William C. Howell

Over 30 years in office, Virginia House of Delegates Speaker William C. Howell has become the nation’s greatest legislative champion for preservation, spearheading the creation of the first state-level matching grant program for battlefield protection and advocating for the Commonwealth’s outstanding Land Preservation Tax Credit.

“Quite simply, Bill Howell has been our champion in the General Assembly,” Lighthizer said. “His public advocacy and behind-the-scenes support for Virginia’s Civil War history has made our success in the Old Dominion possible. Again and again, Howell has worked quietly to save Virginia’s battlefields from ruin.”

The Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund — which originally targeted Civil War sites but was expanded in 2015 to include the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 — was created in 2006 and, thanks to Howell’s consistent leadership, has awarded $16 million in matching grants that have permanently protected more than 8,800 acres of hallowed ground. 

He has also been a chief champion of the Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credit, one of the most important open-space protection mechanisms in the country. Among the 741,000 acres that have benefited from the program is the Trust-protected Slaughter Pen Farm at Fredericksburg, which received $4.4 million in credits — a contribution that helped make the most ambitious private battlefield preservation project in history possible.

During the Civil War's 150th anniversary, Howell chaired the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, overseeing a statewide commemoration that drew approximately 3.7 million visitors. The commission's programs and events generated an estimated $290 million in visitor spending and $13 million in state and local tax revenue.

In recognition of his extraordinary commitment to battlefield preservation, the American Battlefield Trust previously honored Howell with its State Preservation Leadership Award. In 2017, he received the Edwin C. Bearss Lifetime Achievement Award, the organization's highest preservation honor.

Howell's legislative leadership helped establish Virginia as a national model for state-supported battlefield preservation, providing resources and protections that continue to benefit historic landscapes throughout the Commonwealth.