FORT MASSAC ENCAMPMENT ON FOR THIS YEAR

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- The good news is there will be a 19th annual Fort Massac Encampment in October. The bad news is that for the first time since the start of the annual historic re-enactment event, a $1 per person admission fee will be charged.

This year's encampment will be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17-18, at Fort Massac State Park on the banks of the Ohio River in Metropolis. The encampment, which drew nearly 70,000 visitors last year, recreates French, British and American colonial military and civilian life in the Illinois territory before and after the American Revolution.

In June the Illinois Department of Conservation put Fort Massac and its adjoining state park on a list of parks that might be closed on a seasonal basis, from mid-October to early April, because of the state's budget crunch. Closing of the fort in mid-October would have meant cancellation of the encampment unless local financial support could be obtained.

After news of the seasonal closing of the park and cancellation of the encampment was publicized in mid-June, hundreds of letters were mailed and petitions gathered and sent to department headquarters in Springfield. On Tuesday department spokeswoman Anne Mueller said Fort Massac State Park was removed from the list.

Mueller said: "The department has as its goal to bring the most amount of service as it can to the people of Illinois with the budget it has. After evaluating the attendance, location and services available in the Fort Massac area, the site was removed from the tentative seasonal closing list."

Sources in Metropolis said Tuesday much of the effort in saving the encampment and keeping the fort open during the fall and winter months was due to area citizens who wrote letters, called the commission's headquarters, and met in person with senior department staff in Springfield late this summer to discuss the future of the fort and the fall encampment.

Park officials said attendance at the encampment has risen since it began 19 years ago. In the last three years, encampment attendance has increased from 56,000 in 1989 to 1991's record-breaking 69,500 visitors.

In addition, department figures show the number of visitors each year at Fort Massac rose from 768,538 in 1981 to 1,510,296 in 1991, making Fort Massac State Park one of the most utilized parks in the state. It's believed those figures were brought to the attention of the department and played an important role in the department's decision to keep the fort open year-round.

During the week preceding the encampment all park facilities, campsites and picnic areas are filled to capacity. The crowds have become so large in the past two years that shuttle buses are now used to take visitors to the fort parking lot at the Massac County Fairgrounds about one mile east of the park.

Debra Watkins of the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce said there was an almost audible sigh of relief from anxious residents and businesses in the Massac County and Paducah, Ky., areas when word was received that the fort would remain open and the encampment was on.

"Everybody was really upset when we learned the fort and the park might be closed for the winter, forcing cancellation of the encampment," said Watkins. "Area merchants and businessmen said they would be devastated if the encampment were canceled."

Watkins said businesses in Metropolis and neighboring Paducah benefit economically from the thousands of tourists and visitors who spend the weekend in area motels, eat at area restaurants, and fill up with gas at area gas stations before they leave. Even shopping malls in Paducah report noticeable increases in business during the encampment weekend, she added.

Watkins said no one is pleased with the $1 admission fee. "A lot of people are complaining about the admission charge, but I guess it's worth it if it means keeping the park open and holding the encampment," she said.

Terry Johnson, park ranger at Fort Massac State Park, said he's not thrilled with collecting the admission fee but admission fees will also be charged at other special events held at sites operated by the department. Johnson said the encampment admission fee includes everyone who comes through the gates, "from adults down to babes in arms."

Ironically, the annual Fort de Chartres Rendezvous, which is held in June at the historic fort west of Prairie du Rocher, Ill., will not be affected by the decision to impose admission fees because the site is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.