Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Antoinette J. LeeNational Park Service
When the Cultural ResourcesDiversity Program was initiated inthe fall of 1998, it was envisioned as primarily a workforce effort.National Park Service managerswanted the cultural resources staffto better reflect the diversity of thenation and the park units that werebeing added to the National ParkSystem. In its early phase, theDiversity Program’s major effortsincluded the development of theCultural Resources DiversityInternship Program (see page 2); the preparation of a biannualnewsletter, Heritage Matters; andcooperation on a range of training
programs directed at developingdiverse professionals. Today, theDiversity Program encompasses aseries of programs directed atdiversifying not only the profession,but also the communities served byNational Park Service programsand parks and the resources thatare identified, protected, and inter-preted. A special issue of CRM
(Volume 22, No. 8, 1999), which wasdevoted to “Diversity and CulturalResources” describes the program’swork with minority universities andorganizations to develop trainingprograms for their constituencies.This focus was based on one of the1992 amendments to the NationalHistoric Preservation Act—Section
101(j)(I)—which directs theSecretary of the Interior, in consul-tation with other entities, to devel-op “technical or financial assis-tance, or both, to historically blackcolleges and universities (HBCU),to tribal colleges, and to collegeswith a high enrollment of NativeAmericans or Native Hawaiians, toestablish preservation training anddegree programs.”
These training efforts includedcooperation on a lecture series onthe Underground Railroad in theMid-Atlantic region at DelawareState University, the first HBCU tooffer a M.A. degree program in historic preservation; cooperation
N E W S O F T H E N A T I O N ’ S D I V E R S E C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
AAEF parks list, p. 18
Conferences upcoming, p. 23
Exhibit planned, p. 16
National Register listings, p. 8
Native American museum profile, p. 12
Publications of note, p. 23
Tribal preservation offices list, p. 13
HER ITAGE MATTERS
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Cultural Resources Diversity Program Marks Its Fifth Year
The Cultural Resources Diversity Program seeks to expand participation of diverse communities and increase the number of diverse professionals in the cultural resources field. Illustration courtesy of Kerry Skarda.
St. James Churchwindow detail,
Lafayette Square,Baltimore, Maryland.
See page 4.
(SEE DIVERSITY, PAGE 7)
page 2
The Cultural ResourcesDiversity InternshipProgram
Michéle Gates MoresiNational Conference of State HistoricPreservation Officers
The 2003 summer session markedthe fifth year of the CulturalResources Diversity InternshipProgram (CRDIP). Starting with onlythree interns in the summer of 1999,the program now co-sponsors 15 to20 internships a year. The continuingsupport and commitment of partneragencies to diversify the culturalresources field has made it possiblefor the program to offer challenginginternship projects each year.Beginning in 2002, the programwas able to co-sponsor intern-ships during the fall andspring
semesters, in addition to the summer.
After five years, the program isbeginning to show promising results.Two Summer 2000 interns nowwork for the National Park Service:one as an education specialist atHarpers Ferry Center in WestVirginia and the other works for theNational Center for Recreation andConservation as an oudoor recre-ation specialist. Another intern fromSummer 1998, one of the program’sfirst, is pursuing a Ph.D. in historyand is working with a National ParkService office in the Northwest on acivil rights theme study. Still otherstudents have reported that they areworking in fields such as education,
marketing, andlaw while
continuingto be
devoted to non-profit and culturalresources related work.
The class of summer 2003included 14 interns who worked onprojects designed to introduce themto the cultural resources and his-toric preservation field. NationalPark Service projects ranged fromcollections management tasks atLassen Volcanic National Park andHistoric American Building Survey/Historic American EngineeringRecord/ Historic American Land-scape Survey to teacher educationdevelopment at the National Centerfor Preservation Technology andTraining. Interns worked at the U.S.Naval Academy in Annapolis, Mary-land, the Charles H. Wright Museumfor African American History inDetroit, Michigan, and offices of theNational Trust for Historic Preserva-tion in Washington, DC, and inCharleston, South Carolina.
During the last week of theinternship, all 14 interns were invitedto Washington, DC, where they par-ticipated in a three-day Career
Workshop. Interns were
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
NPS ACTIVITIES
Summer 2003 interns visited the National Center for Cultural Resources, National Park Service during the CareerWorkshop in Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of Sue Waldron.
page 3
introduced to various programs andinstitutions beyond their summerexperience. Interns visited NationalPark Service cultural resourcesoffices, met with professionals at theNational Trust for Historic Preserva-tion and at the SmithsonianInstitution’s National Museum ofAmerican History, and toured thenew City Museum of Washington,DC. The workshop closed with acareer discussion panel in whichinterns engaged in a dialogue withaccomplished professionals.
The Diversity Internship Programwill continue into the 2003-2004academic year with four 15-weeksemester internships. Fall 2003intern sponsors are Cabrillo NationalMonument in San Diego, CA, theRoosevelt-Vanderbilt National His-toric Sites in Hyde Park, NY, and theU.S. Army cultural resources office inFort Drum, NY. The Statue ofLiberty in New York City will host anintern in the spring of 2004. Weexpect to have another roster ofexciting projects for students in the2004-2005 season.
The Diversity Internship Programworks with partners in National ParkService offices and units, other fed-eral agencies, and private non-profitorganizations to provide students ofdiverse backgrounds with a careerexploration experiences. Internshipslasting 10 weeks in the summer and15 weeks during a semester offerenriching work experiences that aredeveloped by intern sponsors whoare dedicated to providing studentswith unique learning opportunities.The continued growth and success ofthe program would not be possiblewithout the cooperation and gener-ous support of partners with whomwe share a common vision.
For more information, contact Michèle Gates
Moresi at 202/354-2266 or e-mail:
Intern sponsors and student applicants can find
up-to-date information on the website:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/crdi, click “Internships.”
Disappearing Filipino History and Little ManilaDaphne Dador
National Park Service CRDIP Intern
Only three buildings remain of LittleManila, a community that once con-tained the largest Filipino popula-tion in the country. Located inStockton, California, Little Manilawas home to thousands of Filipinoimmigrants until the 1970s whenredevelopment forced most of itsinhabitants to move. Today, threerun-down buildings comprise whatis left of a significant Filipino Amer-ican enclave, but they face threats ofbeing demolished to create a newAsian-themed mini-mall.
While conducting research onAsian heritage at National ParkService historic sites, I becameaware of Little Manila and theefforts to preserve it. In May 2003,the National Trust for HistoricPreservation cited Little Manila inits list of 11 most endangered places.The National Trust stated that LittleManila is a testimony to the impor-tant role played by Filipino Amer-icans in shaping the United States.
Settlement in Little Manila beganin the early 1920s when Filipinoimmigrants began to arrive in theSan Joaquin Valley. Early Filipinoimmigrants were primarily agricul-tural workers who provided thearduous labor of harvesting cropssuch as asparagus, peas, lettuce, andtomatoes.
Life in the San Joaquin Valley wasnot easy for immigrants. Similar toother non-white minorities at thetime, the Filipino population was
segregated into separate neighbor-hoods. In Stockton, Filipinos settledin the city's Oriental district next toChinatown and Japantown and created their own neighborhood,designated by its inhabitants asLittle Manila, after the national cap-ital of the Philippines.
Little Manila was both a residen-tial and commercial center for itsinhabitants. The six blocks werehome to shops, meeting halls, andrestaurants that were owned andpatronized by Filipino Americans.
The three remaining buildings inLittle Manila, a boarded-up hotel, adance hall, and a former Unionlodge are examples of the spirit ofthe community that once existed.Residential hotels were homes toFilipino migrant workers becausethey were not allowed to own prop-erty. The dance halls represent anescape for Filipino workers after along day of work and the Unionlodge reminds us that Filipino farmlaborers were among the first unionorganizers in the country.
In the 17th century, Filipinoswere the first people of Asiandescent to arrive in the United Statesbut the predominance of Filipinomigration occurred during the 20thcentury. Today, there are about 1.5 million Filipinos in the UnitedStates, yet only one officially recog-nized historic place for this commu-nity. Unfortunately, Little Manila isbeing threatened with demolition.
For more information regardingLittle Manila, visit the National Trust’swebsite at http://www.nthp.org.Daphne Dador, a senior at Catholic University of
America in Washington, DC, was an intern with
the National Park Service’s Cultural Resources
Diversity Internship Program (CRDIP) and the
Everett Foundation Public Service Internship
Program.
