A 21.4-acre
tract on which Union troops advanced upon Little Kennesaw Mountain has been added
to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, a victory amid the continued
threat of residential development, the Trust for Public Land says.Kennesaw and Little Kennesaw mountain rise behind the 21 acres (TPL)
The national nonprofit
recently announced it had closed on the property that belonged to the Hensley
family of Marietta, Ga., which sold 34 acres to the National Park Service in
2008.
George Dusenbury,
Georgia director for the TPL, said the NPS paid the fair market value of $2.58
million using funds from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The parcel is north of Burnt Hickory Road.
“TPL worked in
partnership with NPS to complete the necessary property due diligence and
secure the federal funding needed for the acquisition,” he told the Picket.
The property is largely
meadow with some woods. A stream that flows through the property was
dammed in the 1950s to form a small pond; it will remain as a fire suppression
resource. The property is surrounded on three sides by land already owned
by the NPS.
“The newly
acquired property, now under National Park Service ownership, safeguards not
only the rural, open character of the area but also any Civil War-related
archaeological resources that may lie beneath its surface,” the TPL
announcement said.Click to enlarge to see details of newly acquired tract in orange; park boundaries in green (TPL)
The Picket
reached out to the park and the Hensley family for comment but has not yet
received answers to questions about the transaction.
The National Park Foundation provided funding to assist with associated costs, such as
the demolition of an old
barn, said Dusenbury.
The park --
the most-heavily visited national battlefield in
the country -- recently commemorated the 161st anniversary of the
Atlanta Campaign battle in Cobb County.
Charlie
Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, told the
Picket, “We appreciate landowners
who are committed to preservation and will wait on the slow federal government
process for acquiring additional land for the National Park Service.”
The TPL said is goal is to help create a cohesive park that “supports
public exploration and learning.”
“This
acquisition isn’t just about adding acreage -- it’s about preventing the
fragmentation of this irreplaceable landscape and keeping it from being lost to
suburban development,” Dusenbury said in the announcement.
Kennesaw
Mountain National Battlefield spans 2,923 acres, including three battlefield
areas and 11 miles of preserved Civil War earthworks.Another view of the 21 acres recently added to the NPS park (TPL)
The TPL said its
land additions to the park include:
Early 2000s: Approximately 50 acres to expand park
access and continuity.
2008: Acquisition of 34 acres from the
Hensley family, featuring forests, fields and a lake.
2013: Addition of the 42-acre Hays farm,
home to Nodine’s Hill, with remnant Union entrenchments, rifle pits and cannon
placements.
Sam Hensley,
a former Georgia legislator, once owned the land involved in both family
transactions. The property includes trenches built by Federal Maj. Gen. William
T. Sherman’s forces in June 1864.
“Our parents never let us forget that we stand
on hallowed ground. They always told us that it was never going to be developed
and that we would never see rooftops on this property,” said Sam Hensley Jr. during a ceremony in 2008 concerning the 34 acres. (Sam's brother Shuler is a notable Tony Award-winning actor and singer.)
“That became a very difficult thing to
accomplish over the years. There was not a week that went by that my father did
not have an unsolicited call from a developer or somebody that wanted to build
a subdivision out here.”
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