Harpers Ferry, W.Va. (AP) -- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is growing by 176 acres.

The Civil War Preservation Trust is transferring part of the School House Ridge Battlefield to the National Park Service.

The ceremony Thursday is among several events commemorating the 150th anniversary of abolitionist John Brown's October 1859 raid on a union arsenal.

Other events co-sponsored by the Virginia and West Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commissions include panel discussions with scholars and tours relating to both the raid and the 1862 Battle of Harpers Ferry.

The Civil War Preservation Trust bought the battlefield land in 2002, with the help of state and matching grants.

It's the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States.

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