Old Slave Road in suburban St. Louis could be getting a new name.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Historic Preservation Commission in Wildwood, Mo., is considering whether to recommend a name change.
Residents who live along the road complain that the name tends to offend people. Opponents say residents are trying to sanitize history.
The sequestration, if implemented on March 1, 2013, will force the National
Park Service to reduce its budget five percent – $134 million. The battlefield,
along with the Midwest Regional Office’s Heartland Inventory & Monitoring
program, which is stationed at the battlefield, could be forced to reduce their
annual operating budget by $162,000. This reduction will happen in the
remaining seven months of this fiscal year. All 25,000 National Park Service
employees face challenges in performing their jobs with these reductions.
According to Supt. Hillmer, “The loss of several seasonal employees, the
summer youth program, along with a freeze on hiring any vacant positions, travel restrictions, and a reduction in supplies will be the likely impacts at Wilson’s Creek NB.” Hillmer further stated, “Due to our prudent spending at the start of the fiscal year (October 1, 2012), the park has been preparing for the
possibility of this event.”
The park maintains its cultural and natural resources for our visitors. We
will continue to work hard to maintain the 33 buildings, 10 miles of trails, 6
miles of road, provide living history demonstrations, and educate the visitors
of the importance of the battlefield. Wilson’s Creek NB is an icon of Southwest
Missouri and the greater Springfield area. Keeping Missouri’s only national
battlefield open and safe to visitors involves the dedication and hard work of
all our employees. You might not always see National Park Service employees at
work, but you will see their results in preserving the history and cultural
landscape resources for future generations.
Administered by the National Park Service, Wilson’s Creek National
Battlefield preserves the site of the first major battle of the Civil War west
of the Mississippi river, where the first Union general was killed in the Civil
War, and evokes the rural character experienced by the combatants. Wilson’s
Creek is located 10 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri, at the
intersection of Wilson’s Creek Boulevard (Hwy ZZ) and Farm Road 182. To receive more information, call (417) 732-2662.
On Saturday, March 9, 2013
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield is hosting a Volunteer Recruitment Fair from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The day’s activities will begin with
a short video introducing the NPS Volunteer in Parks (VIP) program followed by a thirty-minute presentation to address some of the specific volunteer needs for the 2013 spring and summer season. Anyone interested in volunteering at the battlefield is encouraged to attend. Volunteers should be at least sixteen
years of age to participate in activities. Light refreshments will be served.
Reservations are not required for the meeting.
After the 9:00 a.m. presentation, visitors and prospective volunteers will have the opportunity to stop by several volunteer exhibition tables set up throughout the visitor center. Each station will be hosted a park staff member or one of the
current volunteers at Wilsons’s Creek NB and provide opportunity for the public
to learn first-hand about the various volunteer positions. In addition to
answering questions the volunteers will also share personal in-sight as well as
some of their own experiences with the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield
volunteer program.
According to Superintendent Ted Hillmer,
“The programs presented, at the park, are strongly supported by
volunteers. Come and be a part of preserving our
nation’s history.” A registration table will be staffed where new or ‘prospective’ volunteers can stop by for additional information and pick up or fill out the appropriate paperwork.
There is an immediate need for
volunteers to assist during the busy spring school season (April/May) with
providing educational tours of the historic Ray House as well short programs on
Civil War medicine and other Civil War topics. These and other 2013
opportunities to volunteer will be discussed in further detail during the fair.
Did any of your ancestors live in Missouri or fight in battles in the area during the Civil War? If so, the Missouri secretary of state has a website that may provide unique information for your family history.
The records are from the files of the National Archives and Records Administration. The site is found at www.sos.mo.gov/archives/ provost/.
Missouri’s Civil War Heritage Foundation announced today that the American
Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) of the National Park Service has awarded
it a grant to conduct an archeological survey in Callaway County, Missouri. The
survey will focus on the core area of a battle that occurred there on July 28,
1862, during a Confederate campaign that is known as Porter’s Raid. Callaway
County recently commemorated the 150th anniversary of this battle, the largest
to occur in this central Missouri county known as “The Kingdom of Callaway.”
The Foundation is collaborating with a local affiliate, Kingdom of Callaway
Civil War Heritage, which is organizing logistical support for the survey
crew.
The survey will be conducted
under the supervision of Dr. Doug Scott of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
and Dr. Steve Dasovich of Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri.
Lindenwood’s Archeological Research Program will supply many of the student
surveyors for a field study of the battlefield. Faculty and students of
Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri and Missouri Valley College of Marshall, Missouri are also participating in the field work.
Beginning in 2006, Missouri’s Civil War Heritage Foundation has organized and co-sponsored six Civil War archaeology projects in Missouri. These projects, near Centralia, Boonville, Waverly, Marshall, Butler and Ironton, have documented important aspects of Missouri’s Civil War battle history, according to Greg Wolk, Executive Director of the Foundation. In addition, said Wolk, “these events have sparked public interest in Missouri history, motivated tourism initiatives and other local civic projects, and provided hands-on experience for students who might consider careers in anthropology or archeology.”
The Moore’s Mill field survey is scheduled to occur March 21 – 24, 2013.
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield announces their 6th Annual PhotoExhibit. Entries were submitted by the Southwest Missouri Camera Club.The entries will be on exhibit, at the battlefield, in the Visitor Center
multipurpose room, from September 1, 2012, through September 15, 2012. The visitor’s center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week. The winners, in each category, have been chosen, so please stop by to see if your favorite picture won an award.
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield announces their 6th Annual Phot Exhibit. Entries were submitted by the Southwest Missouri Camera Club.The entries will be on exhibit, at the battlefield, in the Visitor Center
multi-purpose room, from September 1, 2012, through September 15, 2012. Thevisitor’s center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week.
In partnership with the Southwest Missouri Camera Club, the National Park
Service is working cooperatively again this year to highlight the
historical and educational aspects of the battlefield through photography.
According to Superintendent Ted Hillmer, Jr., “this exhibit allows the
camera club to showcase their members’ creative sensitivity experience in
presenting the battlefield for future generations”. Read more
Nowhere in America was the Civil War fought more bitterly, more savagely or for so long a time as in Missouri. The violence is traceable to 1854, when war over slavery broke out on Missouri’s western border; the last shot (arguably) was fired in 1882, into the brain of Missouri’s most notorious, and least reconstructed, rebel guerrilla, Jesse James.
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