State Historic Site Research Articles

Placing, Bounding, Bordering, Territorializing: NRHP Criteria and Public Memory at North Carolina’s Somerset Place State Historic Site

I define territory as embodied, relational, processual, and imaginative: power enacted upon and through place. In the following article, I use this generative definition of territory as a lens to interrogate how memory becomes placed and bounded at Somerset Place, a historic plantation site in North Carolina. Through archival research into the negotiations between two state government agencies on the legal status of Somerset Place between 1939-1965, as well as analysis of the gendered and racialized criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, I uncover how historic space was defined against recreational space – not only in the creation of Somerset Place, but in the heritage boom of the mid-twentieth century more broadly. In addition, by understanding territory as the historicized and ongoing enactment of power upon and through place, I reveal how formal and informal territories of public memory and public space are continuously defined, negotiated, and claimed.

Analysis of Coronado State Historic Site Artifacts using X-rays.

Analysis of Coronado State Historic Site Artifacts using X-rays.

Reimagining the Development of Downtown Cahokia Using Remote Sensing Visualizations from the Western Edge of the Grand Plaza

The distribution of mounds, plazas, and defensive palisades associated with Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (CMSHS) defines the core urban environment of Eastern North America’s first American Indian city. The large mounds surrounding Cahokia’s centrally located Grand Plaza, including the palisades that enclose them, are referred to as Downtown Cahokia. In this portion of the site, archaeologists have identified material culture (e.g., ceramics), earthen fills to level the plaza, and several earthen mound constructions. These findings suggest an occupational history for the area that occurred over the 9th–14th centuries CE, with the emergence of plaza delineation and earthwork construction beginning in the early 11th century CE. In sum, Downtown Cahokia and its Grand Plaza are considered by archaeologists to be a vibrant space characterized by ongoing American Indian transformations to an early metropolitan landscape. We conducted magnetometer and electromagnetic induction surveys at the western edge of the Grand Plaza. When compared with the LiDAR-derived visualizations we generated from this portion of the site, our aerial and terrestrial remote sensing data offered new information on the nature and sequence of monument construction in Downtown Cahokia, as well as architectural changes in domestic and special-use structures. These multi-scalar and complementary remote sensing datasets allowed us, without excavating, to trace important sequences of change in Downtown Cahokia’s history.

Sight Lines and Curb Appeal: Landscape, Race, and Compromise at Three North Carolina State Historic Sites

Sight Lines and Curb Appeal: Landscape, Race, and Compromise at Three North Carolina State Historic Sites

Imagined Histories

Imagined Histories

“Shahó and the Power of Place”

On April 13, 2019, an EF3 tornado demolished the traditional Caddo grass house and the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site museum with approximately 80 people inside. This occurred on Caddo Days, an annual event designed for Caddo people to share their culture with the surrounding community. In July 2019, survivors, community members, and Caddo people gathered for a weekend in which representatives of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience facilitated art and ritual activities to process the events of April 13 and tell the story as a part of the history of the site and the Caddo people.

Five Decades of Public Interpretation at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Five Decades of Public Interpretation at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Evaluating narratives of ecocide with the stratigraphic record at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois, USA

AbstractNarratives of ecocide, when a society fails due to self‐inflicted ecologic disaster, have been broadly applied to many major archaeological sites based on the expected environmental consequences of known land‐use practices of people in the past. Ecocide narratives often become accepted in a discourse, despite a lack of direct evidence that the hypothesized environmental consequences of land‐use practices occurred. Cahokia Mounds, located in a floodplain of the central Mississippi River Valley, is one such major archaeological site where untested narratives of ecocide have persisted. The wood‐overuse hypothesis suggests that tree clearance in the uplands surrounding Cahokia led to erosion, causing increasingly frequent and unpredictable floods of the local creek drainages in the floodplain where Cahokia Mounds was constructed. Recent archaeological excavations conducted around a Mississippian Period (AD 1050–1400) of earthen mound in the Cahokia Creek floodplain shows that the Ab horizon on which the mound was constructed remained stable until industrial development. The presence of a stable ground surface (Ab horizon) from Mississippian occupation to the mid‐1800s does not support the expectations of the wood‐overuse hypothesis. Ultimately, this research demonstrates that pre‐Colombian ecological change does not inherently cause geomorphic change, and narratives of ecocide related to geomorphic change need to be validated with the stratigraphic record.

