Preservation Maryland unveiled new South Mountain branding at an event hosted today at Shafer Farm in Burkittsville, Md., on the 160th anniversary of the battle.
The brand and logo will unite all future signage on the sprawling, many thousand-acre landscape, to knit together this story and educate and bring more visitors to key points on the battlefield.
This branding is an exciting step forward in an effort that will help more landowners and heritage tourism programs unify efforts to promote the diverse experiences during the Battle of South Mountain so all Marylanders can experience this important Civil War story on acres of preserved land
Unifying the Battlefield Range
Because the three battles along the gaps in South Mountain are geographically disparate and the events at Antietam were more decisive than the events at South Mountain, modern battlefield preservation efforts tended to focus on Antietam. As a result the preservation of the South Mountain Battlefield has been fragmented between federal, state, and local governments. This has resulted in a similarly patchy approach to battlefield interpretation. To address this challenge, the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program funded Preservation Maryland to conduct a Public Consensus Building Plan for the South Mountain Battlefield. One of its key recommendations was wayfinding signs and markers with a unified brand.
Future Implementation
Preservation Maryland President & CEO Nicholas Redding
The new logo and signage is designed to help better-explain the conflict and link the sites where fighting took place. Some interpretive signage has been installed through a partnership between Preservation Maryland and the State Highway Administration; once more grants are secured and old signs replaced, the logo will appear across the landscape, helping to guide visitors.
Elected officials, including Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner, spoke at the event followed by a program on Civil War Music with a drum demonstration.
Thank you to our partners
This effort would not have been possible without many hands and unique partnerships and the support of countless landowners, residents, and stewards of this county’s rich history.
Read more on this brand launch from CBS Baltimore
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