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
HABS RecordsBaltimore’s HistoricLafayette Square
Martin J. PerschlerHistoric American Buildings Survey
In spring 2003, the HistoricAmerican Buildings Survey
(HABS) partnered withDavid H. Gleason
Associates,Inc.,
Architects, Baltimore Heritage, Inc.,the City of Baltimore’s Commissionfor Historical and ArchitecturalPreservation (CHAP), and GoucherCollege to document a number ofhistoric buildings and sites on Bal-timore’s Lafayette Square. One ofseveral urban squares established inWest Baltimore in the 19th centuryto encourage residential develop-ment west of the city center, Lafay-ette Square defined fashionable cityliving for over 100 years. The squareand surrounding buildings, dating
from the late 1860s to the turn ofthe century in styles from
the Gothic to theQueen Anne
and
Romanesque revivals, chronicle thegrowth of the neighborhood in theyears following the Civil War and itsmetamorphosis in the early 20thcentury into the spiritual and culturalcenter of West Baltimore’s African-American community. Significant inits own right, Lafayette Square rivalsBaltimore’s better known squaresand institutions in the magnitude ofits contribution to the multiculturalheritage of Maryland’s largest city.
The square’s main architecturalattractions are its four Gothic revivalstone churches built between 1867and 1879. All four churches changedownership between 1925 and 1935—the period during which this WestBaltimore neighborhood gained areputation as a prestigious addressfor African-American professionals.
The congregation of MetropolitanMethodist led the move to Lafay-ette Square with a ceremonialmarch to its new site in 1928, fol-lowed by St. John’s A.M.E. in 1929,St. James African Protestant Epis-copal in 1932, and EmmanuelChristian Community Church in1934. The significance of the con-gregations themselves cannot beoverlooked: St. James, founded in1824, is the nation’s second oldestAfrican Episcopal congregationand the first Episcopal congrega-tion organized by African-Americans in the South. Metropol-itan dates back to 1825, the yearformerly enslaved Truman Prattbegan organizing prayer meetingsin southern Baltimore. St. John’sA.M.E. Church was founded in1855, and Emmanuel ChristianCommunity Church’s congrega-tion organized in 1934.
Complementing the square’sfour Gothic revival churches areseveral 19th-century townhouses.Although most are three-story,flat-roofed, red-brick buildings (arequirement for new houses onthe square during the 1860s and1870s), a few of them are in stone
page 5
and show the extent to which archi-tectural trends influenced popularconceptions of how an urban town-house was supposed to look. Thered brick townhouse at 828 NorthCarrollton Avenue (northwest cor-ner of the square) is best knowntoday as the home of ParrenMitchell—a noted professor, scholar,Maryland’s first African-AmericanCongressman, and a founding member of the Congressional BlackCaucus in Washington, DC.
The HABS project also includedsome of Lafayette Square’s lost land-marks, such as a set of Queen Annerevival townhouses designed byBaltimore architect Frank E. Davis,and the old Maryland State NormalSchool, a 19th-century experimental“laboratory” for training publicschoolteachers. The site of the oldState Normal School is betterremembered as the George Wash-ington Carver Vocational-TechnicalHigh School, the first school inMaryland to provide vocationaltraining to African Americans since1930.
An analysis of U.S. Census dataconducted this past summer byKrishnia Rainey, a University ofMaryland graduate and participantin the National Park Service’sCultural Resources Diversity Intern-ship Program, revealed the demo-graphic changes in Lafayette Squarebetween 1910 and 1930. Over thatperiod, a new generation of African-American residents emerged, bring-ing a renewed vitality to the neigh-borhood. The square’s new residentsworked as chauffeurs, cooks, maids,and laborers, but also as dentists,physicians, attorneys, and school-teachers.
Lafayette Square demonstrates thetremendous capacity of historic build-ings to commemorate the myriadevents, individuals, institutions, andcommunities that have helped shapeour shared cultural heritage. Thephotographs and historical reports
resulting from the Lafayette Squareproject went on display in Baltimorebeginning in October 2003. Thematerials will be permanentlydeposited in the HABS Collection atthe Library of Congress.For more information about Lafayette Square,
visit the Baltimore Heritage, Inc. website at
http://www.baltimoreheritage.org under “BHI
Preservation Watch List.”
(Opposite page) St. John's A.M.E.and (below) Emmanuel ChristianCommunity Churches make up partof the architectural legacy of theLafayette Square neighborhood ofWest Baltimore (bottom), document-ed by HABS in 2003. Photo courtesy ofHistoric American Building Survey.
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 6
Lewis and Clark:Documenting UniqueAmerican IndianCultures Theresa Campbell-Page
National Conference of State Historic Preservation
Officers
In commemoration of the Lewis andClark bicentennial celebration,Teaching with Historic Places(TwHP) launched its online lesson,The Lewis and Clark Expedition:
Documenting the Uncharted
Northwest. TwHP, a program of theNational Register of Historic Places,offers products and activities thathelp teachers bring historic placesinto the classroom, including aseries of over 100 lesson plans.
Beginning their journey in mid-May 1804, what became known asthe Corps of Discovery set outunder the command of MeriwetherLewis and William Clark. Its goalswere to become familiar with thenewly acquired Louisiana Territory,locate a water route to the PacificOcean, and strengthen Americanclaims to the Northwest. Althoughthe expedition failed to find a navi-gable waterway to the Pacific, it didsucceed in other aspects of its mis-sion, including documenting uniquecultures and establishing friendlyrelations with the native inhabitantsalong the way.
The lesson highlights three of the
places associated with Lewis andClark—Lemhi Pass and Lolo Trail onthe Montana/Idaho border and FortClatsop in Oregon. At each of theseplaces, expedition members depend-ed on hospitable relations with thenumerous tribes inhabiting theWest, such as the Shoshone, the NezPerce, and the coastal tribes. Byexamining the challenges faced bythis particular band of explorers,and by looking at how participantsmet hardships and reacted to vari-ous experiences, the lesson focuseson both the difficulties and oppor-tunities encountered when venturinginto the unknown. The lesson showshow one of the most difficult chal-lenges was communicating with,understanding, and establishingpositive relationships with societieswhose language and culture differedso much from their own.
Through the maps, readings,visuals, and activities presented inthe lesson, students learn from theperspective of expedition membershow they interacted with, and oftenrelied heavily upon, the native peo-ples they encountered. In the read-ings, students learn how theShoshone provided horses, a guide,and information about the arduousLolo Trail through the BitterrootMountains; and how the Nez Percefed and housed the Corps, nursingthem back to health after their har-rowing experience through themountains. The Nez Perce alsohelped the Corps build canoes andtended their horses for them untilthey could return. While winteringon the West Coast, the explorersdocumented in depth the coastaltribes with whom they developedtrading associations. In the lesson’sVisual Evidence section, studentsevaluate the effectiveness of theJefferson Peace Medal as a means ofIndian diplomacy and consider howthe documentation of native socialcustoms might have helped peopletraveling West after the Lewis andClark expedition.
Students also analyze excerpts
(Top) A view from a rock cairn atLolo Trail in Lolo Springs, ID. Photocourtesy of National Historic Landmark files.(Opposite) This Lewis and Clark jour-nal entry, dated August 13, 1805,contains a drawing of a Shoshonesmoking pipe. Courtesy of the AmericanPhilosophical Society.
page 7
with the National Conference ofBlack Mayors on a training programon historic preservation for blackmayors and their staffs in communi-ties in the South; and cooperationwith the African American HeritagePreservation Foundation, Inc., onthe program, “City of Neighbor-hoods: Bridging School andCommunity.”
The fourth major training effortwas the development of the courseoutline “Teaching Cultural HeritagePreservation” in cooperation withCoppin State University, MorganState University, and GoucherCollege, all of Baltimore, Maryland.This course outline grew out of themeeting of the Curriculum Forum—including scholars at minority col-leges and universities and minoritypreservation professionals—in April2001, which developed the contentsof the course. Published in Septem-ber 2002, the course outline hasbeen distributed to thousands ofeducators at colleges and universi-ties and preservation organizations.We are now following up with edu-cators on additional assistance theyneed in order to implement culturalheritage preservation courses.
In the fall of 1999, the CulturalResources Diversity Programexpanded its mandate when itassumed responsibility for devel-
oping the conference, “Places ofCultural Memory: AfricanReflections on the AmericanLandscape.” Held May 2001 inAtlanta, Georgia, this conferencebrought together scholars, preserva-tionists, and community leaders todiscuss influences on the built envi-ronment that can be traced toAfrica. Scholars made presentationson African influences on the agricul-tural production of rice, the devel-opment of iron technologies, andplace names in the New World,among other topics. The confer-ence proceedings were available atthe time of the conference and areplaced on the website for theCultural Resources DiversityProgram: www.cr.nps.gov/crdi. Thepublication, African Reflections on
the American Landscape: Iden-
tifying and Interpreting Africanisms,
summarizes much of the conferencescholarship and provides examplesof African-influenced historic prop-erties throughout the United States.
