October - November 2004:
A Maryland-based developer applied for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to build 152 homes on a 122-acre farm named Faraway Farm in a rural section of Jefferson County, West Virginia. He planned to set aside 10 acres with a 200 year-old farmhouse and build on the remaining 112 acres. The farm is a significant part of the site of the Sept. 1862 Civil War Battle of Shepherdstown (Boteler’s Ford). Citizens United to Save Faraway Farm LLC (CUSFF) was formed by local residents with the initial purpose of keeping the proposed development of Faraway Farm within the limits of rural zoning since the County’s Zoning Ordinance does not recognize the importance of historic sites in deciding the fate of proposed high-density residential developments. CUSFF filed a 200-page document appealing specific measurements by the County Zoning Administrator that would have resulted in approval of the proposed subdivision. The CUSFF appeal also cited a number of administrative errors in the developer’s CUP.

January - March 2005:
The County’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) held a public hearing and the CUSFF appeal was rejected. The CUP application was allowed to proceed to the next step. CUSFF filed a petition with the Jefferson County Circuit Court challenging the BZA decision. The petition cited administrative issues that the BZA failed to address, their interpretation of sections of the Zoning Ordinance, and an apparent conflict of interest of one of the members of the BZA.

April 2005:
An 8-hour long Compatibility Assessment Meeting (CAM) was held before the County’s Zoning Administrator; the petition before the Circuit Court notwithstanding. The purpose of the CAM is to determine if the proposed development is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Residents of the neighborhood asked for many changes in the proposed development totaling 106 specific issues. The meeting resulted in 67 unresolved issues that the BZA was to address in its next meeting.

May 2005:
At the urging of local historians, CUSFF began to focus more on the historic nature of the farm and obtained support via emails and letters from the Civil War Preservation Trust, the American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service, the Superintendent of the Antietam National Battlefield Park and James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winning historian. CUSFF representatives met with Dr. Thomas Clemens and the Board of Save Historic Antietam Foundation, Inc. regarding saving Faraway Farm as an important Civil War battlefield site.

June 2005:
The Circuit Court agreed that the CUSFF petition had merit and a hearing would be scheduled for a later date.

July 2005:
Having amassed irrefutable evidence that Faraway Farm is part of the core of the battlefield, CUSFF members voted to change the organization’s name to the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA) with the purpose of saving and preserving the remaining 282 acres of the battlefield site from any further development.

August 2005 - October 2005:
- The BZA held a post-CAM hearing to resolve all issues and to determine if the proposed development was compatible with the neighborhood. SBPA presented data showing that the average lot size in the neighborhood was 14.7 acres and that the proposed subdivision was clearly not compatible with the rural neighborhood. Maps and other documentation were also presented showing that the farm was located on part of the core of the Battle of Shepherdstown. The BZA denied the developer’s CUP application based on the high density of the proposed subdivision and the highway problems that such a development would cause. The historical nature of the farm played no role in the decision.
-Alan Rowe of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History found that the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown had retained sufficient physical integrity necessary to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register.
-SBPA met with the West Virginia state legislators representing the three-county Eastern Panhandle and presented petitions signed by 500 Eastern Panhandle residents supporting saving the battlefield site as well as letters of support by many noted historians. A resolution was unanimously passed and signed by the legislators supporting the preservation of the battlefield.
- The Board of Historic Shepherdstown unanimously signed a resolution supporting SBPA’s efforts.
- The Quad State (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) Legislative Conference members unanimously signed a resolution supporting SBPA’s efforts.
-The developer listed the farm for sale, advertising it as part of a Civil War Battlefield.
- The Shepherdstown Town Council unanimously signed a resolution supporting SBPA’s efforts.
- The developer filed suit challenging the BZA decision on 3 issues.

November 2005:
- SBPA made an offer to purchase the farm from the developer that was rejected almost immediately with no counter offer made.
- SBPA applied for grants to fund the purchase of Faraway Farm and several other properties contiguous to the farm. Three property owners on the battlefield site are pursuing conservation easements with the Eastern Panhandle Land Trust and the Farmland Protection Board in order to prevent development on their property in perpetuity.
- The Jefferson County Commission held a public hearing in order to ascertain public interest in creating a Shepherdstown Civil War Battlefield Park. More than 70 residents attended. After the developer’s attorney again denied that there was any proof that a Civil War Battle had taken place on the farm, 20 Jefferson County residents spoke in favor of establishing a park.
-The Jefferson County Commission unanimously approved three agenda items that support the establishment of a Civil War Battlefield Park:
1) A resolution supporting SBPA’s efforts.
2) A letter to the Harper’s Ferry National Park asking that the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown be included in their 5-year master plan.
3) Letters to the West Virginia Congressional Delegation urging them to allocate federal funds to establish the Shepherdstown Civil War Battlefield Park.
- The Jefferson County Circuit Court ruled against the developer on two of three contested issues. A hearing for the last issue has yet to be scheduled.
- SBPA filed for 501(c)(3) status as a charitable trust.
- Dr. Thomas Clemens, historian and President of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, Inc. agreed to serve as an SBPA Board Member.

