View of the James River looking east between Jamestown Island and the Ghost Fleet. Credit: JRA

Last week the National Trust for Historic Preservation named a stretch of the James River near Jamestown as one of its 11 most endangered historic sites for 2013. It’s endangered because Dominion Virginia Power hopes to build a huge, high-voltage transmission line — with 16 or 17 towers, 4 of which would be 300 feet tall — 4.1 miles across the river from Surry County on the south bank to James City County on the north.

I wrote about the issue for my Friday column last week, asking the question that is the title of this blog post. A number of groups stand in opposition to the plan, mostly on the grounds that the project would mar the view in an area so central to Virginia’s — and America’s — history. I quoted Jamie Brunkow and Bill Street, both of the James River Association, both of whom brought up some really interesting points. Click here to read my column and learn more.