Wilson's Creek Foundation Acquires 157 Acres, Raising Funds

October 2005

REPUBLIC, Mo. — The Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Foundation announced a major land purchase on Sept. 1 and prepared to launch a fundraising campaign to support it.

Foundation officials and Terrell Creek developer Steve Redford of Missouri Partners Inc. announced the sale of 141 acres and donation of 16 acres on which housing would have been built.

The Civil War Preservation Trust, which was represented at the announcement press conference by Chris Allen, presented Foundation President Ron Elkins with a check for $50,000, representing the initial payment to Terrell Creek.

The total purchase price is $921,200. Foundation Director of Finance Roseann Blunt said the closing will be in January and the foundation will have three years in which to raise the funds. She said they will be lobbying for federal funds, raising money from individual and corporate donors and be looking for funding programs they might be eligible for.

In a released statement Elkins said: "The Terrell Creek development has been a wake-up call for us. It has made us realize that development is coming to the area around the park and we need to launch an effort to protect the park's boundaries and visual landscapes."

The 157 acres are part of 2,000 acres near the battlefield that Terrell Creek intends to develop with housing. The tract was identified in the park's boundary expansion bill last year as one of six parcels significant to the battle that should be protected from development and eventually become part of the battlefield.

The tract, located to the west of the park's boundary across ZZ highway, includes Moody Springs, the site of Confederate troop encampments, as well as early American Indian settlements and the intersection of the Old Wire Road and the York Road. The donated 16 acres are on the southwest boundary of the park.

“Everybody feels really good about the agreement we’ve been able to reach, as far as the park is concerned,” said Blunt. She acknowledged residents’ concerns about the impact of so much housing on schools and roads.

The Civil War Preservation Trust gift represents the initial efforts of a Preservation Fundraising Campaign that will continue as the Foundation solicits support for this and other land preservation efforts around the park.

The Foundation’s long-term goal is to purchase all six identified parcels of land and preserve a quarter-mile buffer area surrounding the park through agricultural easements or acquisition.

The non-profit Foundation was organized in 1950 to advocate for establishment of a national battlefield park at Wilson’s Creek. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 8163, Springfield, MO 65801. For information, call (417) 864-3041 or visit www.wilsonscreek.com