Baldwin ? Seven men tromped around 40 acres of snow-packed land Saturday afternoon.

They toured what will one day be the Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Park, just east of Baldwin City. It includes the Black Jack Battlefield, where John Brown-led abolitionists battled a pro-slavery force on June 2, 1856.

Many believe it was the first armed conflict that led to the Civil War.

“The battlefield here is in (the shape of) a Y,” Kerry Altenbernd said to the others as they started their journey.

He described where Brown supposedly entered the land and encountered his enemies.

“No one died – there were a lot of severe injuries,” Altenbernd said.

The historic battlefield sits at the easternmost edge of the land, but it was the rest of the land the naturists were interested in.

“Let’s go on the tour!” said Karl Gridley, a member of the Black Jack Battlefield Trust, which hopes to develop the tract of land into a tourist attraction, where people can come to learn more about the battle and take nature walks.

“We’re just getting an idea of where the trail might go,” said Altenbernd, a trust member, as they continued on their trek.

Stan Roth, a retired Lawrence High School biology teacher, tagged along to give the Black Jack boosters a better understanding about where the trail should be positioned.

Two associate scientists with the Kansas biological survey were there to learn about animal life in the area.

Others were there only to take in the sights and for an impromptu history lesson.

Toward the end of the hike, a few of the men took pride in spotting a Blackjack oak tree near the battlefield.

One of the men pulled a leaf off the tree and told Altenbernd to use it as their logo.