Impact of travel distance and experience use history on visitors’ climate friendly behavior and support for climate friendly management action

Despite growing concern about climate change and the potential impacts of tourism on the environment, little is known about visitor responses toward climate mitigation strategies in nature-based tourism settings or factors that influence them. This study examined the influence of travel distance and Experience Use History (EUH) on visitor willingness to engage in climate friendly behavior in state parks and their support for management actions to minimize climate change impacts. Following a stratified-cluster sampling approach, a total of 1,775 visitors (69.7% response rate) completed online or paper surveys at 20 pre-selected Missouri state parks and historic sites. Results indicated that visitors living within 100 miles of these locations were more willing to engage in climate friendly behavior, but less supportive of climate friendly management actions, as compared to those living farther away. Visitors’ EUH was only associated with their willingness to engage in climate friendly behavior, but not with support for climate friendly management actions. In addition to some theoretical and methodological contributions, this paper sheds light on management of nature-based tourism destinations such as state parks.

Burning Memories: The Destruction of Kingston and the Gubernatorial Election of 1798

Burning MemoriesThe Destruction of Kingston and the Gubernatorial Election of 1798 Robb K. Haberman (bio) For the past two decades, the town of Kingston, New York, has held a biennial event, "The Burning of Kingston," in remembrance of the town's destruction by the British during the Revolutionary War. The 2019 commemoration included educational lectures, a documentary film screening, and demonstrations of colonial crafts that were held at the Old Dutch Church, the Senate House, and other local sites of historical import.1 These activities, along with those of previous commemorations, highlight the town's significance in Revolutionary-era New York, as well as the collective wartime experience of its residents. The commemoration thus serves as a unifying event for present-day Kingston inhabitants and out-oftown visitors, who are invited to see themselves as participants in this shared history. Twenty-one years after it occurred, however, the burning of Kingston generated public acts of remembrance far different from those described above, as the town's destruction briefly became a flashpoint of contention in the context of New York state politics. During John Jay's 1798 campaign for reelection as governor of New York, his opponents vilified Jay's behavior during the burning of Kingston as cowardly and unpatriotic. Although Jay went on to win reelection, this moment nevertheless illustrates the extent to which the strong feelings engendered by partisan politics infiltrated local communities and turned Kingston into a contested site of Revolutionary memory. John Jay came to Kingston, then serving as the seat of state government, in early March 1777. He attended a constitutional convention held in Kingston that debated whether to adopt the governing framework drafted by Jay and a committee for the fledgling state of New York. After the convention voted in favor of the new constitution on April 20, Jay took on dual duties as a member of the Council of Safety and as chief justice of New York's [End Page 19] Supreme Court of Judicature.2 Following the court's adjournment on September 13, Jay's thoughts turned to the safety of his wife, infant son, and extended family, then residing to the south in the town of Fishkill. Jay feared that his loved ones would be vulnerable to an attack by British troops. A large force under the command of Sir Henry Clinton had left its base in New York City, moved steadily up the Hudson Valley, and successfully captured Forts Clinton and Montgomery on October 6. The day following the British victory, Jay left Kingston for Fishkill and, after collecting his family, traveled another thirty-five miles to Kent, Connecticut, where he sought refuge with Joel Bordwell, the town's Congregationalist minister.3 Click for larger view View full resolution Senate House State Historic Site, Kingston, New York. Photo taken by author. [End Page 20] Soon after Jay left Kingston, Sir Henry Clinton dispatched his subordinate, General John Vaughan, with a force of sixteen hundred men to raid the Hudson Valley. Although Vaughan's troops spared Fishkill, other settlements were not as fortunate. As the center of New York's government, Kingston offered an obvious target, and Vaughan moved against the town on October 16. His soldiers destroyed nearly three hundred buildings, putting to the torch homes, shops, barracks, and barns, as well as livestock, grain, fodder, and crops. Jay was not alone in leaving Kingston before the enemy arrived. Much of the town's population—civilians and government officials alike—also took flight, with many families seeking refuge either in Hurley, a town located three miles to the west of Kingston, or with relatives who lived in the region. Many residents would not return for several months, as the devastation proved so extensive that it rendered the town largely uninhabitable and unfit to continue as the seat of government.4 Three days after attacking Kingston, Vaughan's troops descended on Clermont Manor, the estate owned by Robert R. Livingston in nearby Albany County, and reduced it to rubble. Livingston had attracted the unwelcome attention of the British, because, like Jay, he was recognized as an important patriot leader for New York. In the summer of 1776, Livingston had sat on...

