It appears likely that the Wood Lake Battlefield will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), so long as a majority of nearby property owners do not disapprove of the designation.
Over the past few months, the Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association (WLBPA) and the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) have been in contact with approximately 12 landowners who are located in the area of the battlefield. Information was sent to residents and meetings were held to allow for any questions or comments in a face-to-face format.
On Saturday, the second of such meetings took place at Bootlegger’s Supper Club, where a few of the property owners came to discuss the issue as well as voice their concerns.
WLBPA President Tom Hosier said that the underlying desire for the NRHP designation has to do with the Wood Lake Battlefield association’s ability to receive grants, which would be improved by being included on the register list.
Essentially, a place on the national historic register serves as a certificate of validation for the Wood Lake Battlefield.
Concerns, Hosier said, have revolved around accusations that the preservation association represents the state, that there is a plan to eventually seize control of properties and that any money obtained for the site would be a misappropriation of taxpayer dollars.
Of the first two comments, Hosier stated flatly that, “There are no threats to the land and there are no rights taken away.”
If anything, MNHS National Register Archaeologist David Mather said, landowners will obtain benefits for their properties. Mathers pointed out that the designation would bring protections against federal projects such as highways, pipelines and transmission lines, and also makes the properties eligible for Minnesota Historical and Cultural grants that provide money for site restoration or conservation work if needed as a result of issues such as erosion.
Regarding taxpayer dollars, Hosier pointed out that the money has already been appropriated to fund locations of historical significance and rationalized that we ought to take advantage of opportunities where the funds can be justifiably funneled into southwest Minnesota.
Speaking on a condition of anonymity, one of the landowners present said that not being included in the national register was a matter of preference. And that they didn’t believe inclusion would benefit their heirs.
“We just think we’re better off not getting involved,” they said.
WLB validated
With over 10,000 sites listed on the national register just in Minnesota, it is tough for Hosier to believe that the Wood Lake Battlefield is not already designated.
“It is hard for me or the association to think that it was not a national historic place 50 or 100 years go,” he said. “I mean, how could the last battle of the US /Dakota War of 1862 not be designated as national historic place? It’s one of a kind in history.”
Experts concur with Hosier’s notion of the site’s significance. Historian, and Pulitzer Prize Winning author of a Battle Cry of Freedom, James McPherson, said that the Wood Lake Battlefield, as the site of the decisive battle in the U.S. Dakota Conflict, “is as important to understanding this civil war as Gettysburg is to understanding the larger conflict.”
Bolstering the credibility is the WLBPA membership, which has grown in excess of 1,000 individuals since the association was founded in 2006.
The WLBPA states a mission to, “preserve, restore, promote and respectfully interpret, for all people, the Wood Lake Battlefield site.” It also lists a goal to expand the memorial beyond its current one acre plot into a portion of the of the battlefield that has been recreated to resemble the prairie as it would have been in 1862. The site would contain interpretive signs, trails and safe parking.
Hosier said that the annual Wood Lake Battlefield Symposium was developed to create a venue from where the interpretation of the battlefield could occur, and now that that has been accomplished, the focus is on restoration of a portion of the battlefield.
John and Muriel Coulter, who own property apart of the battlefield, declined an offer from the WLBPA for the purchase their land, but did agree to put their property into a Historical Preservation Easement that sets aside 52 acres of pastureland for the association restoration and interpretive site initiative.
By signing into the perpetual easement, the Coulters agree that the land will not be used in a manner that is different from its current management, and in return receive a one time payment. This means that the land can continue to be farmed, but the family is prohibited from using the land in a manner that would undermine the property’s integrity in terms of the battlefield site, i.e. putting up a wind turbine.
Muriel Coulter said that she believes the preservation of the battlefield is important and that members of the WLBPA “have been extremely cooperative” the last four years that she has worked with them.
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It appears likely that the Wood Lake Battlefield will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), so long as a majority of nearby property owners do not disapprove of the designation.
Over the past few months, the Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association (WLBPA) and the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) have been in contact with approximately 12 landowners who are located in the area of the battlefield. Information was sent to residents and meetings were held to allow for any questions or comments in a face-to-face format.
On Saturday, the second of such meetings took place at Bootlegger’s Supper Club, where a few of the property owners came to discuss the issue as well as voice their concerns.
WLBPA President Tom Hosier said that the underlying desire for the NRHP designation has to do with the Wood Lake Battlefield association’s ability to receive grants, which would be improved by being included on the register list.
