Protecting History and Nature

Protecting History and Nature. Hoke's Run Battlefield Park. Hoke's Run Battlefield Park is a shining example of how preserving battlefields protects more than history. That preservation work also safeguards the natural world around us, protecting the very qualities that make the Shenandoah Valley such a special place to live and visit., These preserved lands protect and promote clean air and clean water; plants and wildlife; watersheds and natural habitats; and woodlands, farmlands, and rural landscapes., They also provide space for public trails and parks, like this one, that enrich our lives and communities., Today, these battlefield sites, once filled with terrible violence, have been preserved as places of calm and peace. Places where the past is remembered; the present enhanced; and the future protected., Watercress is one of the plants that flourishes in the area around the Hoke's Run battlefield. A leafy green vegetable that thrives in cool shallow streams, watercress grows throughout northern Berkeley County. It grows wild at sites such as Falling Waters, the local waterfall from which the community takes its name, and is also harvested commercially at places such as Hoke's Run, the battle's namesake. Photograph by Gary Gimbel