2019 Activities Report

2019 was an eventful year for our small organization, and for the Caddo Tribe as well. We enjoyed gathering for many events and functions throughout the previous twelve months, but none were more memorable than our trip to the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto, TX, as many might already know. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support of the Caddo Nation and its members, myself included. Your thoughts, prayers, and support have been heard and received by many and for that I am forever grateful. I offer a special thank you to my friends with the Caddo Conference Organization for extending the opportunity of submitting this report.

Stagville State Historic Site

Stagville State Historic Site

Climate Change Communication in the Midwestern United States: Perceptions of State Park Interpreters.

Parks and protected areas can be ideal settings for climate change communication since many visitors have an affinity for natural and cultural settings, and an interest in resource protection. However, climate-based education efforts in the Midwestern United States may need a slightly different approach since this region lacks obvious indicators, such as sea level rise and melting glaciers. Interpretation, an informal communication process designed to transmit scientific information to visitors in leisure-based settings, could be a useful strategy for engaging visitors in climate change discussions. Few studies have assessed perceptions of interpreters on this topic, much less, their willingness to communicate such information. To address this issue, a mixed methods approach (surveys, interviews, photovoice) was used to examine interpreters' perceptions of climate change and its impacts in Missouri State Park and Historic Sites. Although nearly 70% of interpreters were either alarmed or concerned about climate change, many of them were unsure about its causation. Interpreters report observing impacts such as flooding, earlier plant blooming, high temperatures, extreme weather, and invasive species, but were uncertain about attributing these impacts to climate change. Interpreters did not believe that visitors would be responsive to climate-based education per se but thought the topic could be addressed in pre-existing programs and activities. Rather than discussing complex science with visitors, interpreters felt more comfortable with conveying the significance of resources at their sites. Implications from this study include acknowledging multiple viewpoints, framing strategic messages, and developing place-based educational materials.

This War Ain’t Over: Fighting the Civil War in New Deal America by Nina Silber

Reviewed by: This War Ain’t Over: Fighting the Civil War in New Deal America by Nina Silber Thomas Aiello This War Ain’t Over: Fighting the Civil War in New Deal America. By Nina Silber. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018. Pp. xvi, 232. $32.95, ISBN 978-1-4696-4654-1.) An hour from my university sits the Jefferson Davis Memorial State Historic Site, made a state park during the Depression-era administration of Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge. The monument on the grounds tells less about the Confederacy’s demise and more about the Talmadge administration’s use of the Civil War. According to the historical marker there, Confederate president Jefferson Davis was “the revered leader of the Lost Cause,” and when he was captured at this spot, “his hopes for a new nation, in which each state would exercise without interference its cherished ‘Constitutional rights,’ [were] forever dead.” Nina Silber’s new book, This War Ain’t Over: Fighting the Civil War in New Deal America, does a masterful job of describing the political and cultural uses of the Civil War in the 1930s and 1940s by southern white bigots like Talmadge and by a variety of national interest groups. Georgia, for example, was the home of Margaret Mitchell and the setting of the film Gone With the Wind (1939), which became a theater for the negotiation of “the present-day politics of white supremacy” (p. 5). Such politics were evident across the South and across the [End Page 952] country, but were rivaled by several other agendas with an interest in the Civil War’s legacy in the early twentieth century. Advocates of the New Deal and the officials who helped craft its policies, for example, emphasized the memory of Abraham Lincoln to justify the program’s heavy federal hand, but they denuded Lincoln of the racial consequences of emancipation, realizing that they would only stoke demands for African American civil rights and alienate much of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Democratic base—those same white southerners who flocked to see Gone With the Wind and the Jefferson Davis capture site. But Silber’s analysis goes further. Because of the economic devastation that affected so many white people, politicians and cultural critics began appropriating antebellum slavery to equate it with the suffering of interwar whites. Among those making the case were white American communists and labor activists, who “spoke the language of bondage during the Depression years”—wage slavery or “white” slavery—to indict a broken economic system (p. 72). Precisely because of the real historical resonance of the racial consequences of the Civil War, however, and in response to the rhetorical appropriation of slavery, emphasis on Lincoln and the Civil War during the time of both Jim Crow and rampant economic devastation was also a stakes game for the black leaders of the burgeoning civil rights effort. For them, Lincoln and radical figures like John Brown created a legacy that civil rights advocates of the 1930s inherited and continued. And that inheritance was undeniably racial. The NAACP was beginning its long fight for desegregated schools and stumping for a federal antilynching law, and both the Civil War and Reconstruction served as useful analogues for the group’s actions. Silber moves seamlessly from political memory to cultural memory, and the cultural memory she discusses spans a wide gamut of film and literature: from D. W. Griffith’s Abraham Lincoln (1930) to John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln (1939); and from Mervyn LeRoy’s I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) to Shirley Temple’s The Littlest Rebel (1935). Silber covers the poetry of Carl Sandburg and the photography of Dorothea Lange, all in an effort to track a history of memory that was itself an overtly contested space. The nuanced portrait moves deftly between race and class issues, political screeds and bestselling novels, pinpointing the lived memory of the Civil War for a variety of interwar and World War II–era groups while simultaneously tracking the evolution of those images over the course of the 1930s and 1940s. This War Ain’t Over is a necessary addition to the historiographies of both the...

