"Hellmira" Civil War Prison Camp Reconstruction Underway

Elmira, NY, September 25, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Friends of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp is excited to announce that construction has begun on a project to rebuild one of the only original surviving building from the Civil War prisoner-of-war camp in Elmira, NY.

The reconstructed building will be used as a learning center and museum to house period artifacts donated by people who have found them on the former prison camp site, said John Trice, vice president of the group.

“We do have hopes of creating a little Civil War village here. There is a great amount of interest in this project, so I think that it could become a great tourist attraction.”

Mayor Susan Skidmore concurred.

“There are lots of other groups that are very interested in what’s going on here, and certainly, I love the idea of bringing a museum here,” Skidmore said. “It’s a great idea. If we could find that those other buildings are still standing and if we could get help with funding, I think there are other items out there that we could probably find that will enhance the project.”

While construction is underway, there are still a few hurdles to cross.

“We need $100,000 to reconstruct the building and to endow it. We have a Canon which has been donated, a Civil War cannon. So that would be great but we need to get that here and build a fence around the building. When we get this constructed, we need to make sure that it stays in great shape, and can be expanded on” said Marty Chalk, President of the organization.

To cover the costs of reconstruction, the organization is offering a variety of rewards for donations, including a limited edition Original prison camp nail embedded in Lucite. 150 Year Prison Camp Anniversary T-Shirts are also available. You can make a donation, or read more by visiting http://elmiraprisoncamp.com