MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (July 2, 2025) – Building upon successful efforts to establish Berkeley County’s first battlefield park, the Berkeley County Commission has asked Congress to add Berkeley County to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.
“The addition of Berkeley County to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District represents an exciting opportunity to not only preserve and interpret Civil War sites in our community but generate significant economic return for our community through heritage tourism,” Berkeley County Commission Vice President Steve Catlett said.
“Not only did Berkeley County figure prominently in the Antietam and Gettysburg campaigns, but our county was the location of the Battle of Hoke’s Run, the first Civil War engagement in the Shenandoah Valley on July 2, 1861,” Catlett said.
In partnership with the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks and Recreation Board and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, Berkeley County approved plans in 2024 to establish Hoke’s Run Battlefield Park, a 10-acre passive recreation site in the Spring Mills area.
Located off WV 901, Hoke’s Run Battlefield Park is to be preserved, interpreted, and maintained for public recreational use - in perpetuity - through an agreement between the parties.
“With federal resources that are available through this National Historic District designation, we could do a lot more to protect Civil War-related sites throughout the County,” Catlett said.
Since 1996, nearly 8,000 acres of hallowed ground have been protected – in perpetuity - in the eight-county Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District. Visitor centers and museums have been opened, artifacts and collections and historic structures have been preserved, and a regional system of interpretation and wayfinding has been developed.
“It’s clear that the addition of Berkeley County to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District would be a valuable, business-friendly tool in the effort to preserve our county’s truly unique Civil War history for generations to come,” Catlett said.
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation CEO Keven Walker says it is only fitting that Berkeley County be added to the National Historic District.
“As the northern gateway to the Shenandoah Valley, Berkeley County’s strategic importance in the Civil War is evidenced by the many skirmishes, engagements and battles that occurred there, including Hoke’s Run, the very first battle to be fought in the Shenandoah Valley.
Walker added that Berkeley County is even noted in President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
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