A comparison of ground-penetrating radar, magnetic gradiometer and electromagnetic induction survey techniques at House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site

In 2013 and 2014, University students and faculty joined with the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology and Historic Sites Division to expand upon previous archaeological work at House in the Horseshoe using geophysical methods. 2,840 square meters of the site were surveyed using Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), magnetic gradiometer, and electromagnetic induction (EMI) meter with the goal of determining which sensors perform best when identifying historic site features in fine sandy loam and in what combination. The instruments identified four structure areas that were ground truthed to confirm anomaly source and determine cultural association. GPR precisely identified the depth and extent of a large historic pit and a smokehouse floor, and was well paired with the gradiometer, which offered additional clues as to the intact extent and exposure of features to intense heat. Conductivity and magnetic susceptibility images at House in the Horseshoe provided a view of many objects close to the surface that GPR and gradiometer were less effectively able to articulate. Survey results from this study, paired with excavation data, provide excellent examples of how typical historic features might appear within different geophysical images, serving as an interpretive data source for others who wish to use geophysical methods to map, interpret, and understand the hidden cultural landscape present on a historic site.

Herpetofaunal Inventory of Wormsloe State Historic Site, Savannah, Georgia

There is renewed interest in inventory and monitoring projects, due in part to mandates to evaluate the effects of surrounding development and climate change on the biotic communities of public lands. We inventoried an understudied area, Wormsloe State Historic Site, near Savannah, GA. We directly observed or trapped 21 herpetofaunal (i.e., amphibian and reptile) species. Chao estimates predicted that <1 additional amphibian species and 3–4 additional reptile species might occur with further trapping. Most species had low abundance: <10 individuals for 75% of species. Species richness on Wormsloe was about ⅓ that recorded on the adjacent mainland (<1 km distance). Some species not detected required specific habitats lacking at Wormsloe. Other undetected species may have been extirpated by past land-uses. Also, the changing landscape context, caused by development of surrounding areas, has likely diminished both landscape connectivity and available freshwater, shortening the hydroperiod of breeding ponds. Of import to breeding amphibians, each of the depressions on Wormsloe has a drainage ditch connecting it to salt-water tides but the water-control structures preventing tidal flux are no longer in place. Resources management can improve amphibian breeding habitat simply by eliminating tidal influxes along drainage ditches. Maintaining existing populations of common species should be a priority for all public lands.

A Traveler's Companion to North Dakota State Historic Sites

Reviewed by: A Traveler's Companion to North Dakota State Historic Sites Kimberly K. Porter A Traveler's Companion to North Dakota State Historic Sites. By State Historical Society of North Dakota. Bismarck: State Historical Society of North Dakota, 2014. vii + 204 pp. Illustrations, maps. $23.95 paper. A Traveler's Companion to North Dakota State Historic Sitesshould be in the glove box, backpack, library, or classroom of all North Dakotans, as well as in the hands of visitors. The handy spiral-bound book is chock full of places [End Page 114]to see and things to do in the Flickertail State. Alphabetically organized from Big Mound Battlefield State Historic Site to Writing Rock State Historic Site, A Traveler's Companionprovides context, drawings, detailed maps, and photographs—both contemporary and historic—for each of North Dakota's sixty-eight state historic sites. The text is clear: an icon denotes each location as being of potential merit to travelers seeking to explore places associated with Native Americans, the military, exploration and settlement, trade and technology, state government, or natural history. Many sites garner more than one icon. For example, the entry on Mandan's Fort Abraham Lincoln informs readers that the site should be of value to individuals interested in military history, as well as Native American history and natural wonders. An index points out areas of interest by category. For those interested in a more modern moment, travelers can opt to visit the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile site near Cooperstown. Not only does the guidebook offer directions and general information on North Dakota in the Cold War, it also provides a very basic understanding of a missile silo's components. Moreover, the volume offers a listing of facilities operated by county historical societies that serve to augment the state's historic sites. And, where appropriate, travelers are directed to restrooms, campgrounds, gift shops, and museums, as well as hours of operation and applicable fees. More than a road map or a tourist brochure, A Traveler's Companionprovides historical context for the state's historic sites by placing the locale into territorial, state, or national history. It does so in accessible language that encourages continued travel and exploration. If fault is to be found, and there can be but little discerned, a map or at least a listing of sites of interest within a brief drive might be included. While no map would find universal approval, one suggesting sites to comprise a day-trip (or longer) would be useful. Also, it would be a shame to miss the Gingras Trading Post while traveling to the Pembina State Museum. Teachers, travelers, armchair historians, and those simply wondering what to do with the kids on the weekend will surely find this book worth their time and treasure. Kimberly K. Porter University of North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota Copyright © 2018 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Land use and soil legacy in the Lower Coastal Plain: A case study of Wormsloe State Historic Site, Georgia