Essentially, a place on the national historic register serves as a certificate of validation for the Wood Lake Battlefield.
Concerns, Hosier said, have revolved around accusations that the preservation association represents the state, that there is a plan to eventually seize control of properties and that any money obtained for the site would be a misappropriation of taxpayer dollars.
Of the first two comments, Hosier stated flatly that, “There are no threats to the land and there are no rights taken away.”
If anything, MNHS National Register Archaeologist David Mather said, landowners will obtain benefits for their properties. Mathers pointed out that the designation would bring protections against federal projects such as highways, pipelines and transmission lines, and also makes the properties eligible for Minnesota Historical and Cultural grants that provide money for site restoration or conservation work if needed as a result of issues such as erosion.
Regarding taxpayer dollars, Hosier pointed out that the money has already been appropriated to fund locations of historical significance and rationalized that we ought to take advantage of opportunities where the funds can be justifiably funneled into southwest Minnesota.
Speaking on a condition of anonymity, one of the landowners present said that not being included in the national register was a matter of preference. And that they didn’t believe inclusion would benefit their heirs.
“We just think we’re better off not getting involved,” they said.
WLB validated
With over 10,000 sites listed on the national register just in Minnesota, it is tough for Hosier to believe that the Wood Lake Battlefield is not already designated.
“It is hard for me or the association to think that it was not a national historic place 50 or 100 years go,” he said. “I mean, how could the last battle of the US /Dakota War of 1862 not be designated as national historic place? It’s one of a kind in history.”
Experts concur with Hosier’s notion of the site’s significance. Historian, and Pulitzer Prize Winning author of a Battle Cry of Freedom, James McPherson, said that the Wood Lake Battlefield, as the site of the decisive battle in the U.S. Dakota Conflict, “is as important to understanding this civil war as Gettysburg is to understanding the larger conflict.”
Bolstering the credibility is the WLBPA membership, which has grown in excess of 1,000 individuals since the association was founded in 2006.
The WLBPA states a mission to, “preserve, restore, promote and respectfully interpret, for all people, the Wood Lake Battlefield site.” It also lists a goal to expand the memorial beyond its current one acre plot into a portion of the of the battlefield that has been recreated to resemble the prairie as it would have been in 1862. The site would contain interpretive signs, trails and safe parking.
Hosier said that the annual Wood Lake Battlefield Symposium was developed to create a venue from where the interpretation of the battlefield could occur, and now that that has been accomplished, the focus is on restoration of a portion of the battlefield.
John and Muriel Coulter, who own property apart of the battlefield, declined an offer from the WLBPA for the purchase their land, but did agree to put their property into a Historical Preservation Easement that sets aside 52 acres of pastureland for the association restoration and interpretive site initiative.
By signing into the perpetual easement, the Coulters agree that the land will not be used in a manner that is different from its current management, and in return receive a one time payment. This means that the land can continue to be farmed, but the family is prohibited from using the land in a manner that would undermine the property’s integrity in terms of the battlefield site, i.e. putting up a wind turbine.
Muriel Coulter said that she believes the preservation of the battlefield is important and that members of the WLBPA “have been extremely cooperative” the last four years that she has worked with them.
Grant opportunities
In order to create the restored interpretive site, the WLBPA has been working to obtain a series of grants that will help to fund the site’s development.
The association took the first step last year when it applied for and received a $42,000 American Battlefield Protection Program ABPP grant used to commission a study of the site, which verified details surrounding the conflict as well as its exact location.
The study, performed by Two Pines Resource Group LLC., will be used to help justify the national register designation as well as an additional ABPP grant that the association hopes to use for the architectural design of the interpretive site.
Hosier said that he is optimistic that the association will receive thesecond grant, as well as a third, which would fund construction costs. Hosier noted that it is his understanding that once you get the first grant the second and third are easier to obtain.
Other news:
Mathers said that if over half of the landowners decide that they are opposed to the Wood Lake Battlefield’s national register inclusion that the State Historic Preservation Office board charged with making the determination cannot designate the site.
Whether or not the WLBPA Association receives the nod, however, is not expected to affect the association’s ability to obtain the ABPA grants that will assist the organization in creating the interpretive site on the Coulter easement.
Hosier said he expects to hear if the WBPA will receive the second of the ABPA grants sometime this spring. Minnesota’s State Historic Preservation Office board will make a determination on the national registration request on March 23.
