Civil War Preservation Trust
Our Mission: The Civil War Preservation Trust is America's largest non-profit organization (501-C3) devoted to the preservation of our nation's endangered Civil War battlefields. The Trust also promotes educational programs and heritage tourism initiatives to inform the public of the war's history and the fundamental conflicts that sparked it.
Preservation Revolution:
A Short History of the Civil War Preservation Trust
Prior LogosThe Civil War Preservation Trust story began in 1987, when twenty or so stalwart souls met to discuss what could be done to protect the rapidly disappearing battlefields around them. They called themselves the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS) and they were spurred to action by destruction of Northern Virginia battlefields like Chantilly, where today only five acres remain. Watching the constantly expanding suburbs of Washington, D.C., they knew that it was only a matter of time before other battlefields were similarly swallowed up. The only way to save these sites for posterity, they decided, was to buy the physical landscapes themselves.
As word of efforts to protect these battlefields spread among the Civil War community, both membership and accomplishment lists began to grow steadily. The dedicated supporters who answered that original call to arms remain some of battlefield preservation’s most ardent supporters, and many of those early leaders are no less involved in the organization today. Others, like Brian Pohanka, Jerry Russell, Annie Snyder and Carrington Williams, are sorely missed, although we work to honor their memories by continuing the work they started.
In 1991, another national organization, the Civil War Trust (CWT), was founded to further efforts to protect these vanishing historic landscapes. Eight years later, in an attempt to increase the efficiency with which preservation opportunities could be pursued, the two groups merged to become the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT). Shortly thereafter Jim Lighthizer, a former Maryland Secretary of Transportation, became president of the new nonprofit group. During his government career, Lighthizer pioneered the use of Transportation Enhancement highway funds for historic landscape preservation. The program has, to date, saved more than 4,500 acres of Maryland battlefield land, and has become a model for similar projects in other states.
With a single organization combining the influence and resources of its two successful predecessors, a battlefield preservation revolution began. At the time of the merger, APCWS and CWT had a combined membership of approximately 22,000 members. Today, CWPT’s membership roster has roughly tripled the base of preservationists from which we draw support. By 1999, the two organizations had saved a combined total of 7,000 acres of battlefield land, but since joining forces, CWPT has permanently preserved a further 19,000 acres of hallowed ground. By saving battlefield land at four times the rate of the National Park Service, this organization, which began so humbly two decades ago, has become the number one entity saving battlefield land in America today.
Now in its third decade in the business of land preservation, CWPT recognizes the importance of working closely with partner groups, federal and state agencies, local governments, community-minded businesses and willing sellers who see the intrinsic benefits of historic preservation. We will continue to use every means at our disposal to leverage the generous gifts of our donors with a variety of government grant programs. We will continue to run a lean organization with some of the lowest overhead costs in the conservation business, devoting the most time, effort and money possible to the preservation of battlefield land. We will continue working to educate Americans about the plight of the fields where our national identity was shaped. And we will continue to be on the front lines of preservation, standing guard over history.
1331 H Street NW, Suite 1001
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-367-1861
or 800-298-7878
