Support the Ferrum Park Initiative - Keep Ferrum Rural

The Franklin County Department of Development is pushing forward a plan to create a subdivision in the 80-acre tax-payer-owned property located here in Ferrum. The Franklin County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on the plan at their June 20th meeting to begin courting developers with three potential plans for housing that would include a minimum of 141 units, with a range of unit types including multiple apartment complexes and large, expensive single-family homes. While the most recent housing study indicates that Ferrum could use more housing options, especially for our aging population, multiple county representatives have explicitly stated that they will not set requirements to make sure that the houses being built are affordable or will meet the needs of our elderly residents who wish to age-in-place. County representatives have also said that they will not spend any money improving this property for the community, so a park option will not be provided by the county.

Our goal is to create a nature park for the community with a focus on preserving the beautiful natural landscape of this parcel while providing many recreational opportunities including over 2 miles of walking and hiking trails, a nature-based playground, a pavilion, picnic areas, restrooms, a dog park, primitive camping, and more- with as limited of an impact on the environment as possible. An additional benefit of keeping this property publicly owned is the ability to host fun events and gatherings. Currently, Ferrum has no location that is open to the public that would serve these needs. We will also be working to identify a solution that would meet the housing needs of our elderly community while not turning Ferrum into a suburb of Rocky Mount.

Our nonprofit group is comprised of local residents who are knowledgeable in many fields including ecology, building, project management, grant writing, business development, legalities, and more. We are all residents who are dedicated to doing what is best for the community of Ferrum, with strong consideration for the plants and animals that also call this property home.

Please help support us by letting the Franklin County Board of Supervisors know that you would like this property, which is already owned by the taxpayers, to serve the people of Ferrum and that we want to KEEP FERRUM RURAL.