Existing comment:
From Pasture to Park
Cowpens National Battleļ¬eld
The land you are standing on has not always been protected by the National Park Service. For 200 years after the battle, homes, farms, and other businesses occupied the 842 acres that make up Cowpens National Battlefield.
Although Congress debated creating the park here as early as 1891, it was not until 1929 that Congress passed legislation to establish Cowpens National Battlefield Site. In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation to change the name to Cowpens National Battlefield and authorized purchasing the land encompassed by the park today.
Visitors to the battlefield in the 1800s would have had a very different experience than they do today.
From 1932-1978, a part-time caretaker managed Cowpens National Battlefield Site. In 1978 the National Park Service disassembled the US Monument, which was located at the intersection of State Highways 11 and 110, and rebuilt it in front of the future Visitor Center.
January 17, 1781 -- Battle of Cowpens
circa 1828 -- Robert Scruggs House built. Served as the unofficial Visitor Center for the battlefield.
1856 -- The Washington Light Infantry built the first monument to the battle 75 years afterwards.
1881 -- A statue of Daniel Morgan was built for the Centennial. Due to vandalism of the Washington Light Infantry Monument, the statue was constructed in Spartanburg.
1929-1932 -- President Herbert Hoover signed the enabling legislation authorizing Cowpens National Battlefield Site. The Daniel Morgan DAR Chapter and Cherokee County purchased and donated one acre to the federal government for a monument.
1972 -- President Nixon signed HR 10086 into law, creating Cowpens National Battlefield.
1980 -- The Visitor Center Opened. |