Trust-Saved Tract at Gettysburg Featured in President Trump’s “Make America Beautiful Again” Report

(Washington, D.C.) — Today, in celebration of America’s 250th birthday, President Donald J. Trump unveiled the Make America Beautiful Again report, detailing the work of the Make America Beautiful Again Commission in protecting America's natural and historic landscapes while promoting economic growth and expanding outdoor recreation. Among the places mentioned in the report is an historic, 15-acre property on the first day’s battlefield at Gettysburg, long coveted by the National Park Service and saved from development by the American Battlefield Trust.  

“As we mark both our nation’s semiquincentennial and the 163rd anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, we are very excited to see this hallowed ground included in the Make America Beautiful Again report,” said David Duncan, president of the American Battlefield Trust. “For years, saving this land was one of our top priorities, and it would never have been possible without the help and strong support of our federal partners.”  

For decades, the Willoughby Run property was part of the 110-acre Gettysburg Country Club, and that institution's closure in 2007 set off a long and circuitous path to its preservation. The larger golf course was added to Gettysburg National Military Park in 2010, but the remaining 15-acre portion fronting the Country Club Lane was not included and drew developers’ eyes. It was slated to become a large apartment complex until Trust acquired the property in 2023.    

Situated along the Chambersburg Pike and beside the banks of Willoughby’s Run, the property highlighted in the Make America Beautiful Again report figured prominently into several actions on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. After the first shots of the battle were fired two miles to the west, General John Buford’s Union cavalry troopers fell back in part over this tract. The Confederate advanced brigade, made up of Tennessee troops led by General James Archer, moved over and then retreated on and over this tract under the weight of a Union Iron Brigade counterattack on the morning of July 1. A few hours later, the southern forces renewed their attack with two new brigades of Virginia and North Carolina troops, the former and part of the latter moving over the tract. After a stubborn fight, the outnumbered Union forces fell back to the ridges beyond the town, reoccupying the site after the Confederate army began its long retreat southward following the battle. 

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today.  The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 62,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War.  Learn more at battlefields.org.