Today, the Cultural ResourcesDiversity Program is engaged in anumber of research projects. One ofthese—the Cultural Heritage NeedsAssessment—is based on consulta-tion with African Americans,Filipino Americans, and MexicanAmericans on heritage that is important to their cultural identity.
This study uses the 1990 NPS report,Keepers of the Treasures: Protecting
Historic Properties and Cultural
Traditions on Indian Lands, as itsmodel. Another project developed incooperation with GeorgeWashington University’s Center forthe Study of Public Culture andPublic History—“Presenting Raceand Slavery at Historic Sites”—willprovide survey information on staffand visitor responses to issues ofrace and slavery at three units of theNational Park System in theWashington, DC, area. In addition,we are undertaking a parallel andcompanion study to the African
Reflections publication on Asian cultural heritage in this country.
The true measure of success ofthe Cultural Resources DiversityProgram is reflected not in what oneproject accomplishes. A truer test ofaccomplishment is when all culturalresources programs in the NationalPark Service and its partners in gov-ernment and the private sectorreflect the cultural heritage prioritiesof all of the nation’s people.Antoinette J. Lee is Special Projects Manager for
the National Center for Cultural Resources and
program leader for the Cultural Resources
Diversity Program. For more information, contact
Ms. Lee at [email protected] or visit the website at
http://www.cr.nps.gov/crdi.
(DIVERSITY, FROM PAGE 1)
from the Lewis and Clark journalsconcerning the Shoshone and thecoastal tribes to compare and con-trast the expedition members’ viewsof each tribe’s appearance, societalstructure, and customs. Because thelesson plan employs the expeditionjournals as the main primary source,the viewpoints expressed are biased.However, a portion of a facsimilejournal page included in the lessonreads, “All the women and childrenof the camp were shortly collected
about the lodge to indulge them-selves with looking at us, we beingthe first white persons they had everseen,” suggesting an equal fascina-tion on both sides. The lesson asksstudents to consider whose perspec-tive is missing in the journalaccounts and also how expeditionmembers may have misunderstoodcertain overtures and tribal customs.
Detailed documentation in theexpedition members’ journals helpsus understand that without the help
of these tribes, the expedition wouldnot have completed its trip success-fully. An interesting and complemen-tary lesson would explore the Amer-ican Indians’ perspective on theirencounters with the Corps of Dis-covery, and we invite the creation ofsuch a companion lesson.
The lesson, The Lewis and Clark
Expedition: Documenting the
Uncharted Northwest, is posted onthe TwHP website athttp://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp.
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
National Register of Historic PlacesListings
Rustin QuaideNational Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
Public School Buildings ofWashington, DC, 1862-1960 Multiple Property Submission
The major historical theme that runsthroughout the history of theDistrict of Columbia’s publicschools is the maintenance of a dualschool system. This practice endedin 1954 when the Supreme Court ofthe United States outlawed segre-gated educational facilities. ManyDistrict residents recall their atten-dance at a racially segregatedschool. Former African-Americanschools are regarded today both as asource of pride and as a reminder of
past injustices. Below are some pub-lic school buildings in WashingtonDC, recently listed in the NationalRegister of Historic Places.
The Alexander Crummell School,built in 1910-1911, is dedicated toand memorializes the life and workof clergyman, teacher, missionary,and orator Alexander Crummell(1818-1898) who planned the strategyfor the abolition of slavery withFrederick Douglass, and after thatgoal was achieved, devoted his lifeto the moral and intellectual better-ment and solidarity of AfricanAmericans. The Crummell School,located at Kendall and GallaudetStreets, N.E., was one of the firstbuildings designed by SnowdenAshford when he was appointed in1909 as the first Municipal Archi-tect of the District of Columbia.Previously there was a girls’ board-ing school at the site and still visible
is the word “Boys”chiseled in
the northeast portico frieze nearthe entrance, a reminder of theadministration’s attempt to sepa-rate the sexes.
Although the influential Ivy CityCitizens Association, incorporatedin 1911, attempted with some successto bring improvements to theschool, the Crummell ElementarySchool was eventually closed andtransferred to the D.C. Departmentof General Services in 1977. Theschool was listed in the NationalRegister of Historic Places on July25, 2003.
The William Syphax School memo-rializes the life and work of WilliamSyphax, a prominent AfricanAmerican who worked tirelesslyuntil his death in 1894 to create apublic school system in the Districtwith equal educational opportuni-ties for African Americans. TheSyphax School, located at 1360 HalfStreet, S.W., was constructed in1909-10. It was designed in 1900 bynoted Washington architecturalfirm Marsh & Peter in a Colonialrevival style. Plans are underway torestore the Syphax School as acommunity center. The WilliamSyphax School was listed in theNational Register of Historic Placeson July 25, 2003.
Constructed in 1912 on the site ofone of the city’s first public schoolsbuilt for freedmen, the Military RoadSchool retains its historical connec-tion with the struggle by AfricanAmericans to secure the benefits ofpublic education. The outline of theoriginal schoolhouse, built duringthe Civil War when African-American refugees sought protec-tion under the watch of the Union
STATE INITIATIVES
The Crummell School is an exampleof the high architectural standardsassociated with education inWashington, DC in the early 20thcentury. Photo courtesy of Tanya EdwardsBeauchamp.
page 8
military, is shown on the construc-tion plans for the present building.For years the Military Road Schoolserved as the only school availableto African-American students in alarge area of Upper NorthwestWashington, DC.
With public school desegrega-tion, it was closed in 1954, and hasbeen used for various public andeducation activities ever since. TheMilitary Road School, located at1375 Missouri Avenue, N.W., was listed in the National Register ofHistoric Places on July 25, 2003.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows TempleErie County, Ohio
The Odd Fellows organization wasfounded in England during the 18thcentury as a social and benevolentfraternal organization for working-men. By the middle of the 19th cen-tury, the order had chapters in othercountries, including Germany andthe United States. German-speakingOdd Fellows lodges beganappearing in
communities with a high concentra-tion of German immigrants, such asSandusky, Ohio. German immi-grants, attracted by the limestonequarries and other resources,arrived in 1840, and soon becamethe area’s largest ethnic group. TheOdd Fellows was an important“club” for men of German heritage.
The Ogontz Lodge No.66, Inter-national Order of Odd Fellows(IOOF), the oldest order in San-dusky, was founded in 1846 with astrong German membership. Twoyears later, the Erie EncampmentNo.27 IOOF was organized. Duringthe 1850s-1860s these lodges met inseveral locations. In 1889, for$35,000, the Odd Fellows Buildingwas built on Washington Row. Thesebuildings served as the IOOF per-manent meeting place
for nearly a century. The building isalso an important example of thework of the Feick family of builders,who were members. In his bookSandusky Then & Now, Ernst VonSchulenberg indicated that at thetime the Odd Fellows Building wasbuilt, the IOOF was one of threeGerman secret societies flourishingin Sandusky. The Independent Orderof Odd Fellows Temple was listed inthe National Register of HistoricPlaces on May 1, 2003.William Syphax School represents theefforts of the city of Washington toprovide quality educational facilitiesfor African-American students. Photocourtesy of Tanya Edwards Beauchamp.
page 9
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 10
The Barrio Azteca Historic DistrictWebb County, Texas
The Barrio Azteca Historic Districtembraces all or part of a 53-blockpredominantly residential and small-scale commercial section of Laredo,Texas, consisting of 120 acres. Whenthe land north of the Rio Grandewas annexed by the United States in1848, ranching communities consistedof a landed Mexican elite, independ-ent rancheros, and a working class.Immigrants from the Mexican interi-or contributed to the growth of thecommunity and provided much ofthe labor for the newly arrived inter-national railroad (1881) and relatedindustries.
By the turn of the century, ElRanchero was a thriving communityof homes and small businesses pop-ulated almost exclusively by Mexicanand Mexican American residents.The Mexican Revolution brought atremendous influx of new immi-grants and its numbers increased thepopulation of El Ranchero/BarrioAzteca such that by 1920, it was afully developed, densely populated
neighborhood with well-educatedprofessionals and merchants whobuilt businesses and established smallprivate schools in the community.
