PRAIRIE GROVE -- Susan Donnangelo, superintendent of Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, gets emotional when talking about the Civil War artifacts that still can be discovered on the battlefield grounds.
Now the park has an updated and improved collection management facility where these artifacts can be cleaned, assessed, researched and then stored to preserve the history of the Battle of Prairie Grove.
Donnangelo and officials from Arkansas State Parks held an open house ceremony Nov. 29 for the collection management facility.
"This has been a really important project for our park and for Arkansas State Parks," Donnangelo said during the ceremony in the Latta Barn prior to a tour of the facility. "I'm really proud to show you the work we've put into this building."
The improved facility is the result of concerns expressed by the community in 2021 about a decision to move the Prairie Grove battlefield artifacts to a collection management facility at Jacksonport State Park in Newport.
Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, addressed the concerns during two meetings, one in June 2021 and then again in December 2021, and pledged that the building would be restored and improved so that it would be a suitable place to preserve and maintain the artifacts in Prairie Grove.
Hurst was scheduled to be at the open house last week but had car problems on her way from Little Rock to Prairie Grove and was not able to make it in time for the ceremony.
Donnangelo noted that the battlefield state park is a nationally recognized historic site listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"Not only is it important on a national and state history level, but it's important to the community history of Prairie Grove," she said. "Many of us have strong ties to this place and we care about this place very deeply."
The park's mission is to protect, preserve and manage the battlegound and interpret the Prairie Grove campaign. This mission includes preserving and maintaining artifacts and documents within the state park's collection.
"The steps our leadership has taken to this day have helped us to achieve those public duties and we're very grateful for that," Donnangelo said.
The park has more than 3,000 items in its collection and many are related to military history, such as battlefield artifacts and personal effects received or retrieved from archeological studies in the the area.
Donnangelo has participated in archeological studies on battle grounds and finds the experience humbling.
"I kinda get a little choked up about it," she said.
She said she can find a piece of history on the battlefield and because of the ability to research and study the collection, she's able to figure out the exact day the item hit the ground and learn more about the group of soldiers at that location.
"That's incredible to me and that's what makes these artifacts special," she said.
Donnangelo outlined all the work completed on the collection management facility. The first step was to remediate mold in the building and find the source of the mold.
The building has new flooring, repairs of interior walls, insulation, improved air circulation in the attic, cleaned and assessed ductwork, new LED lighting, exterior repairs and new exterior paint and an upgraded security system.
Donnangelo said she is especially excited about one room that provides a dedicated research area for the public. This area will be available by appointment and during specific hours.
Shea Lewis, director of Arkansas State Parks, said many people were involved in the process to ensure that the artifacts would be able to stay on site at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, including representatives with the Division of Arkansas Heritage and Old State House Museum, along with Samantha Bynum, a curator with the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources at the time.
"The division of state parks has been working hard to transform a deteriorating facility into one worthy and capable of showcasing the unique and important history of Prairie Grove Battlefield," Lewis said.
As public servants, Lewis said state parks officials had the opportunity to hear from the community, take advice and then make changes based on that. He thanked the community for its passion for the history of Prairie Grove Battlefield.
The total investment for the improvements from the state park's major maintenance budget was $76,200, according to Jeff King, deputy director of Arkansas State Parks.
He said this represented the "dollar piece of the work" but not the personal work by many people who stepped up and made the project a reality. King thanked many people by name for their efforts on the facility.
Bynum, who now is the part-time curator for the Prairie Grove collection management facility, briefly spoke about her work on the project.
She said she assessed the facility and then began preventative conservation. Everything in the collection was placed in a storage pod while the building was remediated for mold. All artifacts were cleaned and then brought back into the facility.
Bynum said the state park has an "amazing" collection.
"I'm a collections person. When I came in and saw what they had, it was amazing. But it was also a shame of how over the years it had been neglected. So I'm very grateful to work on this project and very grateful that the state park stepped up and wanted to preserve their history," Bynum said.
Donnangelo thanked Bynum for doing the "lion's share" of the work.
"What you see is 100% of the work she's done and her passion, not only for Arkansas State Parks but for this park and the history it has," Donnangelo said.
Moving forward, Donnangelo said the state park will complete a detailed inventory of the collection, make sure the collection is up to date in the software program and determine if any of the items need to go other places or used as interpretive items.
"Collection work is never complete," Donnangelo said. "It's a process."
LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER The collections management facility for Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park has been upgraded and improved so it can be used to properly store and preserve artifacts from the Civil War battleground.
Photo by Will Newton/ADPHT Susan Donnangelo, superintendent of Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, speaks during an open house before a public tour of the park's upgraded and improved collection management facility.