Friends of Wilderness Launch Fundraising For Ellwood Restoration
September 2003

LOCUST GROVE, Va. - The Friends of Wilderness Battlefield [FoWB] recently launched a two-year capital campaign to raise $100,000 to restore the two most historic rooms in the Ellwood House on Wilderness Battlefield.

Ellwood, which was built in the late 1700s, played major roles in the battles of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness. During the Battle of Chancellorsville, Ellwood received Confederate wounded, and Stonewall Jackson's amputated arm was buried in the family cemetery. During the Battle of the Wilderness, the house was headquarters for Union V Corps Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren.

The Wilderness Battlefield is part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Ellwood was acquired by the National Park Service (NPS) in the 1970s. The NPS stabilized the structure and restored the exterior to its Civil War period appearance, but no funding was available to continue the work. The house was closed to the public for more than 20 years.

In 1998, the Park Service accepted a proposal from the nonprofit Friends of Wilderness Battlefield to provide volunteer staff to interpret Ellwood's history and maintain the grounds. Since then FoWB volunteers have welcomed more than 12,000 visitors to the site which
is open on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day weekend through October and on Fridays from mid-June until mid-August.

The house and lands of Ellwood are located in Orange and Spotsylvania Counties along Route 20.

The Friends' initial focus will be the two most historic rooms in Ellwood, the entrance hall and the parlor. It is estimated that $100,000 will completely restore and furnish both rooms.

The Friends have published a full-color capital campaign brochure which is available. Checks payable to Friends of Wilderness Battlefield-Ellwood may be mailed to FoWB, P.O. Box 576, Locust Grove, VA 22508. Matching employer gifts are encouraged.

For information about the Ellwood project call Dan Nickelson, Ellwood Public Relations Coordinator for FoWB, at (540) 972-5320 or Carolyn Elstner, Ellwood Committee Chair, (540) 373-6240.