Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Park is now open to the public on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

The battlefield east of Baldwin City is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. weekends through Oct. 28. There is no charge. This is the first time the battlefield, where many historians think the first shots that led to the Civil War were fired, has been opened to the public on a regular basis.

The park includes the site where the Battle of Black Jack occurred on June 2, 1856. Abolitionist John Brown led a Free State militia to victory over pro-slavery militia. The park also offers a new nature trail.

The battlefield is adjacent to the Robert Hall Pearson Memorial Park at East 2000 and North 175 roads, or about three miles southeast of Baldwin City. It also is a mile south of U.S. Highway 56.