Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park entrance sign
Description
J.D. Sutton, a private in the 10th West Virginia Infantry, was a veteran of the Battle of Droop Mountain. As a visionary he began the movement to preserve Droop Mountain. He and other veterans began to worry in the aftermath of World War I that their role will be forgotten. In the 1920s the veterans of the battle began to meet at the battlefield making locations of the engagement. In 1928, Governor Howard M. Gore accepted the first 141 acres for the state from the veterans.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop West Virginia’s Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park.
“A total of 19 New Deal-era architectural resources have been documented within the park’s boundaries. They include a tool shed, blacksmith shop, welcome booth, pump house and picnic shelter.”
“CCC Company 25 98 opened Camp Price on July 29, 1935, on the site of what became the park headquarters and service area. The 23 original enrollees in the camp came from Camp Seneca. Camp Price was abandoned on October 4, 1937.”
According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce, “Camp Price was established in 1935 on Droop Mountain at the site of the 1863 Civil War battle. During two short years Camp Price enrollees reclaimed the battlefield, planted trees, constructed cabins and the lookout tower and developed the picnic areas; most of the existing current park buildings are CCC constructed buildings… One rental cabin built by the enrollees is a Civil War Museum and also houses some CCC artifacts.” During their tenure, they also constructed roads, trails, cabins, and the original observation tower. The Superintendent’s house (expanded over the years), park office, the cabin now holding the museum, shop, welcome booth, pump house, and a picnic shelter were constructed by the CCC. The CCC removed Confederate stone works near the pump house near the Lt. Henry Bender monument were removed to become fill for the modern road to the park. “A total of 19 New Deal-era architectural resources have been documented within the park’s boundaries.” The temporary structures were removed when the camp was struck.
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CCC constructed museum building
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Reenactment of the battle at Droop Mountain, courtesy of the CCC
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Reenactment of the battle at Droop Mountain, courtesy of the CCC
Source notes
"National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" (page 10), accessed October 14, 2015 "Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park," WV Department of Commerce, accessed October 14, 2015 "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" (page 10), accessed October 14, 2015 "Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park," WV Department of Commerce, accessed October 14, 2015 https://www.ccclegacy.org/CCC_Camps_West_Virginia.html Interview with Park Superintendent Michael Smith, 9 March 2016
Project originally submitted by Evan Kalish & Ernest Everett Blevins on June 5, 2015.
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