Agriculture alters forest soil physical and chemical properties, often for decades to centuries, following agricultural cessation. Wormsloe State Historic Site, near Savannah, Georgia, has nearly a 300-year documented history of land use. To investigate agricultural soil legacies at Wormsloe, 120 random sample points were established across two land use history areas: Agriculture (some agricultural activity between 1736 and the present) and Reference (areas never farmed and under some forest cover from 1736 to present) within two mapped soil series (Chipley and Olustee). Landscape variables; profile characteristics; soil pH, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations; extractable phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) concentrations; and dominant vegetation were evaluated. An A horizon was always described in never farmed reference areas, and an Ap horizon was often, but not always, described in reforested agricultural areas. Soil P concentrations (Mehlich-1) were elevated (<i>p</i> = 0.05) in former agricultural areas. Soil pH (<i>p</i> = 0.04) differed across soil series but not land use. Discriminant analysis of sample plots reclassified by agricultural abandonment period (Reference/No Agricultural History, Civil War, Depression, and Modern) indicated that the Reference/No Agricultural History and Civil War period plots were similar and distinct from plots in areas abandoned during the Depression and Modern periods. Our ability to discriminate among dominant overstory and understory vegetation types using soil and site variables was relatively low.

EXPLORING NEW CAHOKIAN NEIGHBORHOODS: STRUCTURE DENSITY ESTIMATES FROM THE SPRING LAKE TRACT, CAHOKIA

We present the recent results of a magnetometry survey of the Spring Lake Tract conducted during the summer of 2015 at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site located along the Mississippi River Floodplain in southern Illinois. This tract, located southeast of Woodhenge and west of the Grand Plaza, is situated north of two known borrow pits and includes an additional, previously unidentified borrow pit. Through comparing our gradiometer results with our subsequent test excavations, we argue that this area of Cahokia potentially demonstrates an increase in building density at the Spring Lake Tract during the transition between the Terminal Late Woodland and Lohmann phases. In addition, our survey and exaction results demonstrate that this area was densely occupied between the Lohmann and Stirling phases. During the Moorehead phase, we identify a possible increase in habitation based on hypothesized structure density using statistical analyses of length and width ratios (m) and structure area (m2). Our preliminary results suggest that the Spring Lake Tract saw an increase in habitation during the Moorehead phase, a new perspective on the density and use of domestic space during Cahokia's late occupational history.

Dendroarchaeology at the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site: Contextualizing the landscape of an Upland South farmstead in East Tennessee, USA

Dendroarchaeology has been an invaluable resource in aiding management agencies with data that can authenticate or contest traditional dates of construction for historic log structures. Tipton-Haynes is a well-documented state historic site in East Tennessee with two log structures thought to be constructed by its original occupant, Colonel John Tipton, in the late eighteenth century. To examine the landscape history of the site, these structures were dated using dendrochronology to contextualize the built environment over time. Structures include a renovated log cabin that stands as the core of a Greek-Revival farmhouse and a double-pen log corn crib. Results of the analysis show that the Tipton farmhouse was constructed in 1799 to serve as a retirement residence with renovations occurring shortly after 1821 by John Tipton, Jr., while the corn crib was constructed by Landon Haynes in 1851 during an expansion of farm production on the site. Our study contextualized the provenience of these structures over time which allowed us to recognize why these changes took place on the landscape and under whose ownership these changes occurred. Such dendroarchaeological studies provide a deeper understanding of the history of construction of historic sites in Tennessee and the Southeastern U.S. in general, helping historians, historical architects, and historical agencies more accurately interpret and understand the value of our historic resources.