The oldest extant properties inBarrio Azteca date from the mid-19th century and are typically one-story, flat-roofed two-room housesbuilt in a linear plan and constructedof locally quarried stone plasteredwith stucco. Later, many fine exam-ples of brick domestic, commercial,combined domestic/commercial andinstitutional buildings were built inLaredo. The 20th century reflectsthe rising popularity of more con-ventional Anglo-American architec-tural forms. Barrio Azteca was listedin the National Register on May 21,2003.
The Carver TheatreRichland County, South Carolina
The Carver Theatre, at 1519 HardenStreet in Columbia, South Carolina,is important to the history ofColumbia’s African-American com-munity in the early-to-mid 20th cen-tury. It was built circa 1941, and was
one of only two exclusively African-American movie theaters inColumbia. The Carver Theatre isthe only extant motion picture the-ater where African-Americans couldfreely attend. The Carver Theatrewas adjacent to the Waverly commu-nity, the preeminent African-American neighborhood of profes-sionals, physicians, nurses, educa-tors, ministers, and skilled trades-men in Columbia.
Members of the community havevivid recollections of the CarverTheatre. Not only were moviesshown there, but also the theatresponsored weekly talent shows foryoung people, patterned after thefamous “Amateur Hour” in Harlem.Along Harden Street, betweenCollege Street and Blanding Street,was a previously undocumentedcluster of African-American ownedor operated businesses, like theCarver Theatre, that catered to theresidents of Waverly and the stu-dents at the historically AfricanAmerican Benedict College andAllen University.
The owners of the Carver
The 600 block of Hidalgo exemplifies the local architectural flavor of the Barrio Azteca in Laredo, TX. Photo courtesy of Terri Myers.
page 11
Theatre plan to preserve this prop-erty as an important landmark ofAfrican-American history inColumbia and return it to its origi-nal use as a movie theater. It waslisted in the National Register ofHistoric Places on July 17, 2003.
The Field Matron’s Cottage at theReno-Sparks Indian Colony
Mella Rothwell HarmonNevada State Historic Preservation Office
The Field Matron’s Cottage at theReno-Sparks Indian Colony, Reno,Nevada, was listed in the NationalRegister on May 16, 2003. The cot-tage was recognized for its associa-tion with the early history of thecolony and the Federal Governmentprograms that were established toaddress the needs of the local NativeAmerican population. The cottage,which is the oldest extant building atthe colony, is also significant for itsarchitecture.
The Field Matron’s Cottage wasbuilt in 1927 to house the activitiesof the field matron. She servedunder a program of the Bureau ofIndian Affairs that sought to provideinstruction in sanitation andhygiene, emergency nursing services,and the prescription of medicine forminor illnesses. Following an unflat-tering report by the Red Cross, thefield matron program was ultimatelyeliminated, and health care wasplaced under the purview of theIndian Health Service.
The contemporary population ofthe Reno-Sparks Indian Colony wasaround 160 people. In 1916 an Act ofCongress established the colony, aterm for tribes unique to Nevada.The Federal Government was slowto respond to the needs of theWashoes and Northern Paiutes, whowere forced to build the best homesthey could with limited resources. Ittook nearly ten years of pleading bythe agency superintendent to finallyget the funds to build the Field
Matron’s Cottage. Over the years,the cottage served the field matronand later the public health nurse,who maintained a small morgue inthe basement. Today, the cottagehouses the Tribal Police station.
The Field Matron’s Cottage ismodest in size and stylisticallyreflects the principles of the Artsand Crafts movement, which fos-tered a back-to-nature ethos andstressed individual craftsmanshipover machine-made products. Thearchitectural style of the cottage isclassified as Stewart Vernacular,which is a localized style developedby Frederick Snyder, the superin-tendent of the Stewart IndianSchool, in Carson City, Nevada from1919 to 1934. Snyder made a con-scious (and successful) effort toestablish an architectural identityfor the school. Snyder’s apprenticesconstructed a number of buildingsoff-campus, particularly at LakeTahoe. The Field Matron’s Cottageis the only known example in Reno.
For more information, contact Mella Rothwell
Harmon at [email protected].
(Top) The Carver Theatre was part ofthe African-American business com-munity in Columbia, SC. Photo courtesyof Willie J. Moody.
(Bottom) Today, the Field Matron’sCottage at the Reno-Sparks IndianColony in Reno, NV serves the TribalPolice. Photo courtesy by Mella RothwellHarmon.
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 12
Profile of a Native-runCommunity Museum
Sue HerneThe Akwesasne Museum
For over 30 years, the AkwesasneMuseum has been serving theMohawk community of Akwesasne,New York, and its visitors. Themuseum does so by providing a
cultural resource collecting institu-tion, traditional arts programs, and educational programs. A ClientAssistance Program grant in 1997helped to clarify museum preserva-tion needs. Climate controls wereput into place thanks to a NationalPark Service Tribal PreservationGrant. The grant also made majorimprovements in the museum’sstorage. An exhibit that includes
prints from glass plate negativeswas also upgraded with grantfunds. A part-time collections caremanager position is presently fund-ed with the aid of the AwkesasneEconomic Development Agency, alocal community economic devel-opment program.
Artifact donations can exem-plify the restorative efforts of amuseum for individuals and thewider community. In 2003, CharlesStickney donated a beaded yokeand belt circa 1917 and RobinLazore donated a newly designedMohawk basket. In 2001, PaulLussier donated a beaded, finger-
The beaded yoke was donated to the Akwesasne Museum by Charles Stickney. Photo courtesy of Sue Herne.
TRIBAL INITIATIVES
page 13
woven sash, approximately 250years old, which was entrusted tothe oldest son in the Lussier familyfor the last three generations.Concerned his family had lost con-nection to its Mohawk roots,Lussier felt that the best way to care for the sash was to return it toa Mohawk community. OnceLussier’s heritage was verified andthe sash was examined by theMohawk Council, the Lussier fami-ly traveled to Akwesasne to presentthe belt to the community saying,“It has returned home where itbelongs.”
Traditional arts help to reinforce
cultural values and pride. Themuseum hosts traditional artsclasses with funding from the NewYork State Council on the Arts. Theclasses help to pass skills on to thenext generation of Mohawk arti-sans. Akwesasne is best known forblack ash splint and sweetgrassbasketry. Classes focus on basketry,including a summer program forchildren, but other arts are fea-tured as well. Beadwork and corn-husk doll-making have become reg-ular offerings and a new youth classuses traditional song and dance inportraying legends.
Another source of educational
materials available through themuseum is a set of kits thatincludes a variety of books, videos,and objects. Intended for individualsof all ages, the kits are a valuablecultural resource for any organiza-tion wishing to promote greaterunderstanding of Native communi-ties. By taking a closer look at oneNative community—Akwesasne—students of any age will be prompt-ed to relearn old truths and discardold misconceptions.For more information and a free sample activity in
both age groups, visit the website at
http://www.akwesasneculture.org.
September 30, 2003.
Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
Catawba Indian Nation (South Carolina)
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (South Dakota)
Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation(Montana)
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of theFlathead Nation (Montana)
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation(Washington)
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation(Oregon)
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservationin Oregon (Oregon)
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (North Carolina)
Hualapai Tribe (Arizona)
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior ChippewaIndians of Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior ChippewaIndians (Wisconsin)
Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (Minnesota)
Makah Tribe (Washington)
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
Mescalero Apache Tribe (New Mexico)
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians (Minnesota)
Narragansett Indian Tribe (Rhode Island)
Navajo Nation (Arizona)
Northern Cheyenne Tribe (Montana)
Onieda Nation of Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
Passamaquoddy Tribe (Maine)
Poarch Band of Creek Indians (Alabama)
Pueblo of Zuni (New Mexico)
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas(Wisconsin)
Seneca Nation of Indians (New York)
Skokomish Indian Tribe (Washington)
Spokane Tribe of Indians (Washington)
Squaxin Island Tribe (Washington)
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (North Dakota)
Table Bluff Reservation-Wiyot Tribe (California)
Timbisha Shoshone Tribe (California)
Tunica-Biloxi Indians of Louisiana (Louisiana)
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (North Dakota)
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah,Massachusetts)
White Mountain Apache Tribe (Arizona)
Yurok Tribe (California)
For more information on THPOs, contact H. Bryan Mitchell at
202/354-2078, e-mail: [email protected]
Native American Tribes with Officially Recognized Tribal Historic Preservation Offices
Arizona’s FirstSynagogue: A Story of Birth andRenewal at the StoneAvenue Temple
R. Brooks JefferyUniversity of Arizona
Arizona’s first synagogue, TempleEmanu-El, was the cornerstone ofTucson’s Jewish community duringthe first half of the 20th century.After decades of abandonment anddecay, the newly restored StoneAvenue Temple will again be a com-munity cornerstone; this time, therevitalization efforts have trans-formed the temple into an educa-tional and cultural center servingthe historic districts south ofdowntown. Although this modest,building at 564 South Stone Avenuehas always been a curiosity topassers-by, few realize its impor-tance as Arizona’s first Jewishhouse of worship and, for a time,the center of Jewish faith for theentire Southwest.
