After a very long and complicated journey, the Fallen Timbers Battlefield has been approved as a National Historic Site. The bill, introduced by Senator Mike DeWine, was approved unanimously by the Senate on October 17, 1999. Two days later, the House passed similar legislation that had been sponsored by Representative Marcy Kaptur of Toledo. Although this act will not provide any funding for the proposed memorial, it does open the door for federal grant money and improves the opportunities for local groups to raise the needed capital. President Clinton is expected to sign this bill soon.

Toledo"s local newspaper, "The Blade," reported the story as it happened. In June, 1995, Dr. Michael Pratt, an anthropology professor from Heidelberg College in Tiffin, OH, discovered that the Battle of Fallen Timbers had actually taken place about a mile from the officially recognized site. The new site, where Dr. Pratt found over 300 artifacts, is a soybean field owned by the City of Toledo and was slated for major expansion of the local urban sprawl. The events that occurred over the next few years were nothing short of a municipal civil war.

The city of Maumee, already angry with Toledo for buying land around their smaller city, was not about to let them continue with their plan. The conflict lasted until August, 1998, when Toledo"s Mayor, Carty Finkbeiner, changed his view on the issue. Being unable to attract any new investors or buyers for the contested property, the Mayor decided to join the ranks of the preservationists and work to raise the money needed for them to purchase the land from the city. About $2 million has been allocated by the State of Ohio and $500,000 from the City of Maumee for the purchase of the 185-acre battlefield. Toledo has offered to add about $1.2 million. The federal government may also contribute as much as $3.1 million, bringing the total very close to the $7.5 million needed to purchase the property.

Since this battlefield will not be ready for visitors during our "Drums Along the Maumee" convention, this coming May, we have arranged a special tour of another key local site: Fort Meigs. It is the largest, reconstructed wooden fort in the United States. Larry Nelson, the curator at Fort Meigs, will give this free tour on the Sunday following our convention.