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Newtown Battlefield State Park

Coordinates: 42°2′43″N 76°44′0″W / 42.04528°N 76.73333°W / 42.04528; -76.73333
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Newtown Battlefield
Newtown Battlefield State Park is located in New York
Newtown Battlefield State Park
Newtown Battlefield State Park is located in the United States
Newtown Battlefield State Park
Location451 Oneida Road, Elmira, New York
Coordinates42°2′43″N 76°44′0″W / 42.04528°N 76.73333°W / 42.04528; -76.73333
Area2,100 acres (850 ha)
Built1779 (1779)
NRHP reference No.72000826
Significant dates
Added to NRHP28 November 1972[1]
Designated NHL28 November 28, 1972[2]

Newtown Battlefield State Park, formerly known as Newtown Battlefield Reservation, was the site of the Battle of Newtown fought in August 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. It was the only major battle of the Sullivan Expedition, an armed offensive led by General John Sullivan that was ordered by the Continental Congress to end the threat of the Iroquois who had sided with the British in the American Revolutionary War. In the battle, the Iroquois were defeated decisively. A portion of the battlefield is today managed as a 372-acre (1.51 km2) state park.[3] The entire battlefield (about 2,100 acres (850 ha)) was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][4] The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved more than 68 acres adjacent to the state park.[5]

Description and history

The Newtown Battlefield is located along the eastern bank of the Chemung River, in western New York southeast of Elmira. Its main focus is Sullivan Hill, a 1,400-foot (430 m) wooded hill that was fortified by the Iroquois in a bid to ambush Sullivan's column. The main trail followed by Sullivan's troops had to pass near the steep hillside, which was only 1,000 feet (300 m) from the river. Sullivan's advance forces discovered the Iroquois works, and Sullivan set up his artillery on a rise to the south, from which it could command not just Sullivan Hill but also another hill to the east. After cannonading the Iroquois position, Sullivan sent troops up Baldwin Creek, which skirts the hill to the east. These forces eventually formed a battle line that drove the Iroquois from the position.[4]

View from the hill below the Newtown Battlefield Monument

The state acquired 330 acres (130 ha) of land, covering most of Sullivan Hill, which it managed first as a state reservation, and then as a state park. A narrow column of white granite known as the Newton Battlefield Monument was erected on top of Sullivan Hill in 1912.[4]

On January 19, 2010, New York State Governor David Paterson proposed closing the park to reduce the state's growing budget deficit.[6] However, the park was allowed to remain open after budget adjustments were made throughout the state's park system.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Newtown Battlefield". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  3. ^ "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. pp. 671–674. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Snell, Charles W. (May 19, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Newtown Battlefield Reservation". National Park Service. Retrieved September 24, 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) "Accompanying 3 photos, from 1971" (pdf). National Park Service. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  5. ^ "Newtown Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  6. ^ Shorenstein, Marissa (February 19, 2010). "Statements from Governor David A. Paterson and Commissioner Carol Ash on Parks Budget Cuts" (Press release). NYS Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "Acting Commissioner Beers' Testimony Before Assembly Standing Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development; Assembly Standing Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation". Parks.ny.gov. NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. December 13, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
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