Better Valley Forge plan? Let's look to Gettysburg

Joy M. Oakes

is the senior Mid-Atlantic regional director

of the National Parks Conservation Association

Two hundred and thirty years ago, Gen. George Washington and his exhausted and hungry Continental soldiers marched into Valley Forge.

Their perseverance and achievements helped secure America's independence. The land where they suffered and ultimately prevailed is part of Americans' common heritage and is largely, but not completely, protected by Valley Forge National Historical Park. But now, this sacred place is threatened by a poorly conceived development proposal for private land in the park.

A small organization - the American Revolution Center (ARC) - proposes to build a museum on this land. Unfortunately, the proposal also includes a bank, fast-food stand, retail stores, a hotel, a day-care center, a conference center, and more.

ARC is seeking permission from Lower Providence Township to build an estimated one million square feet of structures and to pave up to 70 percent of the land.

This site is part of the historic Pawling Farm, where army units were encamped throughout the winter of 1777-78 and where Gen. Washington established the commissary to bring order and security to distribution of precious supplies, ending the troops' near-starvation. By the spring, the rest of the army crossed the Schuylkill, camped to escape the squalor of their months-long encampment, and prepared to march out to pursue the British.

As the largest, public, high-quality open space within 30 miles of Philadelphia, Valley Forge offers more than history. It provides respite from the rapidly developing suburbs and their traffic. At recent public meetings on a long-range plan for the park, participants expressed strong support for protecting the historic commissary lands as they are - with quiet trails and wildlife habitat.

This site lies at the heart of the visionary open-space system that local jurisdictions are creating in the area.

For years, the National Park Service (NPS) and ARC worked together to build an American Revolution museum adjacent to the Welcome Center in the park. It would have posed little impact on historic and natural resources, because the site was previously disturbed and had ready access to existing utilities, parking and major highways. But NPS and ARC couldn't agree on terms, and ARC severed the partnership.

For a compelling vision of a comparable project, one needs to look no further than Gettysburg National Military Park. Built through a partnership of the private Gettysburg Foundation and the NPS, a new museum and visitor center will open next year - without commercial development on or near the site. The NPS and its partner persevered through serious difficulties to forge a productive partnership that will protect this priceless historic landscape for future generations. This partnership demonstrates what can be accomplished by engaging the good+will and best talents of the private sector and public servants.

Valley Forge is just as valuable, significant, and meaningful as Gettysburg, and its historic character deserves no less protection.

There are better choices for an American Revolution museum, and for this land. Current township zoning allows construction of a museum on this property, but this historic landscape deserves preservation in its entirety. We encourage the ARC and NPS to recommit to productive negotiations concerning the original site near the Welcome Center, which independent evaluations found - and common sense suggests - to be a much better site in terms of financial feasibility, public access, and visitor experience. Congress should fund acquisition of the threatened land now under debate, which lies within the park boundary that Congress already established by law.

The immediate future of the land is in the hands of Lower Providence leaders. The township Planning Commission voted against the proposal, 7-1. Township supervisors have the final say July 19. They should protect the historic character and natural beauty of the commissary grounds. There is only one Valley Forge.