Jim Burnett: Did the Great Depression Save the Yorktown Battlefield?

I don't know of anyone who is happy about the current economic situation, but while we're waiting for a turn-around, here's a question to ponder: Can a bad economy ever be good for parks?

In at least one case, the answer seems to be"yes," because the Great Depression played a key role in saving the Yorktown Battlefield from private development.

Back in the mid-1920s, prosperous Americans were becoming increasingly interested in leisure activities, and good train service, a growing highway network and budding air travel made weekend trips more practical for the well-heeled. A sleepy historic village in southeastern Virginia caught the attention of real estate developers looking for a site for a golf-based resort.

The gently rolling terrain, view of the nearby York River, and relative proximity to large population centers made the area a fine site for the Yorktown Country Club, and at that time the place where America finally achieved victory in its quest for independence from Great Britain was still in private ownership.

In 1926 the 18-hole Riverview Golf Course was constructed around the earthworks remaining from the Civil War and Revolutionary War on the Yorktown Battlefield, and work was begun on a large hotel. The Great Depression halted construction on the hotel in 1929 and ended plans for a second golf course on the battlefield.

Colonial National Monument (later renamed Colonial National Historical Park) was established the following year, and the NPS acquired the former country club property. The present-day Yorktown Visitor Center stands on the site of the hotel....