In the 1850s, before Tucson waseven an American town, settlers ofJewish ancestry were moving to andcontributing to its business andcommunity endeavors. By the 1880s,Tucson, then connected to majorcities by the railroad, boasted athriving Jewish community, but onewithout a place of worship. Duringthose days, services were often heldin homes or rented buildings. Thecampaign for a new building wasbegun in 1904 by the HebrewLadies Aid Society, and in 1910,Temple Emanu-El was incorporated.
The land for the temple, pur-chased for a dollar in 1886 by Eva(Goldschmidt) Mansfeld, was locat-
ed on South Stone Avenue, whichhad become a corridor for housesof worship representing Tucson’sincreasingly multi-denominationalpopulation. Designed by architectEly Blount, Temple Emanu-El is areflection of Jewish architecturenationwide and incorporates aneclectic blend of stylistic elements,including the symmetrical facadeand triangular pediments of theNeoclassical, the squat towers andarched openings of the Roman-esque and the pointed domes common in Moorish architecture.
In 1937, the red brick of thestreet facade was plastered white,giving it the distinctive “Moorish”quality. The first services were heldon the Jewish New Year, October 3,1910, two years prior to Arizona’sstatehood. Until 1935, TempleEmanu-El was the center of Jewishactivity in southern Arizona andduring its early years was the onlysynagogue between San Franciscoand Las Vegas, New Mexico. By the1930s, Temple Emanu-El was burst-ing at the seams. A new buildingwas commissioned and in 1949 thecongregation moved to its newlocation. The Temple Emanu-Elcongregation held its last service atthe Stone Avenue Temple onSeptember 16, 1949 and the build-ing was sold in 1951.
Between 1951 and 1994, the tem-ple was owned by several separateorganizations, and the building fellinto considerable disrepair. In the1970s, when historic districts wereestablished in the neighborhoodssurrounding downtown Tucson,Temple Emanu-El, now known asthe Stone Avenue Temple, was listedas part of the Barrio Libre NationalHistoric District. However, the
building continued to be rented totemporary tenants and was notrefurbished.
In 1994, the non-profit organiza-tion, Stone Avenue Temple Project(SATP) was incorporated and begana seven-year campaign to restorethe landmark structure, honor itshistory, and return it to communityservice as a non-denominationalcultural center. Through a collabo-ration of national, state and localorganizations, grants and dona-tions, and volunteer manpower, theStone Avenue Temple was graduallystabilized and the sanctuaryrestored to its original 1910 appear-ance. In addition, the newlyrestored Temple has office andexhibit spaces, and is developing aresearch library dedicated to south-western Jewish history.
The restored Stone AvenueTemple has become a model proj-ect for revitalization effortsthroughout the downtown businessand historic districts. Stone AvenueTemple Project received a 2003National Preservation HonorAward from the National Trust forHistoric Preservation. In cities allaround the country, synagogueshave been reborn as places inwhich the community can cometogether for a common purpose.For more information about the Stone Avenue
Temple Project contact Josh Protas at
520/670-9073.
The Center ForAdvanced Study of Museum Scienceand HeritageManagement at Texas Tech University
Yun Shun Susie ChungTexas Tech University
The Center for Advanced Study(CFAS) of Museum Science andHeritage Management at theMuseum of Texas Tech University
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 14
PARTNERS INITIATIVES
aims to answer the question,“Why does heritage matter?”Heritage conservation and manage-ment are of increasing interest topeople and organizations world-wide. They represent the values andsignificance that people and com-munities place on heritage.Questions have arisen concerningwho makes this determination. Is itsolely confined to “the profession-als” to make those decisions, orshould the community also takepart in this action?
The public's interest in heritagehas led to the rise of ecotourismand heritage tourism worldwide.For example, the National Trust forHistoric Preservation's programcalled “Main Street USA” aims tohelp those towns and cities nation-wide going through economicrecession develop ways to thrivethrough heritage management. The
conservation and management offarmland and the distribution ofthe resulting products are also aform of the economic impacts ofheritage. The projects undertakenby CFAS revolve around theseissues and sustainable develop-ment—approaches that culturalheritage managers are taking tomaintain and preserve cultural her-itage for posterity. Heritage man-agement begins with preservation,but it does not end there. Itendeavors to communicate heritageto the public through interpreta-tion, exhibition design, and educa-tion.
Through the practice of sustain-able development, heritage preser-vation can create positive environ-mental impacts by preventingsprawl and the destruction of theecosystem. In its socio-political role of creating identity, heritage
affects the individual as well as thecommunity. Thus the multipledimensions in the interest of her-itage are why heritage matters.
In its third year, the HeritageManagement Program promotesprofessionalization in the field ofheritage management with itsunique status under the umbrella ofthe CFAS of Museum Science andHeritage Management at theMuseum of Texas Tech University.Students from Texas Parks andWildlife and from diverse fieldssuch as history, architecture, andurban planning have enrolled inthe heritage management courses.The interdisciplinary nature bringsa wide range of fields together inthe quest for managing the physicalas well as the ephemeral aspects ofheritage preservation.
Special projects such as theYellowhouse System Survey and the
page 15
The Stone Avenue Temple in Tucson, AZ is an eclectic mix of Moorish and neoclassical elements, common in 19th-centurysynagogue design. Photo courtesy of Josh Protas.
page 16
Littlefield Heritage ManagementPlan have been conducted throughthe program on heritage planningissues. Furthermore, research hasbeen carried out on the concept ofculture and nature in sustainableheritage planning at the SeoulDevelopment Institute, a govern-mental organization that is respon-sible for urban planning whichincludes heritage planning in Seoul,Korea. During Summer 2003,research was conducted at GenevaTourism, a private non-profit asso-ciation in Geneva, Switzerland, forthe possible creation of a newcourse in Heritage Tourism.For more information on the CFAS
program, visit its website at
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/hmp.html
Transnational AdolfCluss Exhibit Slatedfor City Museum inFall of 2005
William GilcherGoethe-Institut
From Germany to America:
Shaping a Capital City Worthy of a
Republic, slated to open at the newCity Museum of Washington, DC,and at the City Archives in Heil-bronn, Germany in Fall 2005, isdesigned to enhance public under-standing of the once prominent,now little-known architect’s workin Washington during the GildedAge. It will interpret the impact ofAdolf Cluss’s social vision on thecity’s architecture and life.
From the 1860s to 1890s, Clusswas one of the most influentialarchitects and engineers inWashington, DC, responsible forover 80 major public and privatebuildings in Washington, Baltimore,
The Sumner School, built in Wash-ington, DC, by Adolf Cluss, wasamong the country’s finest publicschools for African-American stu-dents. The building was restored in1984-86. Photo courtesy of William Gilcher.
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 17
Maryland, and Alexandria, Virginia.The city was recognized as a placefor innovation and Cluss was at theforefront of the movement. Histrademark red-brick buildings areamong the capital’s most beloved19th-century structures. Survivingexamples include the CharlesSumner School, the FranklinSchool, the Smithsonian Insti-tution’s Arts & Industries Building,the 9th Street Masonic Temple,Eastern Market, and CalvaryBaptist Church. In 1890, Cluss’sappointment as Inspector of PublicBuildings for the United States gov-ernment capped a long career as anarchitect for public buildings andas a public servant.
Cluss promoted the quality ofurban life by designing enduring,beautiful school buildings forWashington’s African-Americanand European-American students.The city’s school system was segre-gated at the time but dedicated tohaving quality facilities for all of itsstudents. The Sumner School, builtin 1871-1872, was the headquartersfor the city’s African-Americanschools. Located at 17th and MStreets, NW, the Sumner Schoolwas considered in the post-CivilWar period to be among the coun-try’s finest public schools forAfrican-American students.
