Re: Camp Security Saved - Revolutionary War POW Camp

Date: January 04, 2004

"Lawmakers rally behind historic site

The motion from the state House encouraged others trying to preserve the site of Camp Security.

By CARYL CLARKE Daily Record staff

Carol Tanzola, president of Friends of Camp Security, said the unanimous vote by the state House of Representatives Dec. 22 urging Pennsylvania to preserve the Revolutionary War prison camp gave her a good feeling.

“I don’t feel like I am out there on a limb by myself any more,” Tanzola said. “We finally have the support of the Pennsylvania statehouse.”

She thanked freshman state Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-Hellam Township, for putting the issue before the House. Advocates describe the site as the last undisturbed Revolutionary War prison camp in the nation.

“This is hallowed ground. It’s a cemetery,” Gillespie said. “The fact that it’s the last one. . . . Once it’s destroyed, you cannot go into a Wal-Mart or anywhere to buy another one.”

Tim Pasch, the developer who paid $520,500 in 2002 to buy the 47-acre Springettsbury Township site where archaeologists say the site sits, plans to build 100 single-family and duplex homes. Appraisers have put the value of the developed land at nearly $2.4 million, Tanzola said.

Pasch has previously said if somebody wants to buy the land, he wants $4.5 million to cover his losses through multiple plans and litigation.

Neither Pasch nor his attorney with Rhoads & Sinon of Harrisburg could be reached for comment.

York County state senators are looking at possibly sponsoring a resolution similar to the one passed in the House, Bob Thompson, legal counsel to state Sen. Gibson Armstrong, R-Lancaster County, said Tuesday.

Springettsbury Township supervisors expect their Jan. 8 board meeting to include a final approval vote on Pasch’s development plan with conditions, township Manager John Holman said Tuesday.

Pasch appealed the conditions the township placed on his preliminary plan.

The battle to save what is viewed as the nation’s last undisturbed Revolutionary War prisoner-of-war camp had to move beyond York, Tanzola said.

“This goes a long way to support the fact we have a treasure here that needs to be preserved,” Tanzola said.

Reach Caryl Clarke at 771-2032 or caryl@ydr.com.


ABOUT THE SITE

Background: Camp Security housed about 1,500 British prisoners and their families, along with Continental Army guards and their families, during the Revolutionary War from 1781 to 1783. They lived behind stockades east of York.

An epidemic killed hundreds, who were buried on the grounds.

The camp’s dimensions are unknown.

Six historians and archaeologists excavated part of the site in 1979.

In 1999, developer Tim Pasch obtained an option to buy the land for a housing development.

In 2001, the Friends of Camp Security organized into a nonprofit national group dedicated to the site’s excavation and preservation.

Springettsbury Township supervisors rejected the housing plan with a 2-2 vote Oct. 11, 2001. Pasch filed two lawsuits the next month.

Last we knew: The Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of Pasch in both suits in May. It directed the York County Common Pleas Court to order Springettsbury Township to approve Pasch’s plan.

He appealed to the Commonwealth Court about the conditions Springettsbury placed on his plan.

In October, Pasch sued Springettsbury Township and its supervisors for $20 million in federal court. He requested a jury trial.

The Friends of Camp Security and the township are waiting for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to decide whether to hear their appeal on the effect of the tie vote.

Latest news: The state House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution Dec. 22 sponsored by state Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-Hellam Township, that urges the governor and state agencies to support preservation of the site.

York County senators are considering sponsoring a similar resolution.

Springettsbury supervisors expect to vote Jan. 8 on final approval of Pasch’s plan with conditions.

© York Daily Record 2004
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