50 Acres Saved at Tom’s Brook
Major Victory Preserves Threatened Site of Historic Cavalry Clash
TOMS BROOK, Virginia — The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation has announced the successful preservation of 50 acres of battlefield land at Tom’s Brook, completing a dramatic effort to save a site once slated for residential development. This newly protected land was the scene of intense cavalry fighting between Lunsford Lomax’s Confederate horsemen and Wesley Merritt’s Federal Division during the Battle of Tom’s Brook in October 1864.
The $2.8 million property was under imminent threat, with approved plans for 122 homes, multiple streets, cul-de-sacs, and water retention ponds. But thanks to the generosity of the landowners—lifelong Valley residents who valued the region’s history—and a coalition of donors and partners, the Foundation was able to intervene just in time.
The landowners donated $700,000 of the property’s value and offered to finance the purchase. The project’s turning point came when Battlefields Foundation Board of Trustees member Al Boxley stepped forward with a significant contribution allowing the Foundation to move forward with the project.
The preservation effort was further bolstered by $1,433,458 from the American Battlefield Protection Program and $650,000 from the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund, which together provided the critical funding needed to complete the acquisition.
“This is a tremendous victory for all who care about the Shenandoah Valley, its history, and its future,” said Keven Walker, CEO of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. “We thought this land was lost. Now it will be protected forever.”
Jack Owens, the Battlefields Foundation's Land Preservation Projects Manager, added, “This project is a testament to what can happen when people come together to save something irreplaceable. 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.”
“The Town of Toms Brook celebrates this news and supports the purchase by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation,” said Mayor Lisa Currie. “Preserving the land in Shenandoah County from national developers should be a paramount concern for all residents,” Currie continued. “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.” (For Mayor Lisa Currie’s full statement, see the end of the Press Release)
The 50-acres will be incorporated into the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation’s interpretation plans which create public access and understanding of the battlefield’s history.
The newly preserved parcel joins hundreds of other protected acres at Tom’s Brook, expanding the Foundation’s efforts to protect, interpret, and share the Valley’s Civil War story with future generations.
Mayor Lisa Currie’s full Statement:
"The Town of Toms Brook celebrates this news and supports the purchase by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation. Preserving the land in Shenandoah County from national developers should be a paramount concern for all residents, and 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, unrestricted viewsheds, and natural countryside.
As part of the safeguards, this purchase defends more than the immediate Shenandoah County land that is adjacent to the Town of Toms Brook because this purchase prohibits residential growth within the county and around the town of Toms Brook that might affect the immediate water and sewer stability and longevity that is imperative to the residents of the Toms Brook/Maurertown Sanitary District.
In turn, this purchase promises economic networks within tourism's economic engine - financial benefits that provide support for county expenditures without costing county taxpayers because tourism does not require new extremely costly educational facilities, updated and mandated water and sewer facilities, required additional landfill sites, or other infrastructural costs.
In conclusion, residents who own large agricultural areas should consider land tax credits with the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation as a means to protect their agricultural acres for perpetuity and as a financial means in retirement because this option provides a permanence for the natural and historical spaces in our county.”
