Volunteers brave cold to help restore fence at Camp Nelson

Saturday morning, volunteers from across Kentucky helped to replace about 200 pieces of fencing

JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – Volunteers are helping keep our National Parks clean and updated.

As part of the American Battlefield Trust’s Park Day, which falls on April 9th, a very dedicated group of volunteers braved the cold Saturday morning to help replace parts of a fence at Camp Nelson National Monument.

As Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services Steve Phan pointed to the fence, he explained its significance.

“This route, or road, was used by the U.S. Army to move men and supplies to move some of the fortifications that were constructed by the military during the Civil War. So this is a historic road, we wanted to highlight it, and we also wanted to create more space to use within the park as well,” said Phan.

Phan says volunteers were from all over Kentucky, some coming from as far away as Fort Knox. The group took the time out of their Saturdays to replace about 200 pieces of fencing at the Civil War-era military depot, completing the entire fence in about two hours in freezing cold temperatures with icy rain at times.

“We are fortunate. The first person that came today drove literally 2 hours to get here. So we are indebted to their commitment to the National Park Service,” said Phan.

Park Day is part of a nation-wide movement to help keep battlefields and other historic parks clean and updated for people to enjoy. Camp Nelson’s restoration project was one of about 10 clean-up and restoration projects that happened in Kentucky on Saturday.

“I think a lot of people think of like, Yellowstone or Glacier or Grand Canyon. But we also have these really, really important cultural or historic sites like these battlefields like Camp Nelson is. It really talks about the American experience here that was both contested and complex as well,” said Phan.

Phan says it’s just one small way to keep remembering our past and learning from it.

“This site was first established for military operations, but in the midst of this you’ll have enslaved African-Americans by the thousands coming to Camp Nelson trying to escape the chains of slavery. And we really see the demise of slavery in Kentucky and really across the country from sites like Camp Nelson,” said Phan.