Statue Controversy

Colonial Beach is a town of rumors. The town council is known to joke about rumors in the town at various meetings over the years.

Sometimes, however, the rumor mill is actually true. Rumors of statues have been swirling for some time. Statues related to the pedestrian plaza on Colonial Avenue do exist. As part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s transportation alternatives grant program, a grant had been awarded in the amount of $547,000.

Unfortunately, the plaza will not come to full fruition as the plans designed for it would have cost double what was granted. The town will still be able to resurface a portion of the town’s boardwalk, but the plaza with the intended splash park and statues will not happen.

The two statues were commissioned at a cost of $90,000 a figure of a man and a woman disembarking from a steamship, in the dress of that era, were sculpted. The town was directed to go forward with the statues under the direction of Land Studios, PC. And Jerry Davis of the Northern Neck Planning Division as they would take a long time to finish.

VDOT did not see the statues as worthy of the grant money and would not reimburse the town for them.

Councilman Bill Dellar said, “We wanted to use the grant fund, but we paid for the statues before the grant (monies) had been awarded.”

Steve Cirbee, who is also on the council said, “The people who know what they are doing led us astray.”

With the plaza not happening as originally planned the town has looked for a buyer for the statues with no interest. That is not to say that the statues could not be used elsewhere. There are plenty of places they could be installed to draw interest to the town.

In fact, art and culture tourists spend more time, and money, in various locals than visitors of any other type. Colonial Beach has a thriving art culture with a large Artist’s Guild and many other artists in the town and surrounding areas.

Even though it is no longer open year round the JarrettThor gallery is hosting privately run shows, Shirl Rush has a gallery just down the street and monthly art walks are heavily attended at the galleries, local realtors, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.

Colonial Beach Prom 2018

A mixed group of young men, women, and races on prom night. The group is standing in formal dress on a pier.
A group of Colonial Beach High School Seniors on Prom Night 2018
Two young women, a couple, one short in a pink dress, one taller in a blue dress, putting on their corsages in front of a tree
Putting on the corsages
A young man in a black tuxedo with a light blue vest and tie stands in front of a brick wall.
Prom night
A yougn woman with long flowing brown hair and an ice blue dress stands in front of a large tree
Young Woman on her Senior Prom night
a young woman with short blonde hair wears a light pink dress while standing in front of a tree.
Giggling on Prom Night
A young couple, man in black tux, woman in a pink and purple dress, stand in front of  a tree
Young Couple on the way to prom
A young man in a black tuxedo with a royal blue bow tie and vest stands in front of a brick wall
Prom Night in CB

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Welcome to Colonial Beach Free Press dot com!

A photo and news based blog located in the town of Colonial Beach, Virginia.  This is the first post and a test of how photos look on this platform. All pictures were taken in the summer of 2017 in the town of Colonial Beach, VA.

Red blossoms on a green stem in front of green grass.
A red flower peeks its head out in Colonial Beach, VA
Yellow flowers with dark brown centers in the sunshine
Black Eyed Susans bloom bright and ready in the summer of 2017
Yellow blooms with dark brown centers in the sunlight
Black-Eyed Susans in the sunshine
A wrought iron sign that says Colonial Beach Municipal pier graces the entrance to the town's pier
The municipal pier in the heart of downtown Colonial Beach
A man pulls a net out of the water as the sunsets in the distance
Fishing at sunset
Two fishing poles grace the sky on a pier in front of beautiful water
Fishing on the pier in Colonial Beach
A freshly caught skate hangs from a pole on a pier
A skate hangs from the pier in Colonial Beach, VA
Trees just beyond the water in beach at sunset
The waterfront in Colonial Beach
A man in shorts catches a fish on a pier
A man catches a fish