Planning for the exhibition is acooperative effort among manyinstitutions in the United States and Germany: the Charles SumnerSchool Museum and Archives,Goethe-Institut/German CulturalCenter, the Historical Society ofWashington, DC, the NationalBuilding Museum, the SmithsonianInstitution’s Office of ArchitecturalHistory and Historic Preservation,the German Historical Institute,and the Stadtarchiv Heilbronn.Planning for this project has beenmade possible thanks to grantsfrom the National Endowment forthe Humanities and the Humanities
Council of Washington, DC.For more information about the exhibit or the
Goethe-Institut Washington, e-mail: cluss@
washington.goethe.org or visit the website at
http://www.goethe.de/uk/was/vtour/dc1/clussbio.htm
Historically BlackColleges andUniversities andHistoric Preservation
Antoinette J. LeeNational Park Service
At the annual meeting of theOrganization of AmericanHistorians (OAH) in Memphis,Tennessee, in April 2003, represen-tatives of Historically BlackColleges and Universities (HBCUs)met to discuss historic preservation.This session followed an earlierconference discussion on howHBCUs teach American history.These sessions constitute a majoreffort by the OAH to raise the visi-bility of HBCUs in the organizationand provide programs that willattract a larger attendance fromHBCU professors and students atits annual meeting.
Since 1995, grants from theHistoric Preservation Fund havebeen made to HBCUs for thepreservation of historically signifi-cant campus buildings. The build-ings selected for this program wereconsidered to be the most histori-cally significant and criticallythreatened. They were rehabilitatedaccording to the Secretary of theInterior’s standards. All grants werematching grants, which requires thecollege or university to raise non-federal funds to complete the proj-ects. In FY 2003, the program wasreauthorized at the level of $10 mil-lion per year for five years.
The rehabilitation of campusbuildings spurred some HBCUs toestablish historic preservationcourse work. For example, Dela-ware State University (DSU) set up
the M.A. in Historic PreservationProgram—the first such program at a HBCU. In 2000-2001, theNational Park Service’s CulturalResources Diversity Program coop-erated with DSU on a lecture serieson the Underground Railroad inthe Mid-Atlantic region.
In April 2001, the National ParkService cooperated with CoppinState University, Goucher College,and Morgan State University—all ofBaltimore, Maryland—in sponsor-ing the meeting of the CurriculumForum. The forum members weremade up of 19 diverse educatorsand preservation professionals rep-resenting colleges and universities,the National Park Service, theCincinnati Museum Complex, andthe Smithsonian Institution. Theforum was charged with developingthe contents for an undergraduatecourse in historic preservation/cultural resources stewardship thatwould be appropriate for minoritycolleges and universities. The finalcourse outline—Teaching Cultural
Heritage Preservation—has beencirculated to thousands of colleges,universities, and organizations inthe United States and abroad.
The Teaching Cultural
Heritage Preservation courseoutline represents a first step inestablishing preservation educationand training at minority collegesand universities. Many of theseschools are small institutions withteaching staffs that already carry aheavy class load. Providing finan-cial assistance to professors willgive them the time to invest inestablishing new courses in cultural heritage preservation.
The OAH session participantsenvisioned themselves as forming aconsortium to investigate the cur-riculum needs of minority collegesand universities in cultural heritagepreservation. They want to havediscussions amongst themselvesand with others in order to develop
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 18
an agenda and action plan. FelixArmfield of Buffalo State Collegeand a member of the OAH’s PublicHistory Committee will take thelead in this discussion. He sched-uled a follow-up discussion at theannual meeting of the Associationfor the Study of African AmericanLife and History in September2003.For additional information, contact Toni Lee
of the National Park Service at Toni_Lee@
nps.gov. Teaching Cultural Heritage Pres-
ervation is available online at
http://www.cr.nps.gov/crdi/colleges/coll.htm
Connecting Parks and People: TheAfrican AmericanExperience Fund
Cynthia Lowery MorrisAfrican American Experience Fund
At a time when every city in thiscountry is desperately seeking waysto connect our children and fami-lies to their history, our nationalparks stand ready to introducethem to their heritage throughnumerous education and otherprograms that share rich traditionsdating back to the arrival of thefirst black people to America’sshores. The national parks are anespecially appropriate place to dothis because they are the repositoryfor vast amounts of African-American history.
The National Park Foundation,the congressionally chartered501(c)(3) non-profit partner to theNational Park Service, establishedthe African American ExperienceFund (AAEF) in 2000 to highlightthe accomplishments and experi-ences of African Americans through-out our country’s history as reflect-ed in the national parks. AAEF is ledby a volunteer Trustee Board that ischaired by Robert Stanton, retiredDirector of the National ParkService—the first African Americanto hold that position.
While AAEF is focused on pro-viding support for education, vol-unteer, and community engagementprograms at 17 designated nationalparks and historic sites and theNational Underground RailroadNetwork to Freedom, the African-American story is certainly notconfined to these places. AAEF-endorsed sites do, however, providea great entry into the National ParkSystem for African-American visi-tors who historically have not beenengaged with our national parks.The opportunity to walk the trail ofAfrican-American patriots inBoston, or see the plantation builtby African Americans at Cane River,Louisiana, or walk through FredrickDouglass’s home in Washington, DCare just a few of the experiencespossible for everyone.
The greatest challenge to AAEFis the widespread lack of awarenessabout its mission and the parksAAEF represents. While someinroads have been made on thisfront—a Public Service Announce-ment produced pro bono by BlackEntertainment Television DigitalNetworks, a black history promo-tion with Kmart Stores, and arecent advertorial in Time Mag-
azine—there is still a great deal ofwork to be done to position thefund to raise much needed supportfor the many unmet program needs.
AAEF has already provided sup-port for the restoration of EbenezerBaptist Church at the MartinLuther King, Jr. National HistoricSite, and for a program on blackjournalism at the Maggie WalkerNational Historic Site in Richmond,
AAEF Parks Dedicated to African-American Heritage
Booker T. Washington National Monument, Virginia
Boston African American National Historic Sites, Massachusetts
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Kansas
Cane River Creole National Historic Park and National Heritage Area,Louisiana
Paul Laurence Dunbar House, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park,Ohio
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Washington, DC
George Washington Carver National Monument, Missouri
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, Arkansas
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, Virginia
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Georgia
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Washington, DC
Natchez National Historic Park, Mississippi
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Louisiana
Nicodemus National Historic Site, Kansas
Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, Alabama
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, Alabama
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, Alabama
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program
page 19
Virginia. This fall, AAEF will pro-vide funds to establish an AAEFvolunteer program with a grantfrom the AT&T Foundation.Those interested in AAEF are encouraged to visit
our website http://www.aaexperience.org, or to
contact Cynthia Lowery Morris, executive director
Conserving the StoneFlooring of theMission San JuanCapistrano’s GreatStone Church
Debora RodriguesMission San Juan Capistrano
Listed in 2002 on the WorldMonuments Watch List of 100 MostEndangered Sites, the Mission SanJuan Capistrano is perhaps the bestknown of the twenty-one 18th- and19th-century Franciscan missions ofCalifornia, and has often beenreferred to as the “Jewel of theMissions.” Like the other Californiamissions, the Mission San JuanCapistrano consists of buildings builtmostly of adobe bricks; but, unlikethe other missions, it is the only onewith a church built of stone.
The missions are part of theHispanic/Latino-American historyof the West, linked to the time whenCalifornia was part of ImperialSpain in Mexico. Twenty-one mis-sions stretching from San Diego toSonoma, along the Camino Real,which correlates to modern-dayPacific Coast Highway 1, representedthe first settlements of non-NativeAmerican peoples in California.
Construction of the cruciformchurch—known as the Great StoneChurch—began in 1797; it was com-pleted and dedicated in 1806. In1812, an earthquake caused consid-erable damage to the church, whichhas remained in a ruinous state tothis day, as there have never beenany major attempts to rebuild it.There were, however, stabilization
efforts during the late 19th centuryby the Landmarks Club, an organi-zation established to preserve themissions of California, and perhapsit is due to their work that thechurch has suffered no furtherlarge-scale damage.
For the past several years, amajor conservation program hasbeen underway to stabilize and pre-serve the ruins of the Great StoneChurch, as well as the surroundingadobe buildings. One of severalongoing projects is the conserva-tion of the stone flooring located inthe sanctuary of the church.Although in fragile condition, theflooring, which has been built ofseveral types of local sandstone aswell as tuff, remains relativelyintact. But the fact that it has beenexposed to a variety of conditionsover the past 200 years—rangingfrom direct rain exposure to leaksto abrasion due to pedestrian traf-fic—has left the stonework in vari-ous states of deterioration.
The objective of this particularproject is to follow the guidelinesset forth by the Venice Charter: toconserve as much of the originalfabric as possible with minimalintervention. In order to achievethis aim, the methodology includesthorough documentation and anassessment and mapping of existingconditions, testing and analysis ofmaterials and treatments, followedby conservation of the flooring,and, finally, presentation of thearea to the public—an importantissue, given that the missionreceives over one-half million visi-tors each year.
