This park honors George Wood Wingate (1840-1928), best known for co-founding the National Rifle Association (NRA). A Union general in the Civil War, Wingate was disturbed by the inadequate skills of the Northern soldiers, feeling they lacked discipline and were poor marksmen. After the War, in an effort to address these problems and to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis,” he created the NRA with Colonel William Church in 1871. Wingate was also a lawyer and writer and used the latter skill to promote his platform and the necessity of the NRA.