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SBPA RECENT NEWS & EVENTS
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release – December 22, 2011
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
For more information, contact:
John C. Allen Jr.
Chairman,
Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission
(304) 582-2032
Edward E. Dunleavy
President,
Shepherdstown
Battlefield Preservation Association Inc
(304) 876-7029
CEMENT MILL PROPERTY PURCHASED BY THE JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION
On Wednesday afternoon, West Virginia Delegate John Doyle and the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission announced that the Landmarks Commission completed the purchase of the historic Cement Mill property. The property is an 18 acre site on the Potomac River. The property contains structures from an 1829 Cement Mill that was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Jefferson County and is also part of the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. The structures include the ruins of the mill, six kilns on the bank of the river, a large kiln south of River Road and the remnants of an office building. Some of the kilns on the river show damage from Union artillery shells sustained during the Battle of Shepherdstown.
"This is an important acquisition for Jefferson County," stated John C. Allen Jr., Chairman of the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission, "not only is the property historic, it will provide public access to the Potomac River for recreational purposes. We plan on enlisting community help in the spring to help clean up the site and begin creating trails. It is the intention of the Landmarks Commission to place a conservation easement on the property to insure that it remain undeveloped in perpetuity. Also, we will apply for inclusion in the National Registry of Historic Places. The Commission intends to begin the process whereby ultimately the site will be deeded to the Antietam National Battlefield Park."
"Many historians regard the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown as the end of the Battle of Antietam or certainly the end of Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign of September 1862," said Ed Dunleavy, President of the Shepherdstown Battle Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), " the Battle of Shepherdstown was fought on September 19 and 20, 1862 and was one of the reasons that Lee
ended his campaign and retreated up the Shenandoah Valley. SBPA has been working for the last 8 years attempting to save battlefield land and this purchase now means that 102 acres have been saved. SBPA brought the idea of purchasing the site to the County more than two and half years ago," added Dunleavy," and it is gratifying that the Landmarks Commission was willing to spend the time and energy in a long and arduous negotiating process."
The site was purchased for $375,000 from a private individual whose family owned it for more than 100 years. The funds used to purchase the land came from two $100,000 West Virginia Transportation Enhancement Grants garnered by SBPA for the County with $50,000 in matching funds from the Civil War Trust (CWT). When it became apparent that the owner was willing to sell the property additional funds were sought and the CWT, the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, SBPA provided those funds. However late last week $25,000 was still needed to purchase the property. Delegate John Doyle was able to successfully request those funds from West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin.
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The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), organized in 2004, is a non-profit, Section 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to saving and preserving the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA has helped preserve 102 acres of the site. For more information and to purchase the book entitled: Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign September 19 – 20, 1862 ; please visit www.battleofshepherdstown.org
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October 2011 - LEGAL ACTION CONTINUES
In an unprecedented and, what SBPA believes to be an unlawful act, the Jefferson County Planning Commission (PC) reached a settlement with the Far Away Farm (FAF) developer to extend the Community Impact Statement (CIS) and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for three years.
There was no public hearing and the PC’s actions were done in secrecy, in apparent contravention of the WV Open Meeting’s law. Also, the issue of an extension was only related to the CIS, not the CUP.
After reviewing the (PC) Meeting agendas, packets, minutes and videos, to determine how the PC reached a settlement with the PC, we met with SBPA’s attorney to determine the best approach to deal with the settlement that FAF reached with the Planning Commission (PC). The settlement raises many issues concerning its legality.
Granting of an extension requires it to be a PC meeting agenda item, requires a public hearing and the motion to grant an extension requires it to be made in open session with the specific facts enumerated.
The PC agreed to the settlement at its July 26 meeting. The agenda for the meeting of July 26 makes no mention of FAF or a proposed settlement. Under agenda item “Reports from Legal Counsel …” the PC went into executive session. Upon exiting executive session, one PC member made a motion to follow the advice of counsel and have the PC president sign the document. The motion was approved unanimously. The motion contained no specifics about the advice, the document, nor did it mention FAF. Moreover, in 2010, the Jefferson County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) granted an extension of the CUP until October 2011. Then, the question becomes: if the BZA has the authority to extend the CUP, how can the PC grant an extension of the CUP?
On advice of our attorney, the SBPA Board of Directors voted unanimously to petition the Circuit Court to deny the recent settlement because it violates the WV Open Meetings Law and to petition the WVSCA because the PC has no legal right to negotiate or revise a previous PC decision.
