Friends,
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to announce that today, after almost three years, the 141 acre farm in the heart of the Piedmont Battlefield is protected forever. The Shiflett family, who have owned the property for more than a century, were offered a significant amount of money if they would lease their land to be developed into a solar energy production facility. The plan would have put money in their pocket in exchange for ruining the scenic beauty and historic integrity of this pristine battlefield tract.
But because of your support, we were able to purchase a protective preservation easement on the property which will preserve the property for all time and allow the family to continue to farm the property like they have for generations. This is just one more preservation victory that your support has made possible – and preservation on the Piedmont Battlefield was once thought impossible. You’ve proven that for our small preservation army, anything is possible.
What makes this victory even better is that our agreement with the Shiflett family allows for public access to the site. That means not only can we announce this preservation victory, we can start today to open the property to visitors and create the very first interpretive park experience on the Piedmont Battlefield. Let’s celebrate victory at Piedmont by opening what we preserved to the public – and let’s do it right away.
We have already developed plans for two Piedmont visitor areas: “Tour-stops”, with parking interpretive signage and views of key battlefield landmarks, and we also have cleared the way with the Virginia Department of Transportation to install highway signage to lead visitors to the battlefield. Together, these infrastructure improvements will make this battlefield a visitor destination.
Please consider making a gift to open the Piedmont Battlefield to visitors. Because of funding that we’ve received from the Commonwealth of Virginia, every dollar of your gift will be matched 5 to 1! With your gift, you open the Piedmont Battlefield to visitors for the first time since the guns there fell silent more than 159 years ago . . .
Thank you for what you’ve done at Piedmont and for considering a gift today . . . we’ve come this far, how can we stop now?
See you at the front,
Keven Walker, Chief Executive Officer
Shenandoah Valley Battlefield