Delta Bridge Project construction

Construction of Civil War Helena sites Fort Curtis and Freedom Park will continue throughout 2012, thanks to two Walton Family Foundation grants. A $242,000 grant was awarded to complete the construction of Fort Curtis, which will be the largest earthen-walled Civil War fort in the region.  A $385,000 grant was given for the creation of Freedom Park, the first official “Network to Freedom” Underground Railroad Site in Arkansas. Both grants were sought by the Delta Bridge Project in Phillips County, Arkansas.

Fort Curtis and Freedom Park are two of the three new anchor Civil War Helena
sites and the key recommendations of the Phillips County Strategic Community Plan. When
completed, the Civil War Helena initiative is expected to attract more than 60,000 annual
visitors to Phillips County and create at least 44 tourism-related jobs.

Featuring five main exhibits, Freedom Park will interpret and showcase the experiences
of African Americans during the Civil War from fugitive slavery to freedom. Fort Curtis was
instrumental to the Union Army’s seizure of Helena during the Civil War, while also serving
as a site for African American men to receive training for the United States Colored Troops.

Thus, both sites have the potential to support and enhance multiple Civil War development
projects also in the Civil War Helena tourism plan, including: the restoration of Estevan Hall
(a Union hospital during the Civil War), the revival of Battery C, and 25 other Civil War sites
throughout Phillips County. 

Upon the close of both projects, the Delta Cultural Center, an arm of the Arkansas
Department of Heritage, has agreed to take ownership of Fort Curtis and Freedom Park. A
ceremony will be held at noon on Friday, May 11, 2012 to dedicate the opening of Fort
Curtis. The expected completion date for Freedom Park is October 2012.

Those interested in learning more about Civil War Helena are encouraged to visit the Delta
Cultural Center and Helena Museum of Phillips County in downtown Helena. To find out
about the latest Civil War Helena developments, please visit www.civilwarhelena.com.

The Delta Bridge Project is a community-led effort that unifies citizens to spur
development in the Delta region. It has helped leverage over $99 million in new
investments for Phillips County, Arkansas.