Parkers Crossroads named ‘affiliated area’ with National Park Service

PARKERS CROSSROADS, Tenn. — A historic West Tennessee battlefield joins the National Park Service.

“It’s awesome to partner with the National Park Service, and I think it’s going to bring more tourism to the area,” Henderson County Mayor Eddie Bray said.

Parkers Crossroads battlefield finalized an agreement with state and federal entities, naming the Civil War site as an affiliated area with the National Park Service.

Officials say this new affiliation opens doors for the historic site.

“It allows the National Park Service to provide additional assistance in the area of grants, management, interpretation and marketing of the site,” superintendent of Shiloh National Military Park Dale Wilkerson said.

Parkers Crossroads Mayor Kenneth Kizer looks forward to the potential increase in tourism and economic impact from the new status.

“The more we grow our parks system, more people will come through here, and more tax dollars will stay here,” Kizer said.

“This raises it to national level in terms of prominence,” Wilkerson said.

Parkers Crossroads joins other notable historic sites, such as the Jamestown Memorial and the Oklahoma City Memorial, as an affiliated area with the National Park Service.

City Manager Steve McDaniel says the preservation of the Parkers Crossroads battlefield is important to West Tennessee’s history. “We’ve been able to save 370 acres of core battlefield where that battle took place,” he said.

The Battle of Parkers Crossroads is where Confederate soldiers clashed with Union brigades after the railroad line was cut off between Kentucky and Jackson.