Martha Boneta, owner of Liberty Farm in Paris Virginia is suing the environmental group Piedmont Environmental Council for the false claim that Stonewall Jackson slept on her farm on his way to the First Battle of Bull Run. This claim allowed PEC to claim that the property was worth the $425,000 she paid for the farm and not the real value of $100,000. Boneta fenced off 18 acres of her property because it was of historical significance and it was not to be used for agriculture. That was not true.
In the deed to Liberty farm PEC said
The “Oak Grove” situated on the high point of the property “is recognized as the heart of the bivouac of General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s men on the evening of July 18, 1861 … ,” the document says.
From the DailySignal.com:
Boneta’s lawsuit against the Piedmont Environmental Council, filed in May, argues that the organization’s linking of Jackson to her property was not just a mistake but a deliberate act of fraud.
“Stonewall Jackson did not bivouac on Paris Farm on the eve of the First Battle of Bull Run,” Boneta’s suit says, adding:
PEC knew, in negotiating with Ms. Boneta for the sale of the Paris Farm, that its representation regarding Stonewall Jackson bivouacking on the Paris Farm prior to the First Battle of Bull Run was false. PEC’s knowledge of the falsity of its claim regarding Stonewall Jackson bivouacking on Paris Farm is demonstrated by the fact that PEC claimed that another one of its properties was the scene of Stonewall Jackson’s famous night watch.
PEC is a very wealthy environmental group that harasses and sues property owners across the country with no accountability to anyone. They are not elected and answer to no one. They have been harassing Boneta for the last 10 years. Between 2005 and 2014 PEC pulled in a cool $55 million. That goes a long way to pay lawyers to sue farmers and property owners. They are supported by left-leaning groups including Tides Foundation ($155,000 since 2000), the Surdna Foundation ($150,000 since 2002), the Agua Fund ($1.8 million since 2003) and the Mars Foundation ($500,000 since 2004).
When contacted us about her lawsuit Martha Boneta said,
“We are heartbroken and remain stunned there is no oversight or transparency. There is nothing to protect innocent Virginians from bait & switch properties advertised on the World Wide Web as one-of-a-kind once-in-a-lifetime where Stonewall Jackson himself stood guard over his troops in a specific exact location on the property being sold. As a result, we lost full use and enjoyment of that part of our farm, were forced to fence it off at a time and have suffered significantly.”
More information on the story here.
