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Civil war massacre site to become a county park

By ELIZABETH MATTHEWS

JASPER COUNTY, MO. - Right now it's a site with old buildings and brush.  But the future could mean tourists and park benches for the Jasper County, Missouri site of a Civil War battle.

Eighteen soldiers, including fifteen black soldiers, were killed by southern sympathizers in a massacre on May 18, 1863.

The next day the town of Sherwood, Missouri was lost after Union soldiers were ordered to burn it to the ground.

Jasper County recently acquired the land where the massacre took place and is planning it's first county park and a memorial for the soldiers who lost their lives.  Organizers hope to eventually get the property on the National Register of Historical Places.

In February 2005 we told you more about this massacre and the "Lost City" of Sherwood.  You can watch that story here.

The five acre Raider Farm property located at the northeast corner of Peace Church Avenue and Fountain Road will now become a county park with an educational purpose.

Remembering a forgotten history

"It will be a place to contemplate the rough old days and how good we have it now," says Steve Cottrell.

Cottrell is a local author and historian and he says that remembering our past may help us understand our future.

"It's so relevant to today because it was part of a horrendous guerilla war, which we are so familiar with nowadays with our troops nowadays having to fight that sort of thing," Cottrell says.

Some who live in the surrounding area of the site told us they knew of the massacre, but most did not, including Jasper County Commissioner Darieus Adams.

"I had no idea," Commissioner Adams says.  "I have lived here all my life and driven by here hundreds of times and never even heard any significance of this corner."

Dedication ceremony held on Veterans Day

Officials and residents gathered Wednesday at the site of the massacre.

Standing at the podium during the dedication ceremony Brad Belk of the Joplin Museum Complex explains "we are here to honor the 15 soldiers who died, the soldiers and the civilians who also perished during the War, and to remember the community of Sherwood and those residents who once resided there."

"It will be something that will be an absolute showpiece and something that we can be proud of and it's really very important to remember our past and make it available for those who are to come," says Commissioner Adams.

History comes before making park a reality

The present day site houses several buildings and acres of wooded area and before any of it can be cleared the county will call in archaeologists and historians to study the land.

"We are going to do an archeological study on this," says Belk, "so we are going to bring in some scientists and historians to police the land and to get a little better understanding.".

Most of the buildings from the Civil War era are long gone but one brick building remains that could be old enough to have witnessed the bloodshed.

"It's very important now that we've acquired it to kind of step back, allow the professionals to do their job and see what might be there and then we will proceed from there," says Commissioner Adams.

Any artifacts found on the county owned property will stay in the park.

Following the study brush will be cleared from the land and parking will be added.

A memorial will be erected in honor of the lives lost and the history made.

No timetable has been set for the study, but organizers hope to complete the park by May 2011.

The project will not cost the county a dime.  Organizers will begin applying for grants and asking for donations.