Two stories today show what seems to be the latest gambit against private property: claiming historical importance of property legally owned by private entities, and demanding that it be turned over to the public or, failing that, that development plans be abandoned.

One involves the Wilderness Battlefield in Virginia and the other a New York location where Nikola Tesla once built an electrical tower in 1901. Walmart owns land across from the entrance to the battlefield in Virgina, and Civil War buffs, including the normally conservative-leaning Robert Duvall, have lined up in opposition to the store. In New York, there is apparently nothing remaining of Tesla’s tower, but that hasn’t stopped “preservationists” from clamoring for the land from its rightful owner.

Predictably, those doing the clamoring are enthusiasts of both Civil War history and Tesla history, hardly objective parties. The Walmart location, at least according to a Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star map, would seem to have little to no impact on the battlefield park, other than that it would be visible from the entrance. It is also fully zoned for a Walmart, so that is not a question.

The property with the Tesla ruins is owned by Agfa Corporation. The company says it will “entertain ‘any reasonable offer,’ including ones from groups interested in preserving Wardenclyffe because of its historical significance. ‘We’re simply not in a position,’ he emphasized, ‘to donate the property outright.’”

Preservationists need to learn there is one sure way to keep land from being developed. They can buy it themselves.