History, real estate complicate Fort Monroe transfer

Associated Press - March 30, 2008 2:15 PM ET

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) - Nearly three years after the government said it would leave Fort Monroe, a draft agreement has emerged specifying how the historic property will be managed after 2011.

But it's only the beginning.

State historic preservation officer Kathleen Kilpatrick says the agreement is subject to public comments and more than 30 "consulting parties" involved in the process.

She calls the 45-page document "very preservation-friendly." Fort Monroe remained in Union hands during the Civil War. Escaped slaves sought sanctuary there, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at the base for two years.

Most of the property would revert to state control when the Army moves its personnel to Fort Eustis and Fort Knox, Kentucky.