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National Park Service superintendent discusses Pinkney Porter Chapel, proposes cooperative management agreement
Summary
Laura Waller, superintendent of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, updated the council on staffing, education programs and exhibit work at Pinkney Porter Chapel and said she would explore a cooperative management agreement with the town to allow shared maintenance and funding.
Laura Waller, superintendent of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, told the council Port Royal’s Pinkney Porter Chapel is an important interpretive anchor and described progress on staffing, exhibits and education programming.
"I'm the superintendent of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park," Waller said, and listed the park’s three sites, staff roles and recent work to install new exhibit panels at the downtown visitor center and at Porter Chapel. She said the park now fields roughly 17–18 full‑time staff and is developing curriculum‑based field trips focused on Camp Saxton and African American military service during the Civil War era.
Waller said the park operates Porter Chapel as a base for interpretation and outreach, is open to visitors on Fridays and Saturdays (weekday visits by appointment for scheduled field trips), and is working to formalize partnerships with local organizations. She said the park currently operates under a general agreement with the town but would like to explore a cooperative management agreement (CMA) that could legally allow shared maintenance and financial support in both directions.
Waller cautioned that larger public events and press outreach are temporarily on hold pending new federal leadership staffing and review, but she said scheduling field trips and routine visitor operations can continue. She offered to share a CMA template with town staff for review and said the park will support outreach such as coordinating with the farmer’s market and cruise visitor schedules when possible.
Council members thanked Waller for the update and raised access questions related to the naval hospital property; Waller said the park has a constructive relationship with hospital leadership and security staff and that escorted visits and walking access to Fort Frederick are possible for public programming.
The superintendent left a point of contact for volunteers and asked staff to follow up on the CMA template so both entities could explore shared responsibilities for maintenance and utilities at Porter Chapel.
