Shenandoah County | Civil War battlefield saved by joint effort of foundation, partners

The Battle of Toms Brook, an 1864 cavalry fight between Union and Confederate forces in Shenandoah County, was fought on land that was approved for a 122-home residential development.

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation announced last week that the $2.8 million, 50-acre property will now be preserved, thanks to the efforts of the landowners and a coalition of donors and partners.

“This is a tremendous victory for all who care about the Shenandoah Valley, its history, and its future. We thought this land was lost. Now it will be protected forever,” said Keven Walker, CEO of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.

The county had approved plans for a 122-home development on the site, which was the scene of cavalry fighting between Lunsford Lomax’s Confederate horsemen and Wesley Merritt’s Federal Division in October 1864.

The Union victory at Toms Brook gave federal forces military superiority in the Valley in what would turn out to be the Civil War’s waning months.

The newly preserved parcel of land joins hundreds of other protected acres at Toms Brook, a town of 285 residents, expanding the Battlefield Foundation’s efforts to protect, interpret and share the Valley’s Civil War story with future generations.

“The Town of Toms Brook celebrates this news and supports the purchase by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. Preserving the land in Shenandoah County from national developers should be a paramount concern for all residents,” Toms Brook Mayor Lisa Currie said.

“This purchase safeguards more than just the land from such development, because the Battlefield’s ownership protects the heritage of Shenandoah County – open spaces, green vistas, and natural countryside,” Currie said.

According to a press release from the foundation, the landowners – not identified in the release, and I can’t find any information on them on Google – donated $700,000 of the property’s value, which the foundation was able to leverage with the help of donors, and grants of $1.4 million from the American Battlefield Protection Program and $650,000 from the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund.

“This project is a testament to what can happen when people come together to save something irreplaceable,” said Jack Owens, the land preservation projects manager at the foundation. The cavalrymen who fought here were willing to risk everything. Thanks to our supporters, this land will now stand as a lasting tribute to their sacrifice.”