Tweet
Shenandoah County May Donate 200
Acres to Battlefield Foundation
By Alicia Wotring
SHENANDOAH — The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors is considering donating several hundred acres of Fishers Hill battlefield land to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.
The land is just shy of 200 acres, located on the west side Interstate 81 near Strasburg, said Howard Kittell, executive director of the foundation.
The land was donated to the county by the Civil War Trust about four years ago, said Supervisors Chairman Dennis Morris.
Since then, the county has leased the land for agricultural use, and several volunteers maintain the trails and signage, Kittell said.
"The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation has the resources and manpower to take care of it," Morris said. "We don’t have the people to do that."
The county maintains a good working relationship with the foundation, Morris said, and the land would fit well with the foundation’s goals.
The foundation is trying to form a coordinated system and signage for the Fishers Hill battlefield and other battlefields, Kittell said.
"It puts the property under one comprehensive management program and one comprehensive interpretation program," Kittell said.
The foundation has bought several acres of land in that area over the past several years, and continues to negotiate with private property owners, Kittell said.
The core area of the battlefield actually covers about 2,000 acres, he said.
The county will take the matter to a public hearing, probably sometime in January or February, Morris said.
Contact Alicia Wotring at 574-6267 or awotring@dnronline.com
Acres to Battlefield Foundation
By Alicia Wotring
SHENANDOAH — The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors is considering donating several hundred acres of Fishers Hill battlefield land to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.
The land is just shy of 200 acres, located on the west side Interstate 81 near Strasburg, said Howard Kittell, executive director of the foundation.
The land was donated to the county by the Civil War Trust about four years ago, said Supervisors Chairman Dennis Morris.
Since then, the county has leased the land for agricultural use, and several volunteers maintain the trails and signage, Kittell said.
"The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation has the resources and manpower to take care of it," Morris said. "We don’t have the people to do that."
The county maintains a good working relationship with the foundation, Morris said, and the land would fit well with the foundation’s goals.
The foundation is trying to form a coordinated system and signage for the Fishers Hill battlefield and other battlefields, Kittell said.
"It puts the property under one comprehensive management program and one comprehensive interpretation program," Kittell said.
The foundation has bought several acres of land in that area over the past several years, and continues to negotiate with private property owners, Kittell said.
The core area of the battlefield actually covers about 2,000 acres, he said.
The county will take the matter to a public hearing, probably sometime in January or February, Morris said.
Contact Alicia Wotring at 574-6267 or awotring@dnronline.com