The visitor center spent a surprising amount of time discussing this issue of eminent domain. In 1928, Virginia's governor signed the Public Park Condemnation Act, allowing property for SNP to be seized without property owners being entitled to a hearing to challenge the proceeding. Ten years later, everyone had been removed except for 78 residents who negotiated lifetime tenancy. Those residents still had to give up title to their property, however, and could not pass it on to their heirs.