11 Most Endangered
Gettysburg National Military Park
Year Listed: 1992
Location: , Pennsylvania
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Development
Significance
Gettysburg, the site of one of America's most important 19th century battles, is representative of the danger faced by many other Civil War battlefields. Today, the 6,000-acre national park and surrounding Gettysburg Historic District attracts 1.5 million visitors each year and, the battleground, with the exception of an intrusive observation tower and a few commercial developments, remains largely as it did in July 1863. Yet, bordering the park are strip shopping malls and fast food franchises, and encroaching development of 2,000 acres of privately-held land added to the park's boundary threatens to destroy its historic environment. Development plans already include a commercial campground within the park and a shopping mall, visible on its periphery from various vantage points. The National Park Service and private organizations now need to acquire property and insure scenic easements to protect the integrity of this land.
Updates
In December of 2006, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted against the construction of a gambling casino within cannon range of the historic Gettysburg Battlefield in Gettysburg, PA. For more than a year, the casino proposal at Gettysburg has been a controversial lightning rod, garnering supporters and detractors. The National Trust, along with the National Parks Conservation Association, the Civil War Preservation Trust, and Preservation Pennsylvania, advocated against gaming at this national shrine. National Trust President Richard Moe voiced his dismay at investors' determination to create a casino of 3,000-5,000 slot machines in this historic area: "In addition to undercutting Gettysburg's thriving heritage tourism industry, the proposed casino would degrade one of the most beloved and historic sites in the nation." Thanks in no small part to the swift and strong responses of preservation professionals and Pennsylvania citizens alike, this disastrous proposal has been denied. Sprawl and development on the park's perimeter continue though to be a problem for Gettysburg and Adams County. Up to 20,000 new housing units are planned within the area in the next 5-10 years. Adams County is the 3rd fastest growing county in Pennsylvania.
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