Five Groups Fund Easement For East Cavalry Field Farm
By Deborah Fitts
April2004

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - A 45-acre farm abutting East
Cavalry Field at Gettysburg National Military Park has been preserved
from development thanks to a collaborative effort by several local
and national groups.
A coalition that included the Land Conservancy of Adams County, the
Civil War Preservation Trust, the Conser-vation Fund, the Adams
County Agricultural Land Preservation Board, and the Friends of the
National Parks at Gettysburg worked to purchase a $92,500
conservation easement on the farm of David and Suzanne Shea, located
at the northeast corner of the Hanover and Low Dutch roads.
The acquisition brings to about 300 contiguous acres the amount of
conserved, privately held land in the East Cavalry Field area.
Friends President Vickey Monrean said, "As an organization dedicated
to preserving and protecting this hallowed ground, we are thrilled
that we were able to work with our partners to secure this easement."
The bulk of the funding was supplied by the federal Farmland
Protection Program.
During the battle, the Union 5th Corps marched by the farm en route
to battle, and Union cavalry used the prop-erty as a staging area.
The farmhouse that witnessed the battle still stands. The land lies
inside the Gettysburg Battle-field Historic District and is a
significant component of the East Cavalry Field viewshed.
Of the $92,500 purchase price, $56,200 was supplied by the Farmland
Protection Program. The Civil War Preser-vation Trust provided
$11,250, the Conservation Fund and the Adams County Agricultural Land
Preservation Board $10,000 each, and the Friends chipped in $6,500.
The federal farmland program also provided $1,500 to fund a
"stewardship endowment," which will sustain a monitoring program to
ensure that the easement maintains its integrity.
The farm today grows field corn and organic soybeans.