As this is the year of our nation’s 250th birthday, the Northern Neck has leaned into its deep historical resources as part of a program called VA250. The Colonial Beach Town Manager included a presentation on this during last week’s Town Council meeting.

“We thought we should make a presentation on VA250,” explained Tucker. “I know we’ve all heard about it, and there’s a lot of buzz surrounding this because Virginia was the birthplace of America. And since we will not have another Council meeting prior to our July 3 fireworks, I thought it was fitting to bring this forward now.”

VA250 is a commemoration of our nation’s 250th birthday and specifically focuses on celebrating the role Virginia played in the founding of our nation, with the goal of promoting not just tourism, but also education and civic engagement.

In the case of Colonial Beach, its primary focus has been threefold: emphasizing the Town’s heritage as a waterfront community; highlighting the many connections between the Town and the Northern Neck; and, lastly, showcasing its ties to the Founding Fathers. This last focus was a natural fit, given Colonial Beach’s proximity to James Monroe’s birthplace and the short drive to George Washington’s.

Banners are set to be displayed along the Boardwalk, in conjunction with the County, each featuring information about a figure from history. During her research for these banners, one name in particular stood out to Tucker: Frances L. Karn, a resident of Colonial Beach.

The story of Frances Karn, as laid out by Tucker, is that of a woman who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and again during the Korean War, from 1951 to 1954. In addition to her distinguished service, she was the first female member of Colonial Beach’s American Legion Post #28. She also contributed to the community by helping organize Potomac River Festival parades and serving as secretary and treasurer of the Colonial Beach Chamber of Commerce.

“When I learned this, I was really happy as a former service member to know that we had women back then really leading and doing great things for Colonial Beach,” Tucker commented.

One may ask: why does any of this matter? According to Tucker, it matters a great deal because “it fosters a sense of community pride in our tourism and heritage. It spurs economic development, education, and engagement because of the rich history that resides here in Colonial Beach and Westmoreland County.”

This deep and storied history has, in fact, helped the Town become an accredited Main Street Community and earn a Virginia Holzheimer Award, which recognizes recipients whose study, initiative, program, or site development has yielded economic development results for their locality, region, or state.

At the same time, Colonial Beach continues to live up to its moniker, “the Playground of the Potomac,” thanks in no small part to having the second-largest public beach in the Commonwealth—a major draw for tourists. Beyond the beach, however, lie many other attractions for visitors, particularly those interested in historical or recreational tourism.

“The vision for VA250—I just encourage you all to celebrate our history. Go and visit the Monroe House and George Washington’s Birthplace,” Tucker added as she concluded her remarks. “These also help inspire our future generations. I know we talk about this with our summer interns as well. I cannot begin to express the sense of pride and excitement that I feel to serve in a community that truly was the cradle of our nation.”