Cate Wyatt has a long preservation history. She dealt with issues relating to Disney’s proposed American history theme park during her tenure as secretary of Commerce and Trade for Virginia in the 1990s, and also led the charge to save a large farm in the historic village of Waterford, Va., from development. Five years ago Wyatt took a hiatus from her overseas businesses to start the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of the 180-mile-long swath of land from Gettysburg to Monticello.
Why should anyone care about the path of Route 15?
Route 15 is the spine of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, which is about 180 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide. The road basically follows the path of the Old Carolina Road, which started out as a Native American path thousands of years ago. Trappers and then early settlers followed. Founding Fathers Jefferson, Madison and Monroe put their homes right along this important corridor. Troop movements took place along here during the colonial era. The Journey region goes through four states— Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia— and contains the largest concentration of Civil War battlefield sites in the country. It was named the 38th National Heritage Area and the 99th National Scenic Byway in 2009. My goal was to create a nonprofit where people jumped out of bed every day to go work to bring attention to this historic region.
Aren’t other groups already working toward those same goals?
Not really. There are numerous excellent organizations that focus on their local areas. We work collaboratively with 350 organizations, including elected boards. As we put our business plan together, we not surprisingly found that heritage tourism was the No. 1 industry in this whole swath of land. Unfortunately at that time—six years ago—visits to every single heritage site, museum and historic downtown had been trending downward. Why? Demographic analysis found that heritage tourists are from two income-earning, highly educated households, people who spend more and stay longer, but were not tuned in to the breadth of history here.
So one of our goals is to help brand the whole region. We realized that if we could get all these communities working together, we could rebrand the area so that we could combat what was then the trend of folks saying: “Oh yeah, I went to Gettysburg when I was in fourth grade. I don’t need to go back.” By creating a partnership, the communities and the 13 national parks have been working together to make it easy for folks to visit. The first thing we did was the visitors center tear-off maps that highlight heritage sites and historic downtowns. Then we created our travel guide book, which goes into further detail. One of the hardest things was shifting the lens through which the folks who live in this region see it, because we get so accustomed to it and just take it for granted. Our successes have only happened with the input of local businesses, farmers, downtowns and others. They are the real champions.
What facet of the Civil War do you find most intriguing?
I’m fascinated by the stories of families and communities that were impacted by the war—the stories of folks who live in Culpeper, Warrenton and Frederick. How did Adams County residents cope with Gettysburg, for example? Harpers Ferry was nearly destroyed by the war; how did its inhabitants adjust? Think of the slaves who ran away to places like Waterford, seeking freedom. Learning what people experienced during the war is quite humbling. I’ve always enjoyed reading about battles and going to the battlefields, but being able to work with all the communities in the Journey region and hear their stories has been wonderful.
Have you been able to interest young kids in the region’s history?
In fact, little time is given to teaching history. And we all know the best way to really learn history is to experience it. We help schools enhance their history curriculum with our “Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student” programs. We give the kids primary source material to help them learn about and assume the identities of historical figures. Then they have to make decisions about how to react in situations. For example, if you are in a battle and your friend the flag-bearer is hit, are you going to grab the flag and take his place or run for cover? The kids have to sort through the facts to decide what to do. It’s great to see them get a greater sense of history and accomplishment as they study what folks did before them.
Do you ever get kids out on the battlefields?
We just wrapped up our summer camp program, called Extreme Journey. We do a two-week camp for sixth- through eighth-graders, an incredible experience where they face scenarios just like wartime citizens and soldiers. For example, we canoed down the Potomac to Ball’s Bluff, then the kids had to charge the bluff as Union troops. Many of them had never canoed before. They made it to the base of the bluff and were told to charge. They were asking us, “Do you mean they actually did this?” The day after their field experience, we brought in documentary filmmakers, cinematographers and scriptwriters to help the kids translate their own adventures into some form of media, so they could share their experiences. It gives them a sense of the excitement of history and what it takes to be a leader.
We’ve taken kids to Harpers Ferry, where each one assumes the role of one of John Brown’s raiders. They have worked on Constitutional issues at James Madison’s home, Montpelier, biked across the Gettysburg battlefield and gone to Antietam to learn about signaling. So yes, we get kids out on historic ground all the time. They come away with a greater appreciation for the area’s historic treasures.
Does JTHG have any special plans for the war’s 150th anniversary?
We have an ambitious goal—to plant one tree for every soldier who died during the war—along Route 15, from Thomas Jefferson’s driveway to Gettysburg. I’d like to apply a GPS and GIS tag on every tree, so that you could download info about the soldier each tree represents. We also just released a director’s cut boxed set of Gettysburg and Gods and Generals, in conjunction with Warner Brothers and National Geographic.
How long do you think you will stay with JTHG?
As long as it takes. I had taken a five-year leave of absence from my own companies to create the Journey. When you create a nonprofit, if you’re going to be serious about it, you’re going to manage it as diligently and as tightly as you would run any for-profit company—which requires a very different skill set than running a heritage area. But I love it. So I have skipped right through five years. I’m in year six right now. I see myself doing this for awhile.
Originally published in the December 2011 issue of Civil War Times. To subscribe, click here.
