Gettysburg National Military Park
The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought over three days between July 1 and July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the park is managed by the National Park Service.
| Gettysburg National Military Park Gettysburg National Park (1893) Gettysburg Park | |
|---|---|
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature) | |
Artillery on Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg National Military Park | |
| Nearest city | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 39°48′31″N 77°14′12″W |
| Area | 6,032 acres (24.41 km2) (as of 2020) 2009: 3,965 acres 1963: 2,871 acres 1932: 2,530 acres 1916: ~2,302 acres 1900: 1,221 acres 1888: 540 acres |
| Established | 1966: added to NRHP 1895: national park designation 1893: federal protection 1864: GBMA protection 1863: initial protection |
| Visitors | 1,031,554 (in 2010) |
| Governing body | 1933: National Park Service 1896: War Department 1864: Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association |
| Website | Gettysburg National Military Park |
Gettysburg National Military Park | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Architect | Emmor Bradley Cope; William Saunders |
|---|---|
| NRHP reference No. | 66000642 |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
The park's properties include most of the Gettysburg Battlefield, many of the battle's support areas during the battle, including reserve, supply, and hospital locations, and several non-battle areas associated with the battle's aftermath and commemoration, including the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where the Gettysburg Address was delivered by then President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863. Many of the park's 43,000 American Civil War artifacts are displayed in the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center.
The park has more wooded land than in 1863, and the National Park Service has an ongoing program to restore portions of the battlefield to their historical non-wooded conditions, as well as to replant historic orchards and woodlots that are now missing. In addition, the NPS is restoring native plants to meadows and edges of roads, to encourage habitat as well as provide for historic landscape. There are also considerably more roads and facilities for the benefit of tourists visiting the battlefield park.
Attendance in 2018 was 950,000, a decline of 86% since 1970. The five major Civil War battlefield parks operated by the National Park Service (Gettysburg, Antietam, Shiloh, Chickamauga/Chattanooga and Vicksburg) had a combined 3.1 million visitors in 2018, down 70% from 10.2 million in 1970.
The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.