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Battlefield conservation funds approved
Mar. 11, 2004
On the heels of a report listing South Mountain State Battlefield as among the most endangered in the nation, the Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved $237,207 in state, federal and private funds to purchase conservation easements for two crucial parcels on the battlefield.
The board approved the easements for 36.6 acres on the battlefield that was listed last month on the national Civil War Preservation Trust's 10 most endangered battlefields.
The trust named the battlefield as endangered because of development pressures in the area.
The easement purchases means private citizens still own the land yet the state holds the rights to subdivide and develop the properties.
Of the total, about 25.6 acres known as the Wilson property was the headquarters of Union Gen. George McClellan and the Army of the Potomac's reserves artillery and supply wagons during the Battle of South Mountain in Sept. 1862, according to a statement from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The property may also be habitat for grassland breeding birds such as upland sandpiper, eastern meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, verper sparrow, Savannah sparrow and American kestrel, the department said.
The second property, known as the Devine property, comprises about 11 acres that was the staging area of Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Corps during the battle at Turner's Gap, as well as a historic home that was used as a hospital during the war.
The state owns 2,500 acres on the battlefield and another 6,000 acres are under conservation easements owned by the state. The Civil War Preservation Trust, the department's Program Open Space and the Maryland State Highway Administration's Transportation Enhancement Program supply funds for the easement purchases.
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Mar. 11, 2004
On the heels of a report listing South Mountain State Battlefield as among the most endangered in the nation, the Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved $237,207 in state, federal and private funds to purchase conservation easements for two crucial parcels on the battlefield.
The board approved the easements for 36.6 acres on the battlefield that was listed last month on the national Civil War Preservation Trust's 10 most endangered battlefields.
The trust named the battlefield as endangered because of development pressures in the area.
The easement purchases means private citizens still own the land yet the state holds the rights to subdivide and develop the properties.
Of the total, about 25.6 acres known as the Wilson property was the headquarters of Union Gen. George McClellan and the Army of the Potomac's reserves artillery and supply wagons during the Battle of South Mountain in Sept. 1862, according to a statement from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The property may also be habitat for grassland breeding birds such as upland sandpiper, eastern meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, verper sparrow, Savannah sparrow and American kestrel, the department said.
The second property, known as the Devine property, comprises about 11 acres that was the staging area of Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Corps during the battle at Turner's Gap, as well as a historic home that was used as a hospital during the war.
The state owns 2,500 acres on the battlefield and another 6,000 acres are under conservation easements owned by the state. The Civil War Preservation Trust, the department's Program Open Space and the Maryland State Highway Administration's Transportation Enhancement Program supply funds for the easement purchases.
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