Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Grant will be county create preservation plan

The Camden Expedition is a well-known campaign that occurred during the American Civil War. During the effort to seize the city of Camden by Union Soldiers, strategic attacks were developed and carried out by Confederate generals. One of those was at Elkins Ferry. The next morning, another attack took place at the Prairie of DeAnn.

Thanks to the American Battlefield Protection Program, Nevada County has been awarded a grant to develop a plan to help preserve these historic landmarks.

Nevada County Chamber of Commerce Director, Mary Godwin said, Its the first step in helping us improve tourism and learn how to better observe our historic sites in Nevada County.

The grant awards $28,097 to the Nevada County Industrial Development Corporation and is intended to preserve and protect Americas historic battlefields. The money will be used to hire a consultant who will inspect and provide both the city of Prescott and the owners of the battlegrounds, specific ways to maintain its historic aspects.

Only 19 grants were awarded this year, according to information from the American Battlefield Protection Programs Web site. Nevada County was the only one granted in the state of Arkansas. Godwin said the county was fortunate to receive the grant, because this years application was its first attempt. There are some requirements attached to the grant, including a time stipulation.

We have up to a year and a half to get plans underway in the development, Godwin said. But we are very pleased and extremely excited to have been chosen.

The American Battlefield Protection Program awards totaling $492,184 annually, to assist in the conservation of Americas Civil War battlefields. Funded projects that aid this effort include: site mapping, archeological study, National Register of Historic Places nominations, preservation and management plans and GPS/GIS data collection.

Public meetings to develop community consensus and present the plans recommendations will be held. For information regarding these meetings, contact Godwin at the chamber at 887-2101.