New Agreement Keeps Civil-War-era House Open To The Public

SHARPSBURG, Md. (AP) -- The historic Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield will continue to operate as a visitor center thanks to a new five-year agreement.

The Herald-Mail reports representatives from the National Park Service, the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area and the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau signed an agreement Tuesday to continue to operate the house as an exhibition through 2020.

Representatives say the house was built in the 1780s and is one of two former private homes on Antietam Battlefield that's open to the public. It's named after Joshua Newcomer who owned the property during the Battle of Antietam in the American Civil War.

The signing ceremony also marked the anniversary of the date President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.