The American Battlefield Trust (ABT) has finalized the purchase of the remainder of the former Gettysburg Country Club, securing the parcel on the corner of Chambersburg St. and County Club Lane that includes a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a clubhouse building.
ABT spokesperson Jared Herr said the Trust has now raised all the funds necessary to acquire the property. “When we declare victory on a property, that means we’ve secured all the funding for all the costs,” he said. The purchase concludes a fundraising campaign that relied primarily on member donations. Herr said ABT intends to launch a restoration campaign to remove non-historic structures from the property and return it to a landscape more representative of its 1863 appearance. “Our goal is to restore the land so visitors can understand what happened there,” he said.
The 14.5-acre property saw significant fighting on July 1, 1863. After the first shots of the battle were fired to the west, Union cavalry under General John Buford fell back in part over this tract. Confederate troops under General James Archer advanced over the property and were later driven back during a Union Iron Brigade counterattack. Additional Confederate brigades later moved across the same ground in a renewed assault. The property was littered with casualties, and a Confederate field hospital may have been established on the site. Confederate forces likely retreated over the tract on July 4 and 5.
The closure of the Gettysburg Country Club in 2007 opened a long and winding path to preservation. While the larger golf course joined Gettysburg National Military Park in 2010, the roadside frontage remained outside federal protection and became the subject of several development proposals, including plans for a large apartment complex. Local advocacy supported by the Trust helped prevent development and opened the door to this preservation solution.
The acquisition, which pushed ABT over 60,000 acres purchased nationwide, was marked with a ceremony attended by representatives from interested local organizations.
Herr emphasized that ABT aims to be a good neighbor in Gettysburg and stressed the organization’s commitment to working with the local community. “We’ve voluntarily remained a taxpayer in Adams County for 25 years,” he said, acknowledging concerns about the impact of federal land ownership on the local tax base. Properties transferred to the National Park Service typically cease to generate local tax revenue, but ABT retains ownership of several properties in Adams County — including Lee’s Headquarters and the site of the former Pickett’s Buffet—on which it continues to pay taxes.
Photo caption: ABT celebrated its 60,000th national acre acquired with a celebration at the Lincoln Headquarters property. Pictured left to right are Bob Iuliano (Gettysburg College), Kaleb Kusmierczyk and Codie Eash (Seminary Ridge Museum), Jill Sellers (Main Street Gettysburg), Judy Morley (Seminary Ridge Museum), Zach Bolitho (National Park Service), Gene Barr (Gettysburg Foundation), Randy Phiel (Adams County Commissioners), Andrew Dalton (Adams County Historical Society), Karl Pietrzak and Sandy Stewart (Destination Gettysburg), and Wendy Allen (Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania).
A map of all preserved land by the Trust is available at:
https://www.battlefields.org/preserve/saved-land
How amazing would it be if the trust revived the swimming pool and made it a public one for residents? Public pools do more than allow people to cool off during hot summers – they bring people together and foster a sense of community. In this parcel of newly preserved battlefield land, why not exceptionally preserve the pool to improve the lives of those here right now? As a matter of principle, the preservation of land to honor past struggles of humanity should be balanced with efforts to alleviate the present ones.
“Local advocacy supported by the Trust helped prevent development and opened the door to this preservation solution.”
Pick and choose. So open land miles out of town is preserved but land right next to the railroad station where Lincoln arrived to give his address is left go to build a modern apartment complex.
I would hope the Trust would include a wayside or some other tribute to the historical contributions the country club made… as a respite for a U.S. president and place in societal history.
Congratulations to American Battlefield Trust Gettysburg and everyone involved. Keeping History alive……….
Gettysburg is a great place to visit. I think the preservation that has taken place by the trust is awesome. They are preserving history at a time when others are trying to destroy it. Keep it up. Phil