In a public gesture of thanks for its preservation efforts, Orange County’s Friends of Wilderness Battlefield will receive recognition today for its advocacy in protecting and restoring historic Ellwood Manor.
John L. Nau III, chairman of the Civil War Preservation Trust, will present the Chairman’s Awards for achievement in historic preservation at 10:30 a.m. during the board of trustees meeting at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. There are three award categories: education, philanthropy and historic preservation.
FoWB is the first organization to receive the achievement in historic preservation, according to Mary Goundrey Koik, deputy director of communications for the CWPT.
“We are extremely proud and awed that we are the first recipient of this award,” said Zann Nelson, FOWB president. “The CWPT board has set the standard, and in their estimation we’ve met that standard.
“It is a very high honor. FOWB is the most extraordinary all-volunteer organization I have ever had the opportunity to work alongside. The tireless efforts of the hundreds of volunteers, individually and collectively, have earned the organization this wonderful recognition.”
The CWPT’s awards are presented in recognition of individuals or organizations that have had a tremendous impact on historic preservation in their communities and regions.
A circa-1790 home, Ellwood Manor is situated on the Wilderness Battlefield in Spotsylvania and Orange counties. Much of the Civil War’s Battle of the Wilderness was fought on the home’s plantation.
Tidewater native William Jones built the home for his family, and his daughter Betty inherited the 5,000-acre plantation in 1847.
The CWPT has 55,000 members and is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. The group’s mission is to preserve the nation’s remaining Civil War battlefields and to promote appreciation of hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. Since 1987, the CWPT has helped save more than 29,000 acres of battlefield land in 20 states.
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