Feb/March 2006 HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - A 70-acre farm at the center of Stonewall Jackson's line on Schoolhouse Ridge was transferred Nov. 19 to the ownership of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

The $2.5 million purchase marks the latest acquisition by the park following a boundary expansion last year. Superintendent Don Campbell said the new addition brings to about 500 acres the amount of protected land on Schoolhouse Ridge, where the Confederate commander masterminded the siege and capture of the federal garrison in September 1862. The 12,500-man Union force that surrendered to Jackson the morning of Sept. 15, on the eve of Antietam, represented the largest single capture of federal forces during the war.

The congressionally approved boundary expansion added 1,240 acres to the park. Campbell said only about 100 acres remain to be purchased, including a 74-acre farm that is the last portion of the Schoolhouse Ridge battlefield. The remaining land comprises "four or five little pieces" around Bolivar Heights.

"The lion's share of what we're trying to protect has been accomplished, but it won't be completely protected till we've been able to get those," said Campbell.

He said the legislation had come none too soon to save the battlefield.

"We have a tsunami of development against the park boundary. If we didn't get the legislation when we did - Sept. 24, 2004 - all the land would have been gone." A requirement of the legislation is that acquisitions be made from willing sellers.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national land-conservation organization, worked with the landowners, the Ott family, to carry out the purchase. In 2003 TPL was instrumental in helping the park with the acquisition of the 99-acre Murphy Farm on Schoolhouse Ridge.

Campbell also credited U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who made the funding available. In a press release Byrd stated, "I am proud to be part of this effort to protect and enrich such a special place so that its lessons and legacy will live on for generations to come."

Campbell said the Ott farm, with a small house and barn, was "the same battlefield terrain that was there in 1862." He cast an anxious eye downriver, however, where the viewshed along the Virginia shore of the Potomac River remains vulnerable to development. "That will be another issue we'll be working on," he said.

On the other hand, Campbell noted that the heights around the historic village are protected - Maryland Heights, Loudoun Heights and Bolivar Heights - and now Schoolhouse Ridge.

"We've been at this for 17 years," said Campbell. "You have to win every time, and developers only have to win once. But persistence is what pays off.

"I'm very pleased that we've managed to save the entire Civil War skyline of Harpers Ferry. We can say with assurance that there won't be any cell towers marring the mountaintops. It's very reassuring to be able to stand in Harpers Ferry, which Jackson referred to as a teacup, and look all around 360 degrees and know it is protected."

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