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The Historic Lexington Foundation has been integral in preservation efforts in Lexington for over half a century.
Through the years, the organization has undergone a number of changes, such as expanding its efforts from primarily serving Lexington to serving the entire county. Coming up in June, HLF will undergo another change as Don Hasfurther retires after 13 years of serving as the executive director. A Rockbridge County native, Morgan Roper, who is passionate about her hometown, is preparing to take his place in June.
During his time as director, Hasfurther orchestrated tours and programs of historic sites to engage with the community and to create a public awareness for the importance of preserving and maintaining historic properties in an area so rich in history. Also, he took the organization to the next level by leading restoration and education projects in the county.
Roper moves into the directorship with similar ambitions as Hasfurther. She too hopes to expand HLF by identifying and restoring historic properties in both the city and the county.
“I just think it makes sense to preserve as much as we can in this county,” Roper told The News-Gazette in a recent joint interview with Hasfurther.
-During the interview, Hasfurther related highlights of the history of the Historic Lexington Foundation.
HLF was established in 1966 with the primary goal of preservation and “saving downtown,” Hasfurther explained.
The “bell that rang that made people think ‘we gotta do something to save this town before all of these buildings are demolished’” was the circa 1824 Beaumont, or Barclay, house on Lee Avenue. Kappa Alpha Order had plans to destroy the building to build a fraternity new house.
The community rallied to save the historic property and began fundraising efforts. “That’s what brought the community together and they went out to fundraise to establish HLF,” he said.
Since then, HLF has saved a number of notable properties around Lexington. Its first purchase was the Alexander-Withrow house located on the corner of the North Main Street and Washington Street intersection. HLF restored the exterior of the building and sold it to a customer who was dedicated to restoring and preserving the interior, Hasfurther said. Before selling the property, HLF placed an easement on the house to ensure that it would preserved in perpetuity.
HLF followed this process as they tackled future projects. It purchased historic properties in need of a facelift, renovated and stabilized the structure, and finally, they would find a viable owner that showed promise for maintaining the building.
After the successfully stabilizing the Alexander Withrow house, HLF continued their work with the Mc-Campbell Inn and the Jacob Ruff house – both located on Main Street.
Also in the 1970s, the Historic Lexington Foundation advocated for trenching city power lines under Lexington’s streets to save its historic aesthetics.
The last property HLF purchased was a house on Tucker Street, which had been owned by a freed couple that moved into the county. Originally built in the 1860s, the couple expanded the property, all of which was going to be demolished before HLF saved it.
The Tucker Street house took much longer to sell than the previous HLF projects, and when it finally did sell, the revenue was half of what HLF had listed it on the market. The organization’s board agreed they “couldn’t do it anymore,” Hasfurther said of its efforts to purchase and stabilize properties.
The property sold under Hasfurther’s directorship. Since Hasfurther stepped into that position, HLF has not purchased any more properties; rather they have focused on various historic sites throughout the county and smaller projects within the city. -Hasfurther has been involved in community work locally for many years.
Hasfurther moved to Lexington from Washington, D.C., where, after an international career, he directed the D.C. Preservation League.
In Lexington, he first served as director of the Lexington Downtown Development Association (LDDA) for four years.
Once his term ended on LDDA, Hasfurther managed the local chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA). With prior preservation experience from serving the APVA, Hasfurther joined the Historic Lexington Foundation board on which he served for five years before the former director, Leslie Giles, announced her resignation. Hasfurther stepped down from the board in late 2010 to become the interim director, and then was named the director the next spring.
Hasfurther encouraged the organization to look outside of the city of Lexington and take on projects in Rockbridge County. “[My proudest achievement during my 13 years as executive director is] I think convincing the organization to get involved beyond Lexington and into Rockbridge County,” he said.
Hasfurther continued, “That made it possible for me, working with the board, to get involved in cemetery preservation work in our cemeteries, such as the important Falling Spring Presbyterian Church cemetery, and in the documentation and preservation of former slave dwellings, especially in the Brownsburg area.”
A little over three years ago, HLF, with Hasfurther’s lead, began focusing on important cemeteries in the area. “[I made] the decision that we have these incredible cemeteries that tell a story and you gotta make sure that they’re preserved,” he commented.
HLF partnered with Hamric Memorials – based in Lexington – to repair and reset numerous head stones in the local cemeteries, starting with Oak Grove Cemetery and Evergreen Cemetery in Lexington. Then, HLF began working with Falling Spring Presbyterian Church, which wanted to do significant repairs at its cemetery.
“Their cemetery to me is one of the most important cemeteries in all of the county,” Hasfurther said. “You’ve got four Revolutionary War people who were buried there, two 1812 [soldiers], and 30 some Civil War Confederate soldiers that were buried there – many of which died in the war … Working with Hamric, we’ve restored maybe 12 stones in that cemetery.”
Hasfurther also initiated HLF tours, programs, and workshops to engage the community on the history of Rockbridge County and to educate people on the importance of preserving its. Interested community members have been able to explore historic school buildings, churches, and cemeteries of the area.
This Saturday, HLF will host a historic cemetery conservation workshop at Falling Spring Presbyterian Church. He invites the community and “… churches and families that have cemeteries around the county, so they can come there, and they can learn, and then they could apply to us for a grant to do more conservation work.”
HLF has also helped fund smaller repairs such as the replacement of a blown-out window at the Randolph Street United Methodist Church and the steeple repair at the First Baptist Church.
Recently, HLF began its pursuit to restore and preserve slave dwellings in the area. Partnering with the Brownsburg Museum, HLF has not only worked to preserve these historic properties, but it has hosted exciting programs to perpetuate the importance and historical significance of these dwellings.
It is through her involvement with the Brownsburg Museum board and its slave dwelling initiative that the organization’s incoming director, Morgan Roper, heard of HLF’s job opening.
A Fairfield native, Roper is returning to her roots as she retires from more than 20 years of service in the Coast Guard. After years of living outside of the area, Roper is excited to be back in her hometown. She’s finding joy in being outside, looking at the county’s antiquities, and working to preserve historic structures.
“I’m a runner,” Roper told The News-Gazette, “[and] one of the things that I love about running is – and even just [at] the farmhouse where I grew up – you run by so many structures that are just still there, and they just need a little TLC or some funding to preserve them or bring them back …” She continued, “I don’t think people get that this part of Virginia is so historic. So, for me, I was like, ‘Well gosh’ I just think that I could be a good servant to it … I’m moving back to my home and being a big part of it makes me happy.”
Roper retired from the Coast Guard in August 2022. She’s taking time to re-familiarize herself with Rockbridge County and evaluate its preservation needs. As the incoming director, she is still considering her short-and long-term goals for the future of the Historic Lexington Foundation. Regardless, she believes that it is “important to expand HLF a little bit,” Roper said.
While she would love to draw more preservation attention to the county, Roper understands that HLF will do whatever makes the most sense for the community. “Where the community needs us, that’s the priority,” she said.
The Historic Lexington Foundation advertises its services and accepts requests through its website, historiclexington. org; through word of mouth; or through the organization’s own initiative, Hasfurther and Roper commented.
Moving forward under Roper’s leadership and with the final say of the HLF board, the organization will prioritize requests by considering the property’s historical value, the work that would need to be done, and how much funding the project would require.
Roper, who is currently working alongside Hasfurther and learning from his experience, will officially begin as the HLF director on June 1.
