Jurisdictions in our region spent a cumulative $280,000 to rename Route 1, formerly Jefferson Davis Highway. Fredericksburg spent $90,000, followed by Stafford County with a $51,500 investment, and Prince William County contributing the most at $137,800.
Legislation HB2075, pushed by Delegate Joshua Cole (D-65, Fredericksburg, Stafford) and signed by then Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in 2o21, ruled that “any section of U.S. Route 1 in Virginia that is designated as the ‘Jefferson Davis Highway’ shall on the effective date of this act be designated and shall hereafter be known as the “Emancipation Highway” as of January 1, 2022.
Fredericksburg went with Emancipation, while Prince William and Stafford chose Richmond Highway, matching Fairfax County.
After the law passed, the state provided no funding to the jurisdictions on the 200-mile highway linking Washington, D.C., with North Carolina. In addition to road signs, businesses forced to change their addresses had to change marketing materials and other documents.
Virginia named the road Jefferson Davis Highway in 1922 to reconcile differences after the Civil War.
