of the Civil War.   They carry details and pictures of a raid on one of the major Confederate supply lines by Union Generals James Wilson and August Kautz.  The Army of Northern Virginia under the command of Confederate General Robert E. Lee were under siege in Petersburg.  Union General Ulysses S. Grant had ordered Wilson and Kautz to tear up the railroad line from Petersburg to the North Carolina border, and to burn the train depots along the way.  Grant’s idea was to take control of Petersburg and Richmond, and force the South to surrender. 

 Now, 140 years later, the trail is being used by the West Point Military Academy’s Cavalry and Scout Club as part of their cadets’ military field training.  One of the cadets to visit the trail was Captain Andres Houghton who was fatally wounded in combat in Iraq.  His family has established an endowment to sponsor the trip each year as a memorial to Captain Houghton.  An article in the Military Academy newsletter noted, “The staff ride extends the legacy of his honorable service and provides the cadets of the Cavalry Club with a model of dedicated service and officership to emulate.”

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