Crossing Legacy Offers $1 Million to LEASE Wildflower Preserve part of Washington Crossing Park

Friday April 30th at 12 noon, at Washington Crossing Historic Park entrance at River Road (Route 32) and Aquetong Road The Crossing Legacy Foundation will have an oversized check in the amount of $1 MILLION DOLLARS made out to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the 137.5 acres of Washington Crossing Historic Park known as the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve. The Crossing Legacy is making this offer as an alternative to the State’s planned transfer in PA House Bill 2126 of ownership by DEED to a private group for ONE DOLLAR.

This land is shared as an asset of ALL citizens of the COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania and is a national historic treasure. It is worth well over a million dollars. If this land transfer passes the Senate and is signed by the Governor, an historic irreplaceable resource will be lost to the citizens of Pennsylvania forever. The Senate may vote on the land transfer next week. What’s the rush?

The Senate must take into consideration our offer. Our offer is a million times better than the current House Bill.

The Crossing Legacy Foundation makes this good faith offer for a 99 year LEASE, for $1 MILLION DOLLARS. That means this land will remain a public asset of the Commonwealth and part of Historic Washington Crossing Park.

The Crossing Legacy will operate and preserve the 137.5 acres as a wildflower preserve. And will remember, respect and support the Historic Park and its mission to memorialize Washington and the soldiers who died in the encampment of 1776.

The Crossing Legacy Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving Washington Crossing. Founded in 1995 we have worked to preserve the area of Washington Crossing from development that would destroy the historic integrity of this historic site.

Joining the Crossing Legacy Foundation, in full Revolutionary regalia, will be Bob Gerenser as General Washington and the Coryell Ferry Militia. These re-enactors are coming, leaving their jobs and businesses, to protect and preserve Washington Crossing Historic Park and to keep it intact, all 500 acres of it for generations to come. WE WILL NOT LET THEM GIVE AWAY OUR HISTORY!

Come join us and meet the people willing to protect and preserve our heritage FOR EVERYONE, rather than deed it away for ONE DOLLAR to an elite privileged few.

Yes, I do know. The group is what used to be the volunteers and staff who ran the Preserve under the Washington Crossing Park Commission, and then under the State Administrator when the local Commission was decommissioned. In 1997 they became an non-profit 501(c)3 operating the Preserve independently of direct State oversight via a lease.

For the purpose of running a “nature center” they have done an excellent job, but they have not honored the purpose the Preserve was created in 1932, the bicentennial year of George Washington. That purpose was to have a wildflower preserve as a living memorial to the Soldiers who died at the encampment at Bowman’s Hill in 1776. As a complement to the historic memorial of the site. That is why today, the private Preserve Association has millions of dollars in its accounts, while the historic park is CLOSED. (See Fox and Friends this morning: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4171488/losing-american-history for a HALF story on the closure.)

The bigger story of the closure seems to be that a certain group of politicians working with some local very well-off modern gentry, and possibly other recreational industry interests, have worked out a long-term plan to put all or most of the historic park into private hands. To achieve that goal they have simply cut off ALL funding to the historic park while continuing to fund the preserve infrastructure.

In the first giveaway the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Association will get prime Bucks County real estate worth in the range of 8 to 11 million without deed restrictions, maybe 4 million with the very limited deed restrictions. How much will they pay? $1.

Last weekend they had a Black Tie Gala attended by some of areas most wealthy. I love wealth and have some friends among those wealthy.

But it is WRONG to take millions out of a public trust, to give to what is becoming in many aspects just another club of the wealthy, especially when the rest of us are scrimping and working extra jobs to pay bills, and OUR wealth is being evaporated by an avaricious government.

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