Department of Parks
Park Day Is April 9 at Columbus-Belmont State Park

COLUMBUS, Ky. – Volunteers will be gathering at Columbus-Belmont State Park on April 9, 2011, to participate in a national “Park Day” to help clean up and preserve historic Civil War sites.

The volunteer day, which begins at 9 a.m. at Shelter C, is sponsored by the park and the Hickman County Civil War Days Committee. Volunteers are needed to repair earthworks, pick up trash, tree limbs, rake leaves and plant shrubs.

Park Day was created by the Civil War Trust to help clean and restore America’s priceless battlefields, cemeteries and shrines.  The nationwide effort is underwritten with a grant from History™, formerly The History Channel, and has been endorsed by Take Pride in America, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

This year, more than 100 sites in 22 states are expected to take part in the effort, with activities ranging from trash removal to trail building.  In exchange for their hard work, volunteers receive T-shirts, a great lunch prepared by local campers, and learn the site’s history by touring the museum. The museum is free for volunteers this day.

For more information about Park Day at Columbus-Belmont State Park, please contact Cindy Lynch at 270-677-2327 or by email at cindy.lynch@ky.gov

Columbus-Belmont State Park is a 160-acre site that played a fascinating role in the War Between the States. This is the site of fortifications built by the Confederates and later occupied by Union forces. The 1861 Battle of Belmont, a raid fought to test the strength of this Confederate stronghold, marked the opening of the Union’s Western Campaign. It was also Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s first active engagement in the Civil War. Some of the artillery, which shelled the Union troops, and the six-ton anchor that held the great chain stretching across the river, are on display in the park.

Columbus-Belmont State Park, located in Hickman County along the Mississippi River, has a museum, gift shop and campground. There is a fee for admission to the museum.

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