Journey Through Hallowed Ground Hosts Whistle Stop Tour
to Celebrate Secretary of Transportation’s Designation of
Journey Through Hallowed Ground as National Scenic Byway
Press Stops in Adams, PA, Frederick, MD, Loudoun,
Culpeper, Orange and Albemarle, VA

MEDIA ADVISORY - October 16 ,2009 

BACKGROUND: Today, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation designated the 180-mile long thoroughfare running through the Journey Through Hallowed Ground -- Routes 15, 231, 20, and 53 (the Old Carolina Road) – from Gettysburg, PA to Monticello, VA, a National Scenic Byway. This is one of the highest designations the Secretary can bestow upon a public road and one that could have a profound economic impact on the local jurisdictions along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground.

WHAT: The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership will host a day-long Whistle Stop Tour, where the JTHG Partnership will celebrate the accomplishment and its economic impact with a bus tour through the Journey accompanied by elected officials, state tourism officers from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, heritage site and destination management organizations, local business owners, and the citizens who live within the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, many of whom worked diligently to obtain this honor. Press are invited to join the day-long bus ride, where food and drink are provided as well as cover each of the six designated locations seen below.

WHEN: October 21, the day-long Whistle Stop Tour will ride through the entire Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway, stopping at a handful of sites that represent the diverse spectrum of the historical, cultural, natural, and environmental characteristics found within The Journey. Press are invited to join the day-long bus ride as well as cover each of the six designated locations. Here is the itinerary:

WHERE: The day begins at the Historic Train Station in Gettysburg, PA, but press can join at any of the stops below. Please register with contact below.

The National Scenic Byways Program is a grassroots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. It is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.

With 11,000 years of dense history from ancient burial grounds and Native American history to 400 years of European, American and African American heritage, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground is a National Heritage Area with a National Scenic Byway and is known as the region Where America Happened. It contains more history than any other region in the nation and includes: National and World Heritage sites, thousands of National Registered sites, 49 National Heritage districts, nine Presidential homes, 13 National Park units, hundreds of African American and Native American heritage sites, 30 Historic Main Street communities, sites from the Revolutionary War, French-Indian War, War of 1812 and the largest collection of Civil War sites in the nation, and much more.