Dear Anonymous:

Unfortunately, the "educational" lesson by placing a museum on the undeveloped land -- inside the park boundary -- that they want to use will totally obscure George Washington's tactical brilliance as a General. Right now, with the land undeveloped, the visitor has the opportunity to understand the constant tension Washington kept the British generals in: by being right next to the River, but almost just within reach of British troops and logistics, Washington could always move just across the river to frustrate any British advance, and protect his own supplies at the same time. Washington did the same thing in Morristown, New Jersey when the British took New York.

The only education opportunity for this proposal would be to combine the national park service collection with the ARC collection, and present them to the public TOGETHER in the ALREADY developed area SOUTH of the river. Building it on the north side would be a descration of the meaning of Valley Forge. Combined on the south, these two collections would be one of the largest collection of cultural materials from the American Revolution. Combined on the south of the river, the public would not be confused about how and where to access the park and learn the story of Valley Forge and the creation of the American Army.