Deed To 40 Acres Is Turned Over To Rich Mtn. Group
By Deborah Fitts

BEVERLY, W.Va. - Forty acres purchased nine years ago by the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS) was donated July 7 to the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation.

"They've been such good stewards of the property it just didn't make sense not to turn it over to them," said Jim Campi, spokesman for the Civil War Preservation Trust, the successor organization to APCWS.

The 40-acre purchase of core battlefield was the first land to be preserved at Rich Mountain. APCWS paid $26,000 for it in 1992. The trust placed a conservation easement on the tract to preserve it as permanent open space. Trust President James Lighthizer called Rich Mountain "a preservation success story."

"Ten years ago not a single acre of this historic site was protected," Lighthizer said. "Today thanks to our partnership with the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation and other preservation groups, more than 400 acres have been saved from development."

A federal transportation-enhancement grant protected 332 acres of the battlefield in 1994. APCWS and the Conservation Fund purchased another 14 acres in 1996.

The deed-transfer ceremony was part of the July 7 and 8 weekend of events marking the 140th anniversary of the battle.

Despite weekend rains that caused serious flooding in some parts of West Virginia, the event went on as planned and was considered a success despite smaller Sunday spectator turnout than expected.