CIVIL
WAR BATTLE SITE ACQUIRED IN NORTHWEST ARKANSA
The Conservation
Fund and Northwest Arkansas Land Trust’s purchase of 140 acres next to the Pea
Ridge National Military Park is first step in permanent protection of historic site
BENTON
COUNTY, Ark.
(March 6, 2020)— The Conservation
Fund
and Northwest Arkansas Land Trust announced today
the purchase of a key Civil War battle site in Benton County, Arkansas. The
Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, with assistance from The Conservation Fund, recently
acquired the historic 140-acre Williams Hollow Farm and intends to donate the
property to the National Park Service once funding is secured.
Bordered
on three sides by the Pea Ridge National Military Park, the property has been a
conservation priority for the National Park Service since the national park’s
designation during the Civil War Centennial of 1963 and is crucial to the preservation of the historic Civil
War battlefield. In March 1862, U.S. Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis’s 10,500
troops in the Union Army of the Southwest clashed for three days with commander
of the Confederate Army of the West, Major General Earl Van Dorn’s 13,000
troops. The battle ended in Union victory and prevented the Confederates from
advancing into and enabling the secession of Missouri. The Williams Hollow Farm
was an integral site used before, during and after the battle.
“Northwest
Arkansas Land Trust is excited to partner on the permanent protection of
Williams Hollow Farm,” said Land Trust Director of Land Protection and
Stewardship, Marson Nance. “For over 16 years Northwest Arkansas Land Trust
has worked tirelessly to protect open spaces throughout the region for
protection of natural resources and our cultural and historic heritage. The
Williams Hollow acquisition is a perfect example of collaboration between
national, regional, and local partners working to protect sites of great
ecological and historical importance. Northwest Arkansas Land Trust is proud to
be a part of this effort.”
“We're
excited to continue working with our partners to protect this important
battlefield. Williams Hollow Farm is important to the park as it helps tell the
story of the battle that took place 158 years ago,” said Kevin Eads, superintendent
of Pea Ridge National Military Park. “Its preservation will help to protect
cultural and natural resources.”
Once
protected, the Williams Hollow Farm will secure the viewshed of the Pea Ridge
National Military Park and conserve mature forest habitat for migratory
songbirds and rare bats, including the threatened northern long-eared bat. Keeping
the property undeveloped will also help provide water quality protection of
Sugar Creek within the Elk River watershed.
“The Conservation Fund has a long history of
preserving critical Civil War sites throughout the United States, and we are
proud to advance this effort to conserve the Williams Hollow Farm,” said Clint Miller Midwest project director for The
Conservation Fund. “The significance of this property is truly unique
and multi-faceted, from protecting a key part of the battle to providing
important habitat for rare species and preserving the memory of other historic
events, including the Trail of Tears.”
The
Williams Hollow Farm played a significant role in pre-Civil War history as well.
Passing by the property to the northeast is Telegraph Road, a historic
transportation route through northwest Arkansas that takes its name from the
first telegraph lines in the area. Beginning in the 1830s, Telegraph Road was
used as a route on the Trail of Tears, the forcible relocation of the Cherokee
people and other Native Americans to Oklahoma in the winter of 1838-39 after
the enactment of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The historic road was also part
of the Overland Mail Company route, a transcontinental mail system that also
offered stagecoach transportation to settlers, miners and businessmen traveling
between St. Louis, Missouri, and San Francisco from 1857 to 1861.
The
permanent protection and transfer of the Williams Hollow Farm to the National
Park Service will depend on fundraising. Various organizations have stepped
forward already to assist, including the
Pea Ridge National Military Park Foundation and National Park Foundation.
“It is a rare opportunity that we have the chance to
preserve our past for future generations in a setting such as this,” said Pea Ridge Mayor and Chairman of the Pea Ridge National
Military Park Foundation Jackie Crabtree. “While the
acquisition of this historic property is exciting, it is critical that we raise
the funds to permanently make the Williams Hollow Farm part of the Pea Ridge
National Military Park. Time is of the essence, and we need our community to
step up and bring this project home.”
In addition, the property will be conserved, in
part, by funding and technical assistance in partnership with U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) made available through mitigation efforts by Plains All American Pipeline in
conjunction with ongoing construction and maintenance of the Diamond Pipeline,
a crude oil pipeline that currently extends from Cushing, Okla. to Memphis. The
Conservation Fund serves as the administrator of the funding source and works
collectively with Plains and USFWS to achieve mitigation solutions with the
highest conservation value.
For more information on how you can support the
permanent protection of the Williams Hollow Farm, visit: https://www.pearidgefoundation.com/get-involved/.
About
The Conservation Fund
At The Conservation Fund, we make
conservation work for America. By creating solutions that make environmental
and economic sense, we are redefining conservation to demonstrate its essential
role in our future prosperity. Top-ranked for efficiency and effectiveness, we
have worked in all 50 states since 1985 to protect more than eight million
acres of land. Our Civil War Battlefield Campaign was created in 1986 to
preserve these hallowed places and provide comprehensive historical information
on each conflict. Over the past three decades, the Fund and our partners have
protected 86 sites and more than 10,600 acres of historic lands in 14 states. conservationfund.org
About Northwest
Arkansas Land Trust
The Northwest Arkansas Land Trust is the region’s first local and accredited land trust,
dedicated to enhancing quality of life through the permanent protection of
land. By holding and managing donated land and providing conservation easement
services, the Land Trust protects water quality, local farms, wildlife habitat,
and places for outdoor recreation while enhancing quality of life for today and
future generations. The service area of the Land Trust includes 13 counties in
Northwest Arkansas, with a core focus on Benton and Washington counties. For
more information, visit the land trust’s website at www.nwalandtrust.org.
Images & Map: http://bit.ly/PeaRidgeNMP
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