The 838 acres is the core site of the battle, according to Holly Houser, the director of the park.

"But there are 3,000 acres that are considered the battlefield," Houser said. "The Arkansas State Parks owns one-quarter of the land, the city of Prairie Grove and the Prairie Grove School District owns one-quarter of the land and the other half is owned by private individuals."

The acreage includes most of the city of Prairie Grove, Houser said, because veterans wandered back to the area to found the town. The Arkansas State Parks took over the park in 1971, Houser said.

Having the park listed on the endangered list is a double-edged sword, Houser added.

"It's good in that it brings awareness to the park," Houser said. "It's bad in that it makes people think we're not preserving it like we should be. People feel both ways. We're going to use it to try to get some things we need."

The preservation group notes that Washington County is the third fastest growing county in Arkansas and Arkansas 62 that borders the battlefield park is being widened to four lanes.

The chosen route for the highway bypasses Prairie Grove to the south of the city, and will consist of four lanes that have open shoulders, divided by a grass median, according to information from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. The new road will skirt the edge of the park, according to Houser.

"The good thing about the growth in the area is that it will bring us more visitors," Houser said. "Our visitation has already increased with Interstate 540. It's easy to tell people what exit to take and then drive (a few minutes) west on U.S. 62. The downside is we want to make sure we don't overuse the land. We want to keep everything as close to the original battle site as possible."

Much of the privately owned land is still farmland, Houser said. That's pretty much the same thing the land was being used for at the time of the battle.

Preserving the land does come at a cost.

"They've (the Parks Department) tried to get aesthetic easements," Oelrich said. "That's where an owner can continue to use his property for certain uses like hay, farming or cattle, but they can't build a chicken house or a barn on it. You start telling farmers what they can and can't do with their land and they get upset pretty quick."

Prairie Grove residents have mixed reviews on the park.

"There's some acreage around there where they can't even build a barn," said Rick Clayton, a Prairie Grove resident. "They own the land, but the state won't let them build on it."

Meanwhile, Linda Cunningham points out that residents use the park for more than just a history lesson.

"It's very important to the town." Cunningham said. "We have the Clothesline Fair (a craft fair) there every year. People have weddings there. They have square dancing. There's the Civil War re-enactment. A lot of people use it for different things."

Oelrich agrees -- to a point.

"We look at the park as our greatest asset, but we also have to be realistic," Oelrich said. "Without infrastructure and utilities we can't grow any more as a city. You can't just stop extending utilities."