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held in Warrenton by the State Highway Commission to hear road improvement requests from the counties in the Culpeper District. The counties were heard in alphabetical order: 30 minutes each to state their case. Earlier, on March 1, 1928, the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors had voted to ask, as part of its request, for an improvement on Slate Mills Road (Route 707) so as to have a good connector between F.T. Valley Road (Route 231) and the Sperryville Pike (U.S. 522). But this was a public hearing and there were some people who thought that Hawlin Road (Route 618) was a better connector. Both roads were then unimproved dirt roads.
When the county’s turn came, the Slate Mills Road supporters squared off against the Hawlin Road supporters. The leader of the Slate Mills group presented his case saying he was backed by a large delegation from that section of the county. He turned to the audience and asked his delegation to rise. Practically the entire audience stood up. The Hawlin Road group went down in flames, but not before one of its members stated that one square mile of land in the Hawlin vicinity would produce more than the entire Slate Mills section.
So how does Slate Mills Road look today, 70 years later, compared to Hawlin Road? Slate Mills Road went from dirt to gravel to being fully paved. It’s now a commuter route, with many speeding along on their missions. That’s its nature. Hawlin Road went from a dirt road to a gravel road. It is very tranquil to drive along, tree shaded, cool in the summer time, quiet, a truly rural road. That’s its nature. Times change, attitudes change: public hearings have an effect.
This is the first of a twopart series on the Six-Year Plan. Next: the content of the Six-Year Plan.
Don Audette
Sperryville
94.5%