"It would be nice if we could one day identify where the other cemetery is. "People plant things for a reason… It's just a matter of finding out why." Naturalists have also found circumstantial evidence of a lost slave cemetery on the trail – traces of periwinkle, a tell-tale sign of old graves, Henry said. "There's only one, so someone planted it," she said. There is also a spicebush which Henry refers to as "poor man's potpourri" because it was historically used as fragrant wipes before indoor plumbing, she said. There are overgrown privets that may have once lined a driveway and a daffodil field where volunteers pulled 1,000 bulbs during the clean-up. The trail is blooming with plant history. You'll have totally different plants within a hundred yards of each other." "The interesting thing about this trail versus a lot of other trails is its different habitats. "There's a lot to see in a very short amount of time," she said. It's the same water source that drew people to the land and has diverse woody and marshy habitats in proximity, Henry said. The trail is centered on a small natural spring that begins at Lebanon Run and feeds into the Newport News Reservoir, said Tim Greene, Endview's education specialist. "It's just really cool to have something that you can take from wildness and bring it back to 'Oh, God, wouldn't this be a cool way to teach… about the history of the plantation and a little bit about what they used?" she said. The goal is to lay a defined trail, identify and tag plants and produce an educational brochure for visitors, said Daina Henry, a lead volunteer and master naturalist. Restoration began in June when Peninsula Master Naturalists identified 23 species of birds and 47 types of plants and trees on the quarter-of-a-mile long trail. But by next spring it will resemble the wildlife that Peninsula Campaign soldiers saw in the area 150 years ago, according to a naturalist who is leading the restoration effort. Currently the trail is overgrown with invasive Japanese stiltgrass and pawpaws.
NEWPORT NEWS – A Civil War trail is being restored at Endview Plantation this summer. Naturalists and organizations are working together to restore a trail at the Endview Plantation in Newport News. The following article is featured here with permission from The Daily Press about the work of alumnae and adjunct professor Daina Henry '81, Ed.S.
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