Perryville Land Acquisition

[Chad Greene]

:D Great News! Perryville Battlefield just acquired 90 acres of battlefield land. The land is located directly behind the Dye House property and was used during the battle by General Buckner as he advanced to Doctors Creek. This land acquisition makes the park almost 700 acress of contigous land.

What a great preservation success!!!!!!!
Thanks,
Chad Greene

[JimConley]

Re: Perryville Land Acquisition

Great news, Chad! I imagine there will be some sort of press release from the Preservation Association and/or Enhancement Project forthcoming?

This certainly makes for a better day! :)

[Bob Minton]

Re: Perryville Land Acquisition

Chad-where did the funding come from? The reenactment last fall or elsewhere? Thanks for the good news!

Regards,
Bob Minton

[Dignann]

Re: Perryville Land Acquisition

96-acre Sleettown parcel to become part of Perryville Battlefield site

Lexington Herald-Leader [Lexington, Ky.]
June 4, 2007

PERRYVILLE --A 96-acre tract of Boyle County land once used as an African-American settlement will become a part of Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.

The state Department of Parks recently bought the property, known as Sleettown, from private owners. The land once was used as a staging area for Confederate forces and was an African-American settlement after the Civil War until about 1931.

“We plan to use the property to tell the story of the Battle of Perryville as well as the history of Sleettown,” state Parks Commissioner J.T. Miller said in a news release. The Battle of Perryville, in October 1862, was the largest Civil War battle in Kentucky.

The Civil War Preservation Trust provided a matching grant of $107,000 to help buy the property. The state’s share of $324,000 came from a Transportation Enhancement grant, which can be used for preservation purposes.

The total amount was used to buy the property, pay for an archaeological study, conduct a survey and other costs.

The new property will help connect two separate sections of the 570-acre park and will allow for more use, including trails, interpretive signs and research. One home, thought to be the last remnant of Sleettown, and a cemetery remain on the Sleettown property.

Sleettown was named after a family of three African-American brothers — Henry, Preston and George Sleet — who all were born in Boyle County before the Civil War.

The last of the Sleets left in 1931 and joined the nearby community of Perryville. Members of the Sleet family have been active in the community and beyond. In 1969, Moneta J. Sleet Jr. of Owensboro, who was related to the Boyle County Sleets, became the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for photography.

Current Perryville Mayor Anne Sleet married into the Sleet family, and her in-laws lived at Sleettown.

“I think it’s an honor that the park and everyone around here wants to know about this place,” the mayor said in the news release.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/88139.html

Eric

[Chad Greene]

Re: Perryville Land Acquisition

The funding came from several sources. The Perryville Enhancement Project worked with several partners including the Commonwealth of Kentucky, CWPT and also used TEA 21 Funds. Some of the match money came from preservation funds raised last year at Perryville 06.
Chad Greene