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Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Center for the State of the Parks: Park Assessments
Published December 2008
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park preserves and interprets the events that surround the meeting of Generals Lee and Grant that resulted with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. This surrender signaled an end to the Civil War and the beginning of the reunification of the United States of America. According to an assessment by NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks, current overall conditions of Appomattox Court House’s known cultural resources rated a “fair” score of 68 out of 100. The park’s most prominent cultural resources are its historic structures—especially the house where the historic surrender took place and the town’s reconstructed courthouse. Also important are the park’s museum collection and archives, which contain items such as the pencil General Lee used to edit the surrender document and a battle flag of the 61st Virginia Infantry. Challenges to the park’s cultural resources include a lack of planning documents, unfunded staff positions, and limited exhibit and storage space. Appomattox Court House’s natural resources received a “fair” score of 71 out of 100. The park’s natural resource program is in its infancy, and while the park has made a good start analyzing its natural resource base and managing some aspects of it, much more remains to be done. The report cites issues with invasive non-native plants, soil and water degradation from agricultural land uses, and resource deterioration caused by adjacent development and certain agricultural practices.