March 2006:
The Civil War Preservation Trust's latest endangered battlefield report entitled "History Under Siege" listed the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown as an "At Risk" battlefield. The report lists the 20 battlefields that are in danger of being lost due to development. The list is divided between the 10 battlefields identified as "Most Endangered" and the 10 "At Risk" battlefields. To quote the report: "What is the value of land that hundreds of men paid for with their lives? We believe it to be priceless."
Click here to see the full report

June2006:
In an effort to create a National Civil War Battlefield Park, SBPA has enlisted the help of West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd and Congresswoman Shelley Moore-Capito. An Act of Congress is required to expand the boundaries of an existing National Park to include the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown. Both Senator Byrd's staff and that of Congresswoman Capito are in the early stages of researching the process. Hopefully, the boundaries of either Harper's Ferry or Antietam National Park will be expanded to include the Shepherdstown site. If that is accomplished, SBPA will attempt, through the West Virginia Congressional Delegation, to obtain an appropriation the Federal budget to purchase land within the core of the battlefield.

August 2006:
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin presented Jefferson County with a $100,000 grant to be used solely for the purchase of land within the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA learned of the availability of the grant through West Virginia Delegate John Doyle who initiated the application process. SBPA filed the application on behalf of Jefferson County. The Civil War Preservation Trust agreed to provide the necessary matching funds of $25,000.

September 2006:
On September 18, the Jefferson County Circuit Court issued its decision upholding the BZA's denial of a Conditional Use Permit to Faraway Farms LLC to build 152 houses on the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA expects that the developer will appeal the Circuit Court's decision to the West Virginia Supreme Court.

December 2006:
-The IRS granted SBPA tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.
-On December 8, two members of SBPA signed conservation easement documents preserving 59 acres of the battlefield from future development. The Land Trust of the Eastern Panhandle oversaw the effort which was funded by the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program and the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board. The Civil War Preservation Trust and the SBPA were instrumental in effecting the easements. Including 25 acres donated to a conservation easement, there are now 84 acres on the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown that are safe from future development. SBPA continues its effort to save the remaining 216 acres.

Note: In the image below, the area in red is the battlefield as identified by the West Virginia State Historian and the American Battlefield Protection Program of The National Park Service. The area outlined in blue represents the 300 acres that SBPA is trying to preserve. The areas shaded in blue represents the acreage now under conservation easements.

January 2007:

The developer filed a petition with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals asking the court to reverse the decisions of the Circuit Court and the Board of Zoning Appeals. SBPA responded to the developer's petition challenging their assertions and asking the court to uphold the previous decisions.

June 2007:

Senator Robert C. Byrd introduced legislation asking for authorization for a National Park Service "Special Resources Study" to document the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. This is the first of several steps that are necessary for the Shepherdstown site to be included within the boundaries of an existing National Civil War Park.

November 2007:

On November 15, 2007, the Jefferson County Commission, by a vote of 4 to 1, approved a motion to establish a $100,000 fund to be used to purchase land within the site of the 1862 Civil War Battle of Shepherdstown. This was the first concrete evidence that our local elected officials support SBPA's effort to preserve the site. While the amount of money pales in comparison to the $644,000 in grants and conservation easements that SBPA has been able to accumulate in preserving the site, it is a good first step by our County Commission. At the following County Commission meeting, the Commissioners established a $100,000 fund by resolution. Commissioners F.Morgan, A.Morgan, Surkamp and Corliss all voted in favor of the resolution, while Commissioner Manuel continued his desire to stymy SBPA and voted against the resolutuion.

November 2007- The first full length account of the Battle of Shepherdstown was published by Schroeder Publications. Entitled: Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign September 19-20, 1862, the book is a 256 page account of the battle with more than 80 related photos, illustrations and maps. Its author, Thomas A. McGrath, spent 10 years researching the battle and has brought together many diverse primary sources detailing both the tactical aspects of the battle and the human element.