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Petition opposes relocating Rappahannock library

by | Jul 22, 2026

The current Rappahannock County Public Library off of Route 211 outside of the Town of Washington. (Photo/Luke Christopher)

A concerned Rappahannock resident has started a petition against a potential relocation of the Rappahannock County Public Library two days before a July 23 public hearing set by the library’s Board of Trustees on the matter.

Elizabeth Pratt, an Amissville resident, said she created the petition Tuesday out of concern for the library’s future if the building owned by the county were to be replaced with a leased building.

“I think it opens the door for some uncertainty,” Pratt said in an interview Tuesday. 

Pratt added she grew up going to the county library, and now brings her children there. She said she wants it to be protected and to continue to thrive. 

She said she has not yet contacted board members directly about her concerns. She has spoken to others in the community with similar opinions, she said, and wanted to give residents who may not feel comfortable speaking at the public hearing a chance to make their feelings known. As of Wednesday morning, the petition had garnered over 100 signatures. 

“It’s just been a pillar of Rappahannock for so long … When you think about Rappahannock, it’s one of the places you think about,” Pratt said. “I feel like people aren’t being listened to, and I wanted to help in the little way that I could.” 

Pratt said she plans to attend the public hearing on the potential relocation of the library to Rush River Commons’ second phase of its development in the Town of Washington. At the hearing, the library’s Board of Trustees will discuss where negotiations stand for a potential new building, and seek feedback from county residents. 

According to a meeting notice, the board’s presentation will cover the project’s history, renderings and tentative designs, the challenges of expanding at the current Library Road site, proposed lease terms for a new building and ideas about the library’s future.

The library board’s president, Victoria Fortuna, said she had no comment on the petition itself, but hoped the hearing will help “get everybody on the same factual page,” no matter their opinion on the potential move. 

“People may have differences of opinions about whether something’s good or bad, but I’m hoping that people will at least have the actual facts,” Fortuna said.

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner.
    Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.
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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.