National Park Service Director, Local Officials to Hear Community Views on Proposed National Park System Addition in South Carolina
December 14, 2016
National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis will be in South Carolina tomorrow at the invitation of U.S. Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC) to hear comments on proposals to add Reconstruction Era sites in Beaufort County to the National Park System.
The Reconstruction Era began during the Civil War and lasted until the dawn of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 1890s and remains one of the most complicated and poorly understood periods in American History. During this period in the Beaufort area, some of the first African American soldiers were enlisted in the U.S. Army, the first African American schools were founded, early efforts to distribute land to former slaves took place, and many of the era’s most significant African American politicians came to prominence.
Local community leaders and elected officials including Congressman Clyburn are proposing that five sites in Beaufort County be included in the National Park System. Congressman Clyburn introduced model legislation on May 26, 2016, to establish the Penn School – Reconstruction Era National Monument.
Director Jarvis will join local leaders for a visit to Penn Center, Brick Baptist Church, and other historic sites from the Reconstruction Era in the area. A local historian and representatives from each of the sites under consideration will provide background and historic information regarding each of the sites.
Congressman Clyburn will then host a community meeting at the Brick Baptist Church on St. Helena Island.
Who:
Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director, National Park Service
James E. Clyburn, U.S. Representative, South Carolina
Captain Jeffrey Korsnes, Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Support Facility Beaufort
What:
Bus Tour of Proposed Reconstruction Era National Monument Sites and public meeting with local officials and community leaders.
When:
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Bus Tour: 09:30 AM – 11:45 AM
Public Meeting: 12:00 P.M – 2:00 P.M.
Where:
Bus Tour: Penn Center, 16 Penn Circle West, St. Helena Island, SC
Public Meeting: Brick Baptist Church, 85 Martin Luther King Drive, St. Helena Island, SC.
Media:
For more information or to RSVP please contact Dalton Tresvant at (803) 799-1100 or dalton.tresvant@mail.house.gov
A link to the public notice of the meeting may be found here.
A link to a map and description of the five proposed sites may be found here.