The conservation program forthe stone flooring is certainly notclear-cut and poses significantproblems: first, the issue of how todeal with previous repairs, which,though well intended, have in sev-eral cases accelerated the deteriora-tion of the masonry; second, thequestion of how best to interpret
San Juan Capistrano’s Great StoneChurch, with crypts shown below, isthe best known of the historicFranciscan missions in California.Photo courtesy of Jim Graves.
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 20
and present the recently-excavatedcrypts located within the flooringarea. The fragile state of the floor-ing, which would necessarilyprohibit heavy pedestrian traffic,and the fact that the crypts arelocated below ground level presenta challenge in the preparation ofthis area for public access and view.
Efforts to preserve this exem-plary piece of National Register-listed Spanish colonial architectureare underway. The work for thestone flooring began during thesummer of 2002 with light cleaningand documentation, and the finalphase of conservation treatmentsscheduled for completion by thefall of 2003.For more information, visit the Mission’s
website at http://www.missionsjc.com/.
Cultural Documentationand CommunityMapping: The SummerHill Project
LeeAnn LandsKennesaw State University
In spring 2003, undergraduate stu-dents and professors in Georgia’sKennesaw State University publichistory program partnered withformer and current residents of thehistorically African American com-munity of Summer Hill and theEtowah Area Consolidated HousingAuthority to investigate that com-munity’s history, culture, and evolu-tion. Founded in the late 1800s justoutside of downtown Cartersville,Georgia, the neighborhood developed a strong sense of
community during the Jim Crowera through its school and its myri-ad churches and cultural organiza-tions. Students began the two-yearproject by documenting artifactskept by residents, collecting histori-cal images, and recording oral his-tories. Upon completion of theproject, materials developed andcollected will be archived at theSummer Hill Community Centerand at Kennesaw State University'sCenter for Regional History andCulture.
Community mapping was and isa central component of the project.Drawing on scholarly work byKevin Lynch as well as more recentwork in community development,students developed a methodologyto assess what spaces, monuments,institutions, and other elements
A resident of Summer Hill draws a map of the area for student researchers. Photo courtesy of LeeAnn Lands.
page 21
were culturally significant to com-munity members. Before startingtheir oral histories, residents wereasked to map the Summer Hillcommunity as they remembered itin their childhoods. (Given theaverage age of participants, thiswould place the mapped timebetween about 1940 and 1955.)They were asked to include andlabel buildings, places, streets, orother elements that they recalled.After the mapping was complete,residents were encouraged to dis-cuss and explain their maps duringthe recorded interviews.
In using community mapping,the project team sought a greaterunderstanding of how Summer Hillwas lived and experienced by theresidents. Traditional historical
methods and resources couldreveal businesses, residences, andchurches. The maps allowed teammembers to see spaces that did notmake it into traditional historicaldocuments. The project teamsought information regarding thecontemporary boundaries ofSummer Hill, where certain groupsresided, what the relationship ofthe neighborhood to the largertown of Cartersville, and what werethe areas, if any, Summer Hill resi-dents were reluctant to enter orwarned children against entering.The KSU students discovered avibrant community with vivid mem-ories of local landmarks, events,and even smells during life in theJim Crow era.
Many of the places discussed
and mapped by residents no longerexist, but community mappingallowed the team to recreate thehistorical landscape of a 20th cen-tury, historically black community.It allowed for systematic assess-ment of what residents valued andremembered, and even analyzewhat they forgot and why. And itgave students and scholars newresources with which to analyze theintersection of class, race, gender,and space. Ultimately, communitymapping provides a framework tobegin reassessing and reinterpret-ing our public historical landscape.For more information about the Summer Hill proj-
ect, contact LeeAnn Lands at 770/499-3437, e-mail:
Historic Preservationand the Brooklyn High School ofPerforming Arts
Brian D. JoynerNational Park Service
The Brooklyn High School of theArts (BHSA) is the first high schoolin the nation with historic preser-vation as an academic focus. Thebrainchild of Kate Burns Ottavino,Director of Preservation Technol-ogy for the New Jersey Institute ofTechnology, and Kenneth Fisher, amember of New York’s City Coun-cil, the Brooklyn School preparesstudents for careers in preservationand conservation by teaching skills
immediately applicable upon grad-uation, or as a step toward furtherstudy at college.
The idea for the school camefrom the World Monuments Fund’s(WMF) 1993 symposium, “Employ-ment Strategies for the RestorationArts: Craft Training in the Serviceof Historic Preservation.” The sym-posium noted there was a need fora skilled workforce to maintain thecountry’s rich architectural legacy.
The symposium’s findings sug-gested that preservationists joinforces with existing training pro-grams. WMF approached Ottavinoand encouraged her to produce“Sustainable Model for RestorationArts Training.” After presenting itat the symposium, she proposed
the idea of a preservation highschool to Fisher. Fisher saw thatthe idea could become a programto benefit inner city youth, and provide needed artisans for a rap-idly growing sector with few practi-tioners, while maintaining the cul-tural heritage of the city. This part-nership led to the initial Preserva-tion Internship Program in summer1997. It was established through agrant from the Times SquareBusiness Improvement Fund, andsupport from A. Ottavino Corpora-tion and Youth Employment Ser-vices, through WMF.
The former Hale School becamethe home of a new arts school withpreservation as its focus. Last fall,the Brooklyn School received a$25,000 grant to develop a four-year curriculum in PreservationArts Technology. Given by theIndependence Community Foun-dation, the grant will also provide a program of internships with
LOCAL INITIATIVES
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 22
practical, real-world experience.Exposure to historic preservationduring the formative periods ofadolescence and early adulthoodwill expand the number of practi-tioners seeking employment in ademanding job market.For more information about the Brooklyn School,
visit the BHSA website,
http://brooklynhsarts.org/tn9_about_bhsa.asp.
A Reverse Underground Railroad in the Land of Lincoln
Kevin Michael FosterSouthern Illinois University
“Crenshaw Mansion,” “HickoryHill,” “The House that Salt Built”—these are among the names bywhich southern Illinoisans haveknown the 19th-century home thatoverlooks the Saline River inGallatin County, Illinois. Listed inthe National Register of HistoricPlaces in 1985, the three-storybuilding, built in the 1830s, was theresidence of John Hart Crenshaw.Crenshaw was known as the “SaltKing of Southern Illinois” when hewas the largest manufacturer inwhat was once southern Illinois’smain industry—salt production.The first two floors served as astately family residence. However, itis the attic that has attracted publicattention: it is widely reputed tohave served as a site to hold andhide kidnapped free blacks beforesmuggling them across the OhioRiver and selling them into slavery.
Since 1996, local researchershave uncovered important informa-tion about Crenshaw's use of slavelabor and of his ties to the kidnap-ping of free blacks. Their assertionthat Hickory Hill was used foractivities harmful to blacks is con-sistent with available evidence andwith the opportunistic lawlessnessthat plagued 19th-century southern
Illinois. That lawlessness includedkidnapping as one of several formsof racial terrorism. And as the 1818State Constitution and a series ofrepressive statutes make clear,blacks were unwelcome in the stateexcept to work as hired-out slavesin the southern Illinois salt indus-try. Given such factors, the use ofCrenshaw’s attic as a place forholding kidnap victims—whileabhorrent to 21st-century Americansensibilities—is historically plausible.
In the early 1900s, the CrenshawHouse passed from the Crenshawfamily into the ownership of Mr.and Mrs. A. J. Sisk. For severaldecades, the house was open to thepublic as a tourist attraction. Whilesome may have been interested inthe claim that “Abraham Lincolnslept here,” most flocked to see thecontroversial third floor, where, asa brochure for the attraction put it,“slavery lived in Illinois.”
The popularity the site held inthe past is unquestionable. Touristguidebooks, along with books onsouthern Illinois history, folklore,and ghost stories, mention thebuilding as a prominent feature ofthe region. A 1937 article in theIllinois Journal of Commerce
referred to the house as a well-preserved and important landmarkthat helps to “return us to the col-orful days of the past.” JohnDrury’s Old Illinois Homes (1948),published by the Illinois StateHistorical Society, referred to thehouse as “probably one of the best-known landmarks in the southeast-ern part of the state.” The site ismentioned in newspapers andregional magazines throughout theyears in which the house was opento the public, and continue toappear since it was closed by themost recent owner, George Sisk,and sold to the State of Illinois.
