On June 2, 2005, The National Trust for Historic Preservation designated a 175-mile-long corridor stretching from Gettysburg to Monticello along Routes 15 and 20, as one of America's eleven most endangered places.

A twenty-five mile section of the corridor, promoted as a "Journey Through Hallowed Ground," runs along Route 15, right through the middle of Loudoun County.

Cate Magennis Wyatt, Waterford resident and former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade, has been a driving force in raising public awareness encouraging protection of the treasures along the corridor.

Working closely with Richard Moe of the National Trust and the heads of six other leading organizations devoted to conservation and historical preservation, a coalition, Wyatt helped build a coalition to preserve and promote the "Journey" that now encompasses more than 100 organizations, institutions and individual supporters.

Middleburg, Aldie, the Ball's Bluff battlefield and cemetery, the Leesburg Historic District, Oatlands, Oak Hill and scores of other sites fall within the corridor in Loudoun County. For a complete overview, maps, lists of sites, and related web links see http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/journey/

Public service announcements featuring all eleven of most endangered places have already begun to run on the History Channel.

The Eccentric will begin a series of stories on the "Journey" in its next issue.