When you love where you work and enjoy the community in which you live, it is natural to want to maintain that area the best you can. I find this especially true when it comes to park staff, especially one former manager in particular. Chris Calkins dedicated his career to teaching the general public and park staff about the history of Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Historical State Park.

Chris Calkins retired from the National Park Service after a 30-year career as chief historian at locations such as Appomattox Court House and Petersburg National Battlefield. He became the first park manager at Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historical State Park in 2008 and worked tirelessly until his retirement to maintain and develop that land into what we see today.

How it all Began

Have you ever passed the same sight day after day and wondered, what can I do to make that area better? Well, Chris Calkins felt that way about the small piece of land that sits right at the front of the park. The tiny property included a non-historically significant house and garage that were in really bad shape. They are the only two post Civil War-era structures within the park and so Chris really wanted to clean that area up to accurately showcase the historical park.

Chris is well-versed on the National Historic Landmark property and is among the leading historians who have studied and researched the Sailor's Creek story. He has written multiple books and articles as well as giving TV interviews and public lectures on the subject for decades. The park, the surrounding area and its historical significance are dear to his heart so anytime he could help secure more land to conserve, he would jump at that opportunity.

During his 12 years as park manager, Chris assisted with increasing the overall size of the protected battleground through negotiating land acquisition deals between local neighbors, the American Battlefield Trust and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. However, there was still that 1.1 acre of land directly across the road from the visitor center that was privately owned and landlocked by the park. In hopes of cleaning up the area that didn’t quite reflect the park, Chris along with DCR made repeated efforts to acquire the land, but they were unable to secure a deal. 

In 2019 Chris began to think more about retirement and so he vowed that his last personal objective would be to obtain that little piece of property that seemed to be the missing puzzle piece to making Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Historic State Park whole. Chris was very persistent about acquiring this land and months before his last day as park manager, he successfully worked out a deal with the landowner to purchase the property out of his own pocket. 

Kudos to Chris Calkins

With this land finally being purchased, people were grateful for Chris Calkins' dedication to Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park. The teamwork between everyone involved was a huge win for the park and an overwhelming amount of praise has been given to Chris Calkins for this huge achievement.

“On December 22, 2022 Calkins Tract is officially DCR property and this is such a great accomplishment for the park and we are truly grateful for the role Chris Calkins played in acquiring this land,” said Dr. Melissa Baker Virginia State Parks director.

Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Assistant Park Manager Lee Wilcox is also a historian who understands the importance of acquiring this land. He is very excited to have the newly acquired land and is so proud of the legacy that Chris Calkins will forever leave behind.

“This acquisition, along with all of the other achievements Mr. Calkins has accomplished with shaping and restoring the battlefield to its proper, historic appearance is the capstone to his legacy with not just Virginia State Parks, but also to the Civil War preservation community that will enable future generations to visit and experience our national historic landmark as it was meant to be viewed,” said Wilcox.

DCR leadership team members have thanked Chris for his hard work and truly appreciate his dedication for going above and beyond typical park duties.

“For all those involved and a dedicated park manager who stepped in to fulfill a need, thank you for your service to the people of the Commonwealth,” said Frank Stovall DCR deputy director. “Thanks to your efforts the experience our visitors will have at Sailor's Creek is now forever improved.”

While Calkins Tract may not be a large property, this acquisition displays how monumental even a small purchase can be.

“This may be a tiny piece of property, but it is a testament to all those involved and how hard we work to protect the resources,” said Josh Ellington Virginia State Parks chief of resource management. “In this case, the resource is the cultural landscape and the hallowed ground that witnessed a very difficult time in our nation's history. Chris Calkins' efforts to secure this land truly showcase his dedication to land conservation and we are very appreciative of all his hard work and determination.”

Chris even worked diligently with the staff who were responsible for purchasing the land and earned high praise from people who deal with land purchases on a daily basis.

“State Parks and real property office are very excited to announce the closing of a 1.153 acre property in Amelia and Prince Edward Counties from the American Battlefield Trust as an addition to Sailors Creek Battlefield State Park,” said Brian Fuller DCR real property manager. “This acquisition was partially funded by a grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program. The real property office is continuing to emphasize ‘tiny but mighty’ projects because while they may not be on the highlight reel for our agency, they have an outsized effect on the world around them; The Calkins Tract is truly emblematic of the 'tiny but mighty' designation.”

“Fortunately, one man stepped up to champion this cause on behalf of the park,” said Charlie Marston DCR real property specialist. “Chris Calkins was able to negotiate a purchase then generously conveyed the property to the American Battlefield Trust (ABT). With the Calkins Tract now under DCR ownership, the park can proceed planning for the cleanup and restoration of the property to its period appropriate condition.” 

The Next Steps

As of right now, there are no immediate plans to do anything with the land as there are several processes and approvals within the state that are needed before the land cleanup can begin. With the house and garage being in very poor and uninhabitable condition as well as creating an adverse obstruction to the historic view shed, the park manager is hoping for authorization to demolish the structures sooner than later.

“As part of the ongoing battlefield landscape restoration effort of overall park property, we know that the 1.1 acre piece of land was a forested area during the Civil War,” said Sailor’s Creek Park Manager David Gunnells. “We desire to plant numerous, historically accurate saplings (red oak, white oak, maple, black walnut, pine) with assistance from our District IV resource management staff, as we have done throughout other areas of the battlefield where forests were known to exist.”

Sailor's Creek Battlefield State Park is located in the Piedmont region of central Virginia, at the intersection of three Counties--Prince Edward, Amelia and Nottoway.  The Calkins Tract is located along the Park's main entrance road and straddles the boundary between Prince Edward and Amelia Counties, thus requiring a deed in both localities.

Once the approval and permits are given from the proper channels, the staff at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Historic State Park look forward to making more land improvements to better serve the park visitors and to enhance their visit to the park.

Thank you so much, Chris Calkins, for this land wouldn’t have been able to be purchased without your efforts!