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Civil War Preservation Groups Team Up to Clean Up the Black Jack Battlefield

Posted on Mar. 27th, 2010

Posted by Media Release
Black Jack Battlefield and Nat

Baldwin City, Kansas – Seven generations after the beginning of the Civil War, another wave of volunteers is about to descend on America’s storied battlegrounds – only this array of dedicated men and women will be armed with paint brushes, trash bags and weed whackers.

On Saturday, April 10, 2010, history buffs and preservationists from around the country will team up with the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) to help clean and restore America’s priceless battlefields, cemeteries and shrines. The nationwide effort – dubbed Park Day – is underwritten with a grant from History™, formerly The History Channel, and has been endorsed by Take Pride in America, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Park Day, now in its 15th year, is an annual hands-on preservation event created by CWPT to assist local groups with the maintenance of Civil War sites. This year, more than 100 sites in 24 states are expected to take part in the effort, with activities ranging from trash removal to trail building. In exchange for their hard work, volunteers receive t-shirts and learn the site’s history from local experts.

The Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Park (BJBNP) will participate in Park Day 2010. Volunteers are needed to remove a dilapidated modern outbuilding, clean up trash, collect sticks and branches, and generally spruce up the Battlefield and the Park to get ready for this year's touring season. For more information about Park Day at the Black Jack Battlefield, please contact Kerry Altenbernd at 785-883-2106, or volunteers@blackjackbattlefield.org, or visit www.blackjackbattlefield.org .

WHAT: “Park Day” historic preservation event at Black Jack

WHEN: April 10, 2010, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Park, 163 E 2000 Road, Wellsville, Kansas (3 miles east of Baldwin City, Kansas)

With 55,000 members, the CWPT is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its goal is to preserve our nation’s endangered Civil War sites and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. The CWPT’s website is located at www.civilwar.org.

The Black Jack Battlefield Trust, Inc. is developing the BJBNP to preserve the site where the abolitionist John Brown fought the true first battle of the American Civil War, June 2, 1856.