W. Scott Breckinridge Smith, Principal
Preservation Planner

A tenth generation Virginian, Scott is fascinated by the Old Dominion’s history, and has spent more than a decade unearthing historical context about the people, places, and buildings of the Commonwealth. Scott is a Senior Planner for the Region 2000 Local Government Council (Regional Planning Commission), where he focuses on downtown revitalization, infrastructure improvements, and historic preservation projects. He served as Executive Director of Bedford Main Street, Inc., (a local program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Center) from 2001 to 2006.

His specialties include pre-1850 Virginia history and architecture, land and property records, mapping historic land grants and deeds, early tradesmen and artisans, and Revolutionary War soldiers. Scott enjoys hiking, canoeing, fly fishing, camping, traveling, and Revolutionary War reenacting. He is married to Emily Patton of Grand Junction, CO, and they (along with their son) reside in a circa 1813 home in Lynchburg, Virginia that they painstakingly restored.

Community Involvement

• Member, Lynchburg Historic Preservation Commission (2008-), City Council Appointee
• Vice Chairman, Lynchburg Tourism Task Force (2006-2007), City Council Appointee
• Advisory Board, Lynchburg Museum System (2004-2008), City Council Appointee
• Board Member, Fifth Street Community Development Corporation (2008-)
  
• President (2008-2010), Vice President of Membership (2010-), Treasurer (2006-2008), Virginia Downtown Development Association
• Editorial Board, Lynch’s Ferry Magazine: A journal of Lynchburg History (2008-)
• Southside (formerly Southwestern) Section Director, Virginia Chapter, American Planning Association (2005-)
• Jamestown 2007 Ambassador Speakers Bureau, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation (2002-2007)
• Chairman, Board of Trustees, Virginia State Parks Foundation (2001-2003), Gubernatorial Appointee

Memberships

• APVA- Preservation Virginia
• Association of Professional Genealogists
• Lynchburg Historical Foundation
• Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts
• National Trust for Historic Preservation Forum
• Vernacular Architecture Forum
• American Planning Association
• Surveyors Historical Society

Publications

• “If The Walls at 622 Harrison Could Talk,” Lynch’s Ferry Magazine, Lynchburg Historical Foundation (Spring 2002)
• “A Brief History of the James River Batteau,” Downtown Leader, published by the Lynchburg News & Advance (Summer 2005)
• Essays on Commercial Architecture in Virginia and Transportation, National Park Service Online Travel Itinerary for Virginia Main Street Communities, 2004