Foundation buys historic battlefield By James Jacenich • Staff Writer
McDOWELL - Oscar Driver Jr.'s family owned a farm that just happened to comprise most of the field of fire during the Battle of McDowell, May 8, 1862.
 | | Jim Barnes of Richmond spent one day last spring on the Bullpasture River at Oscar Driver's Vista-Valley fishing camp. Driver sold his 422-acre farm, which includes much of Sitlington Hill - scene of the 1862 Battle of McDowell - to the Lee-Jackson Education Foundation and the Blue Sky Valley LLC and closed his business. Both groups want to preserve the land for its historic value and scenic beauty. (Recorder file photo)
|
|
This week, the Lee-Jackson Educational Foundation formally announced it had purchased all 422 acres of the property for $1,477,000.
Around 150 acres alongside and west of the Bullpasture River were then sold by the foundation to Blue Sky Valley LLC.
Blue Sky Valley is owned by Ross Newell III, Stuart Thomas and Don Carmichael. Newell said they bought about 150 acres of Driver's property in an arrangement between Driver and the foundation. Newell said the property will be for the private use of the owners' families. Blue Sky Valley owns around 50 acres of land west of the Bullpasture River to Route 678 and 100 acres east of the river.
"This is a unique and beautiful piece of property," said Newell. "We want to use, preserve and protect the land. We were excited to work with the foundation and Driver to make this happen."
"Basically, we are expanding what we already own," said Thomas McLernon, past president of the Lee-Jackson foundation.
"Oscar Driver's property is a valuable piece of land that should be preserved," agreed Bryan Obaugh, chair of the McDowell Battlefield Advisory and Review committee. "This is it," he said. "The final piece of the puzzle is in place."
The advisory committee was formed in the fall of 2005 to advise the Highland County Board of Supervisors on matters relating to the preservation of the McDowell Battlefield. Earlier that year county residents, primarily those in McDowell and the core area of the battlefield, met with representatives of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation to discuss the its land acquisition plans.
Some residents were concerned that the foundation was driving land prices up and forcing landowners to sell. There was also concern about the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation turning land over to the National Park Service, despite assurances by the SVBF to the contrary.
The committee conducted a survey of landowners in 2006 and reported to supervisors that of the 2,258 acres in the battlefield core area, only a portion on Sitlington Hill should be preserved.
Presently, three foundations own land in the core area. The SVBF has 61 acres; the Civil War Preservation Trust has 100 acres; and the Lee-Jackson Foundation, with its acquisition of Driver's land, has 356 acres.
Driver operated Vista Valley LLC, which offered trout fishing in its ponds and along the river. The business is closed until further notice.
"Oscar Driver has been a friend of preservation for many years," said Jack Ackerly, vice president of the Lee-Jackson foundation. "More than 15 years ago he donated an easement that followed Stonewall Jackson's ascent route to the summit of Sitlington's Hill; he has trucked elderly folks to the summit when various historic groups have conducted tours there; and, he has helped look after the land for the absentee preservation owners over the years.
"Richard Shamrock of United Country/Shamrock & Stephenson Realty did a great job of representing the seller, resolving differences, and bringing the deal together," Ackerly said.
Obaugh said the land now owned by preservation groups is sufficient to preserve the part of the battlefield where most of the fighting occurred.
"The Driver land includes the core of the battlefield," said Ackerly. "On the day of the battle, the first four Confederate regiments on the summit of Sitlington's Hill that bore the brunt of the fighting were the 52nd and 58th Virginia, the 12th Georgia and the 44th Virginia. Mr. Driver owned the position of the first two and a portion of the 12th Georgia. His land is critical to an accurate interpretation of the Battle of McDowell."
"We are the only battlefield on the east coast that is pristine," said Obaugh. "It's as it was."
"I am glad that my land that was the property of my ancestors will be preserved and studied by history students in the years ahead," said Driver.
The Lee-Jackson foundation recently donated land and easements to the county so the village of McDowell would have a better source of water. The county has drilled a third well on foundation land and is planning on constructing a water-treatment building.
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation attempted to purchase Driver's land several years ago, but was not able to meet the asking price.
| 
