The purchase of the Ebenezer Crossing tract in Effingham County may be completed before the end of 2014, with $190,000 in matching funds coming from The Trust for Public Land.
The matching money is pledged contingent on the purchase happening, according to Curt Soper, director for Georgia and Alabama for The Trust.
The money would match a $400,000 grant to purchase the property that was announced in January, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Soper said the matching money would come to The Trust from the Dobbs Foundation and the Knobloch Family Foundation.
The 250 acres along Ebenezer Creek is important for environmental and historical reasons.
“It’s just too important to walk away from,” Soper said.
The old growth bald cypress — water tupelo swamp supports migration in the Savannah River corridor for species including the federally endangered Wood Stork and the state-listed Swallow-tailed Kite. The tract is about 3.5 miles north of the Savannah Wildlife Refuge.
During the Civil War, dozens of freed black slaves drowned in the swollen Ebenezer Creek. A pontoon bridge was pulled up by federal troops before they could cross.
After public outcry over the deaths, President Lincoln approved Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 15, known as the “40 acres and a mule” provision granting property to former slaves.
Soper said cypress knees on the property “were there to witness” the freed slaves crossing the creek.
“It’s just a great property and a unique piece of history,” he said. The acquisition would protect the forest, which otherwise could be harvested for its valuable timber.
“The grant was a big hurdle,” said Sonny Emmert, coastal resources specialist with the Georgia DNR.
Emmert said he’s cautiously optimistic that the due diligence, including appraisals, a survey, environmental assessment, title search and an education management plan will be completed.
But, “You never know you bought a house until you sign the paperwork and they hand you the keys,” he said.
DNR’s Historic Preservation Division will draft a plan for how the site would be used for education, working with the Georgia Conservancy, Historic Effingham Society and the public, Emmert said.
“The clock is already ticking” after the grant announcement, he said. “We’re going to move quickly on this one. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll be closed within the year.”
The possible purchase of the Ebenezer Crossing land divided county commissioners in 2012, when the county was asked to provide a letter of support and preliminary financial commitment for the federal grant to purchase the land.
The state had asked for a letter saying the county would agree to provide up to $150,000 in matching funds.
Commissioners split 2-2 on approving the letter, with Commissioner Reggie Loper recusing himself. Loper’s stepsons are owners of the tract, along with five others, including a first cousin of Commissioner Phil Kieffer.
Kieffer and Commissioner Vera Jones voted against providing support. Commissioner Steve Mason and then-Commissioner Bob Brantley voted in favor of the letter.
The issue turned ugly when Kieffer accused Loper and then-County Administrator David Crawley on Facebook of collusion regarding ownership of the property.
Jones said commissioners had not been told who owned the property until after the July primary when Loper was a candidate. Former commission chairman Dusty Zeigler disagreed, saying he recalled the ownership being discussed in a closed session in June.
Commissioners later cleared Crawley and Loper in a 3-1 vote, citing a lack of evidence.