What's happening in Kinston?
Simply put, NCDOT has chosen a path that cuts directly through the core of the battlefield for the future U.S. 70 Kinston Bypass.
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Why is this complicated?
The not-so-simple answer is that it shouldn't be. Alternative 1B is one of MANY choices that NCDOT had when choosing a path. They chose the "cheapest" alternative rather than choosing to preserve an area that houses 250+ years of American history.
Despite NCDOT's claim that archaeological and architectural surveys have been done, we have found those reports to be woefully inadequate.
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The area that NCDOT seeks to destroy and/or irreparably harm will impact the final resting places of Native Americans, Enslaved Peoples and Soldiers fought, lived and perished on that land.
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The Historic Preservation Group (HPG) and the Wyse Fork Battlefield Commission have been in a battle for over a year to save the battlefield. In early 2023, they engaged Main Street Consultants, and Ohio-based firm that specializes in historic preservation and public lands, to assist them. Since then, some inroads have been made to save the battlefield... but we still have a long way to go before it's safe.
About the Historical Preservation Group
Wyse Fork Battlefield has been on the Battlefield Trust most endangered Battlefields list twice . Because of this unfortunate designation, HPG has been attending DOT public Hwy 70 bypass meetings for years going back 2005 or 2006. At most of these meetings it was made known how HPG felt about where the bypass was potentially going to be. Many members of HPG attended these meetings and several of us met with engineers once near the Vause House to discuss the bypass. One of the County Commissioners , about 4 months ago asked why had we just started to protest where the interchange was going. Needless to say this led to a conversation in which we told her that HPG has been in contact with DOT concerning the Bypass for many years.