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National Park Service Begins Special Study of Shepherdstown Battlefield
May 2, 2011
DENVER, CO -- The National Park Service (NPS) is beginning a special resource study of Shepherdstown Battlefield. In March 2009, Congress passed legislation (Public Law 111—11, Title VII, Subtitle C, Sec.7205) requiring a study to be undertaken to examine the significance of the battlefield and related sites, and determine if it would be suitable and feasible to add the battlefield and related sites as part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National Battlefield.
The primary focus of this study will be on battlefield lands located about one mile southeast of Shepherdstown in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Most of these lands are privately owned. Some of the battlefield is also located in Washington County, Maryland on lands managed by the C&O Canal National Historical Park and nearby privately-owned farmlands that include special easements.
The study will obtain information from professional historians and the general public during the information gathering stage of this project, planned for this summer and fall 2011, and then again when the draft study alternatives are presented. This study will follow National Park Service requirements for preparing special resource studies and boundary studies, as well as National Environmental Policy Act requirements.
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For Immediate Release – February 17, 2010
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
For more information, contact:
Edward E. Dunleavy
President,
Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc.
(917) 747 - 5748
PARK SERVICE STUDY AFFIRMS LOCATION & SIZE OF SHEPHERDSTOWN CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD
In an update of the 1993 Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields, the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) has provided information that sites the location of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown and provides more information about the actual size of the core of the battlefield. The report concludes that the core of the battlefield, as defined, is 1,534.4 acres; 1,034.64 acres in West Virginia (WV) and 499.76 acres in Maryland (MD). More importantly, the study concludes that the potential National Register boundary amounts to 4,259.32 acres; 2,502.71 acres in WV and 1,756.61 acres in MD. The report notes that four WV battlefields, including the Shepherdstown site, “have the largest percentages of Study Area land to land potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places land. The ABPP (American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service) believes that all of these battlefields should be viewed as higher priorities for preservation.”
Edward Dunleavy, speaking as President of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA) stated that: “this report should finally put to rest the insistence by some that the battle took place only on the bluffs over looking the Potomac River. Not only was the fighting over a large area of northern Jefferson County, the importance of the battle is not to be under-estimated. General Robert E. Lee intended to continue the Maryland Campaign and, on September 19, 1862, after retreating from MD, issued orders to the Army of Northern Virginia to cross the Potomac back into MD at Williamsport. An important reason that Lee changed those orders and retreated south was the Battle of Shepherdstown which convinced Lee that the Union Army of the Potomac was pursuing his troops aggressively. Two days later President Abraham Lincoln was able to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.”
The Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2002 directed “the Secretary of Interior acting through the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) of the National Park Service, to update the ... (CWSAC) Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields.” Funding for the update was provided by Congress in Fiscal Year 2005 and 2007.Early this month the report for WV was released and provided information about each battlefield relative to the size of: 1) the study area; 2) the core area; and 3) the potential National Register boundary area.
“The Study Area represents the historic extent of the battle as it unfolded across the landscape.” It contains the area in which the troops were maneuvered and deployed immediately before, during and after combat. In the case of the Battle of Shepherdstown, the study area totals 4,549.21 acres; 2,792.6 in WV and 1,756.61 in MD. “Historic accounts, terrain analysis and feature identification inform the delineation of the Study Area boundary.”
“The Core Area represents the areas of fighting on the battlefield. Positions that delivered or received fire, and the intervening space and terrain between them, fall within the Core Area.” This is frequently described as “hallowed ground”. “On current WV maps,” Dunleavy stated, “this area is approximately from Teague Run in the west to Rattlesnake Run in the east and as far south as Engle-Moler Road and Aspen Pool Farm. In MD, the area runs from Ferry Hill in the west to about Millers Sawmill Road in the East and approximately 3/8 of a mile north of the Potomac.
SBPA continues to focus on trying to save the “core” of the “core” or about 300 acres. “Our focus is on that area where most of the fighting occurred in WV”, stated Dunleavy, “it remains in relatively pristine condition and would be perfect for a Civil War Battlefield Park, not only preserving ‘hallowed ground’ but encouraging heritage tourism in Jefferson County.
Dr. Thomas Clemens, a noted Civil War historian, a Board member of SBPA and the President of Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) commented that “much of the battlefield site in MD is included within the C & O Canal National Park. In addition, many historians view the Shepherdstown Battle as the end of the Battle of Antietam and the SHAF has been active for more than 20 years in preserving battlefield land in MD.”
A copy of the CWSAC report can be obtained at:
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/CWSII/CWSIIStateReportWV.htm
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The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), organized in 2004, is a non-profit, Section 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to saving and preserving the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA has preserved 84 acres by way of conservation easements granted by members who own property on the site. For more information and to purchase the book entitled: Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign September 19 – 20, 1862 ; please visit www.battleofshepherdstown.org
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