Since the state's purchase of thehouse, Hickory House has
remained closed to the public. Alandmark that was once the center-piece of a region’s history is beinglost to neglect. The memory of thesite, however, lives on in the popu-lar imagination and is a testamentto its enduring importance to theregion, state, and nation. Currently,researchers from Southern IllinoisUniversity are preparing a presenta-tion about the site for statewideaudiences. Our initial goal is tomake widely available as muchaccurate information about the siteas possible. Researchers would sup-port the reopening of the site bythe State of Illinois after full histor-ical, archeological, and architectur-al analysis, and with comprehensivesite interpretation and full staffingprovided by the state.For more information, contact Kevin Foster at
Routledge Press will release African-American Architects: A BiographicalDictionary, 1865-1945, in February of2004. The book chronicles the archi-tects from the era of Emancipationto the end of World War II, filling akey gap in existing scholarship.Additional details are on the oppo-site page.
page 23
Conferences
The Hawaii International Conferenceon Arts and Humanities
On January 8-11, 2004, the HawaiiInternational Conference on Artsand the Humanities will be held atthe Renaissance Ilikai WaikikiHotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The goals of the 2004 confer-ence are to provide an opportunityfor academicians and professionalsfrom interrelated, cross-disciplinaryfields in the arts and humanitiesworldwide to gather, learn fromeach other, and to meet and interactwith members inside and outsidetheir own particular disciplines.For more information, contact humanities@
hichumanities.org.
NAAAS/NAHLS/NANAS/IAAS JointConference
The National Association of AfricanAmerican Studies (NAAAS), theNational Association of Hispanicand Latino Studies (NAHLS), theNational Association of NativeAmerican Studies (NANAS), andthe International Association ofAsian Studies (IAAS) are holding ajoint national conference on Feb-ruary 16-21, 2004. The conferencewill be held at the Omni HoustonHotel Westside in Houston, Texas.For more information, visit the website at
http://www.NAAAS.org or e-mail:
ASEH/NCPH Annual Meeting
The American Society of Environ-mental Historians (ASEH) and theNational Council on Public History(NCPH) will conduct a joint con-ference March 31-April 4, 2004 in
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.The theme is “Cultural Places andNatural Spaces: Memory, History,and Landscape.” For more information on the conference visit the
National Council on Public History’s website at
http://ncph.org/meeting.html.
New England Slavery and the SlaveTrade
The Colonial Society of Massachu-setts; the Du Bois Institute, HarvardUniversity; the Museum of Afro-American History, Massachusetts;the National Park Service; theOmohundro Institute of EarlyAmerican History and Culture; andSuffolk University will hold a confer-ence, "New England Slavery and theSlave Trade" in Boston, Massachu-setts, on April 21-23, 2004.For more information, contact John W.Tyler,
e-mail: [email protected].
Publications
African American Architects: ABiographical Dictionary, 1865-1945Available February 2004
Since the end of the Civil War,African-American architectsdesigned houses, schools, researchinstitutes, and other significantbuildings throughout the UnitedStates. The Widener Library atHarvard University, the SixteenthStreet Baptist Church inBirmingham, Alabama, and TuskegeeInstitute's Butler Chapel are just afew examples of prominent build-ings designed by African Americans.Although many of these structuressurvive to this day, most of theirarchitects remain virtuallyunknown.
Edited by Dreck SpurlockWilson, this unique referencesource brings the lives and work ofthese pioneers to light. Written byover 100 experts, ranging fromarchivists to architectural histori-ans, this book chronicles African-American architects from the era ofEmancipation to the end of WorldWar II, filling a key gap in existingscholarship.
African American Architects willbe available from Routledge Press inFebruary 2004.For more information, visit the Routledge Press
website at http://www.routledge.com.
Newly Published Children's BookFeaturing Chinese American PioneerPolly Bemis is Available
Polly Bemis: A Chinese American
Pioneer tells the story of an Asianwoman who became successful inthe hardscrabble world of thePacific Northwest at the turn of the20th century. Priscilla Wegars,founder and volunteer curator ofthe Asian American ComparativeCollection, which is housed with theAlfred W. Bowers Laboratory ofAnthropology at University of Idahoin Moscow, wrote the children’sbook based on her independentresearch specializing in the historyof Asian Americans in the West.
Published by Backeddy Books,the book honors the 150-yearanniversary of Polly's birth in 1853.After her parents in China sold her,she was smuggled into this country,purchased by a Chinese man, andbrought to Warren, Idaho. Pollymarried Charlie Bemis in 1894, andthey settled on the remote SalmonRiver. Polly died in 1933.For more information about the book, contact
Kathy Barnard, University Communications,
208/885-6291, e-mail: [email protected].
CONFERENCES AND PUBLICATIONS
HERITAGEMATTERS
DECEMBER 2003
page 24
FIRST CLASS MAILPostage & Fees PaidU.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1849 C Street, NW (2251)
Washington, DC 20240
Fran P. MainellaDirector
de Teel Patterson TillerActing Associate Director
Cultural Resources
John Robbins Assistant Director
Cultural Resources
Antoinette J. LeeSpecial Projects Manager
Brian D. JoynerHeritage Matters Editor
Mission of the National Park Service
The National Park Service is dedicated to
conserving unimpaired the natural and
cultural resources and the values of the
National Park System for the enjoyment,
education and inspiration of this and
future generations. The Service also coop-
erates with partners to extend the bene-
fits of natural and cultural resource con-
servation and outdoor recreation through-
out this country and the world.
Heritage Matters, sponsored by the
Cultural Resources Programs of the
National Park Service, is published twice-a-
year and is free of charge. Readers are
invited to submit short articles and notices
for inclusion. (Limit submissions to fewer
than 600 words and include author’s name
and affiliation. Photographs or slides are
welcome.) Please submit newsletter items
in writing or electronically to: Brian D.
Joyner, Editor, Heritage Matters,
DOI/National Park Service, 1849 C Street,
NW (2251), Washington, DC 20240. Phone:
202/354-2276, email: [email protected].
Visit the Web site for the NPS CulturalResources Diversity Program:www.cr.nps.gov/crdi
CONTENTS
H E R I T A G E M AT T E R S
Intricate beading is evident in this1917 yoke, featured at the NativeAmerican Akwesasne Museum. See page 12.
NPS ACTIVITIES, pages 1-6
Cultural Diversity Program Marks Five Years, p. 1
Cultural Diversity Internships, p. 2
Stockton, California’s Little Manila, p. 3
HABS Records Baltimore’s Lafayette Square, p. 4
Lewis and Clark Lesson Plan Released, p. 6
STATE INITIATIVES, pages 8-9
Recent National Register Listings, p. 8
• Public Schools in Washington, DC
• Odd Fellows Temple, Erie Co., Ohio
• Barrio Azteca H.D., Webb Co., Texas
• Carver Theatre, Richland Co., South Carolina
• Field Matron’s Cottage, Reno, Nevada
TRIBAL INITIATIVES, pages 12-13
Akwesasne’s Native American Museum, NewYork, p. 12
Tribal Historic Preservation Office List, p. 13
PARTNERS INITIATIVES, pages 14-20
Stone Avenue Temple, Tucson, Arizona, p. 14
Museum and Heritage Study Center at TexasTech, p. 14
Adolf Cluss Exhibit at City Museum ofWashington and in Germany, p. 16
Preservation Studies at Historically Black Collegesand Universities, p. 17
African American Experience Fund and List of
AAEF Parks, p. 18
Great Stone Church of Mission San JuanCapistrano, California, p. 19
Mapping Summer Hill near Cartersville, Georgia,p. 20
LOCAL INITIATIVES, pages 21-22
Brooklyn Has First High School withPreservartion Academic Focus, p. 21
Illinois’ Reverse Underground Railroad, p. 22
CONFERENCES AND PUBLICATIONS, page 23
Conferences, p. 23
• Hawaii International Conference on Arts andHumanities
• National Association of African AmericanStudies, the National Association of Hispanicand Latino Studies, the National Association ofNative American Studies, and the InternationalAssociation of Asian Studies Joint Conference
• American Society of Environmental Historiansand the National Council on Public HistoryAnnual Meeting
• New England Slavery and Slave TradeConference
Publications, p. 23
• Biograpical Dictionary of African AmericanArchitects
• Chinese American Pioneer Polly Bemis isChildren’s Book Feature
This material is based upon work conducted under a cooperative agreement between the U.S.Department of the Interior, National Park Service and the National Conference of State HistoricPreservation Officers. Views and conclusions in this material are those of the authors and should notbe interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of tradenames or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government.
