News Release

Pea Ridge National Military Park Invites You to a Conservation Celebration on Saturday, August 5, 2023

Date: July 28, 2023
Contact: Shelley Todd, 479-451-8122

Pea Ridge National Military Park Invites You to a Conservation Celebration on Saturday, August 5, 2023 
Garfield, Ark. — The National Park Service invites the public to the Grand Re-Opening: A Conservation Celebration at Pea Ridge National Military Park on August 5, 2023. Please join us at the park Visitor Center for a ceremony at 10:30 to celebrate the donation of the historic Williams Hollow Farm, completion of the Highway 62 realignment project, and designation of the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail. Event activities begin at 8 a.m. and will occur throughout the day, including the ceremony; a guided interpretive hike along the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail; artillery, infantry, and living history demonstrations; and a performance by the Northwest Arkansas Heritage Brass Ensemble. The event is free to the public.

Guest speakers will present programs in the Visitor Center auditorium on Civil War cavalry, the Trail of Tears, the Butterfield Overland Trail, and restoring the historic landscape of the battlefield. Veterans and Gold Star Family members are invited to get their free Military Lifetime Pass, and active-duty members are invited to get their free Military Annual Pass from the nation’s first Purple Heart National Park during the event. Junior Rangers are also invited to earn their badges while learning about the Battle of Pea Ridge. In addition, the park will be celebrating the completion of the new horse trailhead and the park’s partnership with the Backcountry Horsemen of America with a trail ride.

Schedule of Events:

8 – 9:30 a.m. – The Role of Corn Liquor: Butterfield Overland Trail Guided Hike. Departs from Elkhorn Tavern. Visitors are strongly encouraged to bring water and wear sturdy shoes for this moderately strenuous, one-mile guided hike.

8:30 a.m. – Backcountry Horsemen of America will make the inaugural departure from the new horse trailhead parking area for a trail ride.

Visitor Center Auditorium: 
9:30 – 10:15 – Boots and Spurs: Civil War Cavalry, presented by Doug Kidd
11:15 – 12 – Butterfield Overland Trail, presented by Marilyn Heifner
12:15 – 1 – Trail of Tears, presented by John McLarty
2:00 – 2:45 – Battlefield Landscape Restoration, presented by Clint Johnson 

Visitor Center Tent:
10 – 10:30 – Northwest Arkansas Heritage Brass Ensemble performance of period music
10:30 – 11 – Grand Re-Opening: A Conservation Celebration ceremony
11:15 – 2:45 – Living history demonstrations and partner booths

Visitor Center Artillery and Infantry Demonstration Area:
11 – 11:30 – The Big Guns: Artillery of the Civil War
11:30 – 12 – Minnie Rifles and Flintlocks: Confederate Infantry at Pea Ridge
1:30 – 2 – The Big Guns: Artillery of the Civil War
2 – 2:30 – Minnie Rifles and Flintlocks: Confederate Infantry at Pea RidgeTimes and locations are subject to change depending on weather conditions.

Program descriptions are available at https://www.nps.gov/peri/planyourvisit/calendar.htm For more information, please call 479-451-8122.

Pea Ridge National Military Park preserves and commemorates the March 7-8, 1862, battle that helped Union forces maintain physical and political control of the state of Missouri. Administered by the National Park Service, the 4,300-acre battlefield is located 10 miles north of Rogers, just off US Highway 62. Visit us on Facebook or at: www.nps.gov/peri