Three posts by me in one day may not be unprecedented, but it sure is rare… and with news like this, I couldn’t resist.
Word came to me earlier today, via blogging pal Craig Swain, that a portion of the Loudoun Heights battle site is now a state park.
Friday morning, McDonnell’s office announced that the Old Dominion Land Conservancy of Purcellville reached an agreement with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to donate the 600 acres, which includes historic farmsteads, woods and wildflower meadows, borders the Appalachian Trail, and was the site of action of Mosby’s Rangers and others during the Civil War.
“Through the work of the Leggett Foundation and now the Old Dominion Land Conservancy, lands of both natural and historic significance have been preserved in an area of the state where such lands are rapidly disappearing,” McDonnell said in the announcement. “Because of their most recent efforts many of these lands will be available to future generations as a Virginia State Park.”
Let me not get ahead of myself… it’s not a done deal yet, but it’s expected to close later this year.
As you can see from the map, there are three tracts (in blue, red, and light blue) that make up the 600 acres. I don’t know exactly what they’ll do with it, but this is some prime ground for interpretation.
The portion in the darker blue, along Piney Run, serves as a great spot for interpreting the lead-in for Mosby’s attack, including the taking of Cole’s pickets. Mosby planned to sweep to the west of the old Hillsborough Road (now Harpers Ferry Road), as the approach for the attack.
The light blue portion, which reads “Mosby Battlefield Site”, covers the ground where Cole’s Cavalry was camped.
You can read more about it, here.
How’s that for timely?!
All I can say is… to the powers that be in seeing this thing to fruition… count me in as a volunteer for the planning commission. Have interpretation plan in mind… will travel!
Cenantua's Blog 
January 13th, 2014 → 1:05 pm
[…] of all things Mosby and/or Cole)… absolutely. I now have a better idea where to go, on the soon to be state park, when I want to reflect on the last minutes of James Moore’s life as a trooper in […]