A Marshall Plan That Failed Miserably

A Marshall Plan That Failed Miserably

By John T. Toler

Population growth in Fauquier County over the years has been marked by the establishment of three incorporated towns, with Warrenton in the center, The Plains in the north, and Remington in the south.

While still part of Fauquier County, these towns are incorporated under a state charter, giving them greater local control. They’re led by their own elected officials and governing boards, including planning and zoning, as well as control over taxation and services.

Warrenton was chartered in 1810 and has a population just under 10,000. Remington, dating back to 1890, has just over 650 residents. And The Plains, chartered in 1910, has around 240.

Marshall is the county’s largest unincorporated town – classified as a “Census Designated Place” – consisting of 2.9 square miles and home to about 2,000 residents. Currently completing a massive infrastructure project on Main Street, Marshall is a growing, dynamic community with a proud past.

In 1797, enterprising citizens living in the area that became Marshall petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to enact legislation to establish a town there, which was originally called Salem. Located at the intersection of the main roads leading from the port cities in the east to the Shenandoah Valley, Salem grew over the years. With the building of the Manassas Gap Railroad, it became a major shipping point for cattle and grain crops. The name was changed to Marshall in December,1881.

Marshall’s only motion picture theater was opened in the Kibler building on Main Street in the mid-1930s, during the brief time Marshall was incorporated.

By the early 20th century, Marshall had limited electricity and water systems. Led first by the Marshall Improvement Company (1907) and later by the Marshall Chamber of Commerce (1924), there were efforts to attract business. By the mid-1920s, Marshall had a bank, a newspaper, a grain elevator, a creamery, a canning company and supply stations for two oil companies.

The Great Depression (1929 to 1939) hit Marshall hard, and the Chamber’s efforts to save the town’s economy by adding new businesses failed. Many citizens were on welfare and food relief programs. Could government funding help?

In August, 1933, “A letter from the National Recovery Administration (NRA) aroused some interest, and the Chamber announced that it was the only official body that could act for Marshall,” wrote historian John K. Gott in High in the Old Virginia Piedmont, a History of Marshall, Fauquier County, Virginia (1987). “The NRA was unimpressed, as the Chamber was not an official body.”

Another major low point came in mid-October 1933, when the Chamber had to notify the Virginia Public Service Company to turn off the street lights. There was no money to pay the electric bill.

Pressley W. Anderson, cashier of the Marshall National Bank, attended a meeting in Fredericksburg in December, 1933, and learned that for a small town like Marshall to receive such aid, it had to be incorporated, and have responsible town officials to present their claim.

Serious talk of incorporating Marshall began, with a committee headed by Lewin I. Poe appointed to outline the projects they would like to have the Works Projects Administration (WPA) consider. Priorities included street paving, a sewer system and sidewalks. Charles F. Ramey was appointed to find out how the townspeople felt about incorporation. The response was surprisingly negative.

Still, a group of committed citizens moved ahead to at least designate a proposed corporate area. Blackwell Engineering Co. of Warrenton was hired, and completed a survey in January, 1934, that included 183.65 acres.

The survey was rejected by Judge J. R. H. Alexander of the Circuit Court of Fauquier County, on the basis that it was too small in size and population, and did not include improved areas around the town. After tough negotiations with affected property owners, a new survey was completed in October, 1934 that included 480 acres, and added more people.

Dr. William M. Sturgis was Marshall’s only mayor

Judge J.R.H. Alexander of the Circuit Court of Fauquier County

The second survey, along with a petition signed by 56 area residents, was submitted to the Circuit Court by attorney Paul C. Richards. A hearing was held in December, 1934, and the court issued an order incorporating Marshall on February 7, 1935.

Election of town officers followed on March 12, with Dr. William Sturgis named Mayor, and Charles F. Ramey, Henry Fishback, T. H. Maddux, Pressley W. Anderson, Oscar Pyne and Julius Nachman as councilmen.

Construction of a new water system became the top priority, and an application was filed for funding from the WPA. Councilman Maddux, who owned the small private water system in Marshall, expected that his company would be acquired as part of the project. This didn’t happen because the WPA wanted to create jobs for new projects, not acquisitions.

In August, 1935, the Marshall Town Council applied to the State Public Works Authority for a grant of $18,000 for construction of a public water system, which would be built with an additional $20,000 acquired through a bond issue.

In other actions, the Town Council successfully dealt with public road issues within the town, and other routine governmental matters, including finances and taxes. At this point, support for incorporation fell apart.

“It should have been realized by those signing the petition for incorporation that the benefits would not be immediate, but that a raise in taxes certainly would be,” Gott wrote. “Opposition to the incorporation crystallized when the first tax bill arrived.”

T. H. Maddux, who originally backed incorporation, resigned from the town council and led the opposition. A lawsuit, T. H. Maddux et al vs. F. R. Johnston, was filed in Circuit Court in early 1937. It claimed that “incorporation was not in the best interest of Fauquier County, and disregarded the welfare of many of those living within the town.”

The fact that it would be impossible to finance any civic improvements without incorporation – which would block any future planning for the community – seemed lost on the opposition.

“Basically, the question was only whether or not the people of Marshall were willing to pay taxes to achieve some of the goals set forth by proponents of incorporation,” Gott wrote. “They were not.”

The Circuit Court received a petition signed by 90 qualified voters, requesting a special election to vote on whether to abandon or continue with incorporation.

A mass meeting was held in Marshall on April 21, 1937, to determine if the town’s charter should be repealed. Present to answer questions about incorporation were the State Director of the Public Works Administration, the Chief Engineer of Public Works for Virginia and the president of the League of Virginia Municipalities. Following the forum, the vote was taken, with 95 voting to repeal the charter, and 69 to maintain it.

All that remained was to dissolve the town government, pay all bills still owed, and return the funds not spent on the water system to the WPA. The remaining $215.40 left in the town treasury was turned over to the Chamber of Commerce of Marshall, to be used for street lighting. The official act ending Marshall’s incorporation was executed by the Circuit Court on December 24, 1937.

“Some of the improvements contemplated by those who favored incorporation were later accomplished in other ways, some never have been,” Gott noted in 1987.