Bipartisan Bill Would Expand Historic Site by 45 Acres, Add Lincoln Train Station
Backing from Department Can Help Move Legislation Forward
Washington, DC- Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) announced that the Department of the Interior has endorsed their plan to expand Gettysburg’s National Military Park as their legislation, the Gettysburg National Military Park Expansion Act, outlines.
“The Department of Interior’s endorsement of our plan to expand Gettysburg’s historic site is a significant boost,” Senator Casey said. “I’m committed to working with the Department of the Interior and my colleagues in the House and Senate to get this legislation passed.
“I thank the Department of Interior for their support of our bipartisan plan to include the historic railroad and the southern end of the battlefield as part of Gettysburg National Military Park,” said Sen. Toomey. “I believe that the inclusion of both of these historic properties as part of the National Military Park will help visitors to gain a better understanding of the pivotal decisions that were made during the Battle of Gettysburg.”
The legislation expands the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park to include 45 acres of land at the southern end of the battlefield where cavalry skirmishes occurred during the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863. The land has environmental significance as home to wetlands and wildlife habitat related to the Plum Run stream that traverses the park. This 45-acre property is adjacent to current park land and was donated to the Gettysburg Foundation in April of 2009. The Foundation plans to donate the parcel to the park once it’s added to the park’s boundaries; therefore, no federal land acquisition funding is necessary to obtain this property.
The Lincoln Train Station, located in downtown Gettysburg, was built in 1858 and is currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The station served as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg and was the departure point for thousands of soldiers who were wounded or killed in battle. The Lincoln Train Station is also the site at which President Abraham Lincoln arrived on November 18, 1863, one day before he delivered the Gettysburg Address.
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