About the Association

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The Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association began on January 6, 2006, when nine people, who were concerned with the preservation of the Wood Lake Battlefield site, decided to join together to try to bring public awareness and interest to this mostly privately owned Minnesota historic site. This grassroots association has grown steadily since its conception and currently has over 950 members from 35 states.

The Wood Lake Battlefield is one of two Minnesota sites that are recognized as Civil War Sites. The Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (SWSAC) determined in 1993 that the Great Sioux Uprising of 1862-1864 was of national significance. And out of 10,500 evaluated national sites, two in Minnesota, Fort Ridgely and Wood Lake Battlefield, were included in the final list of 384. This being due to site integrity and the nationally significant events associated with the Civil War, western expansion and the government’s Indian policy.

The Association is working closely with land owners, the Civil War Preservation Trust, The American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service, and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office in order to secure a conservation easement on a major portion of the battlefield.

Funding for this project has been raised through individual memberships to the association, private donations and grants from the Civil War Preservation Trust, American Battlefield Protection Program, and The Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation.

Once an easement is in place...

The process for interpretation will begin with three open meetings, giving all a voice in the planning. The battlefield will then be available for self-guided tours for all people to interpret according to their own study on what happened at the site in 1862.

Visitors will be able to experience first hand the special feeling that many feel when they walk in the pasture…land that has never been cultivated and has endured the last 146 years with little change. There are unmarked graves of both warriors and militia on the site.

Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association (WLBPA) Brochure

The Association brochure is available at the Upper Sioux Agency Interpretive Center, County Historical Societies (Brown, Chippewa, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville, and Yellow Medicine) or by contacting the Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association at tom@woodlakebattefield.com.

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Current Projects: The Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association is working on a conservation easement with the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), State Historic Office (SHPO) and a landowner. The WLBPLA is working with the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) to establish the site as a listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Events: June 3, 2009: Minnesota River Historic Sites Tour Learning about 1862 history on a day bus tour September 19, 2009: 4th Annual Wood Lake Battlefield Symposium If you would like to learn more about the Symposium, click on the Registration button below January 30, 2010: Annual Meeting – Contact us for more information Summer 2010: Watch for information on future tours being planned

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WLBPA Officers: The association is lead by 13 directors and their officers: President - Tom Hosier Vice President - Scott Larson Vice President - Larry Whitaker Secretary / Treasurer - Janet Hosier

WLBPA Directors: Tom Brinkman (Rochester) Dave Craigmile (Boyd) Dennis Dahmes (Lakeville) Gene Flaten (Rochester) Amy Hosier (Lexington, Kentucky) Janet Hosier (Rochester) Scott Larson (Redwood Falls) Elden Lawrence (Peever, South Dakota) Jan Peterson (Granite Falls) Larry Whitaker (Marine-on-St. Croix) Jill Wohnoutka (Bird Island) Alan Woolworth (Maplewood) Honorary Director Bob Meinhard (Winona)

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The Association is supported by Organization Partners who recognize the valuable effort of promoting history and the preservation of historical sites.

3rd Minnesota Regiment Volunteer Infantry Company C 5th Minnesota Regiment Volunteer Infantry Amigo Riders Saddle Club Brown County Historical Society Cannon Valley Civil War Round Table Central Minnesota Civil War Round Table Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce Chicago Civil War Round Table Chippewa County Historical Society Granite Falls Lions Club Heritage Arms Society Hiawatha Valley Civil War Round Table Mill Springs Battlefield Minnesota’s Machinery Museum Native American Center of Southeast Minnesota Nicollet County Historical Society

P.E.O. Chapter FH Pond-Dakota Heritage Society Redwood Area Chamber/Tourism Redwood County Historical Society Renville County Historical Society Rochester Civil War Round Table Scott Hosier World War II Round Table St. Croix Civil War Round Table Twin Cities Civil War Round Table Valley Riders Saddle Club Yellow Medicine County Historical Society Yellow Medicine Lutheran Church Zumbro Valley Arms Collectors

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Scott Hosier The inspiration for the Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association came from Scott Hosier. Scott was a published Civil War historian, history teacher, and an authority regarding the U.S./Dakota War of 1862. Scott passed away on October 19th, 2005, but his dream to preserve, restore, and interpret the Wood Lake Battlefield lives on with the WLBPA.