Saving History Saturday: 140 Acres at Pea Ridge National Park

There’s good news on the preservation front in Arkansas!

Conservation groups have acquired 140 acres of a historic farm which borders Pea Ridge National Military Park and plans are in progress to transfer the land to NPS as soon as proper funding is available. It’s a dream come true since the Williams Hollow Farm has been designated as crucial for battlefield preservation since 1963.

Kevin Eads, superintendent of Pea Ridge National Military Park, described the farm as “important to the park as it helps tell the story of the battle that took place 158 years ago. Its preservation will help to protect cultural and natural resources.”

In the official press release, NPS explains:

The Williams Hollow Farm played a significant role in pre-Civil War history as well. Passing by the property to the northeast is Telegraph Road, a historic transportation route through northwest Arkansas that takes its name from the first telegraph lines in the area. Beginning in the 1830s, Telegraph Road was used as a route on the Trail of Tears, the forcible relocation of the Cherokee people and other Native Americans to Oklahoma in the winter of 1838-39 after the enactment of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The historic road was also part of the Overland Mail Company route, a transcontinental mail system that also offered stagecoach transportation to settlers, miners and businessmen traveling between St. Louis, Missouri, and San Francisco from 1857 to 1861.

Nonprofits are stepping forward to help raise the funds to ensure permanent protection and the transfer of the Williams Hollow Farm to the National Park Service, including Ridge National Military Park Foundation and National Park Foundation.

The complete press release with more historic and conservation details is available here: https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2020/03/140-acres-obtained-enlarge-pea-ridge-national-military-park