“When you usually visit a battlefield what are you studying? History, that’s right! But today we’re not studying history. We’re studying science.”
That is how I begin my lesson every day on the Manassas Battlefield Watershed. The program From the Mountains to the Estuary focuses on educating middle school students in the area about the crucial wetlands and watershed area surrounding them. And in it’s in this way I began thinking outside the box.
There is clearly more to this battlefield than just the battle. The Civil War is its most obvious feature, but it’s also a national park. It’s important to environment; when approaching my park I marveled at the intense concrete towers and paved lots that surround it. It stand out—between impatient horns and brake lights—with its impeccable greenery and 19th century landscape (which has been diligently restored to actually resemble 19th century plants and landscaping). I, who have lived here my entire life, knew nothing about this place.
I mean, I knew some things. As a history major I know a fair bit about the war, both battles. I’ve definitely been to the battlefield once or twice, and I’m paid to be an interpreter for the protected wetlands here. I knew about the Williams Center Mall and the proposed Disney theme park. I knew what a nightmare the entire place causes the intersection of Sudley and 29 right down the road from my house. But I knew nothing of how it all got here.
As you explore the site, you can become familiar with many of the things I learned. Maps detailing important structures and their restoration history, graphs illustrating how, over time, the National Park Service acquired so much land, and plenty more. But the park that stands today has been a long process, and it has met its share of failures. But it is ultimately successful, and is the top visited tourist attractions in the area (coming in second to Washington, DC).
The preservation efforts really started very soon after the war ended. However officially, Sons of the Confederate Veterans (SCV) didn’t gain the basis of the park that stands today, Henry Hill, until 1921. However, the upkeep and maintenance of the project was too costly, and it was suggested the entire operation be turned over to the US government.
The Bull Run Recreational Demonstration Area, initiated as a New Deal plan in 1935, assisted and encouraged expansion of the park. It grew. However, bickering and uncertainty stalled the transfer of the park to the federal government until 1940. Tensions between the government and the SVC over Reconstruction still existed, and the SVC were biased on how the battle should be portrayed. Nevertheless, on May 10, 1940 the Manassas National Battlefield Park was officially established. The visitor center soon followed, as did the installation and restoration of several other exhibits.
Today the park spans over 5,200 acres with over 800,000 visitors each year, but it faces many challenges. The area around it has blossomed into an urban sprawl, and park management competes for crucial land with many developers. As mentioned, its open pastures already appear out of place in the bustling city. However, the federal government through the National Park Service continues to maintain this area, often supported by local residents.
Two instances in the 20th century threatened the park. In the 1980s a 542 acre shopping mall/office complex was proposed. Locals weren’t told the plans for the mall until the area was underway, having been cleared and plowed flat. Their outcry was quickly apparent. They protested they weren’t well informed and would have opposed the development from the beginning. Their reasons included the heavy congestion the shopping mall would cause to the loss of the beautiful land now being prepared for concrete to the doubts that the mall would be economically sound, another mall being less than eight miles away.
Annie Snyder was the face of the opposition with the Save the Battlefield Coalition. The group organized to petition congress and form protests against the project supervisors. Eventually, the development came under serious scrutiny from the EPA and Department of the Interior, when it became obvious the area had been a crucial wetland area.
The project was deadlocked. Meanwhile, the Coalition held a much publicized rally, demonstrating how areas where soldiers had fallen there would now be department stores. This got Congress’s attention, further complicating construction. The building was effectively stonewalled.
Eventually the land was sold to the National Park Service and restored. Today a plaque stands in the area detailing the struggle and explaining the preservation process of the important wetlands there, running to Young Branch Creek nearby.
In 1993 Disney surprised locals to the area by announcing its proposal to purchase 3,000 acres of land only a few miles from the battlefield in Haymarket, VA. The state supported the proposal for the jobs and tourism it would generate. However, there was a strong local backlash.
Haymarket at the time was still a rural area, and many residents felt it should remain so. Others felt the park would detract from the gravity of the park. And as always, the congestion from the resulted building was supposed to be a nightmare.
The planners of the theme park wanted a Civil War theme to complement the nearby battlefield, but this was also rejected. It was seen as adding levity to a serious situation; mocking the nearby park.
The Park Service and Department of the Interior began negotiations with Disney to discuss the parameters of the park. During these negotiations, it became apparent a deal would be worked out. However, meanwhile fierce lobbying groups were appearing attacking Disney and its developers. They accused Disney as being full of rich elites with no concern for the common man.
At the Disney premier of The Lion King over 100 protestors were seen in Washington, DC against Virginia’s Disney theme park. Surprised by the strong opposition and seeing the failure of the Williams Center Mall previously, Disney decided to find a new location, heavily concerned with their public image. Disney Virginia was canceled.
These are the two most famous examples of the challenges that have and always will face the National Park Service with the Manassas Battlefield Park. In an area so close to Washington, DC, urban development has blossomed. In the initial establishment of the park, it was always about trying to gather lands before shopping centers could get them first.
In the selling of Dogan House, the owner admitted he could get a higher price by selling to a local developer. But sometimes the promise of preservation of a natural setting and the prestige of historical significance are enough for the Park Service to maintain and acquire new land.
See more about this process