2026-09-21T13:05:50Zhttps://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/oai/requestoai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/676112026-05-15T19:40:31Zcom_1813_35col_1813_47
Heckendorf, Olivia Holly
Tomlan, Michael Andrew
Baugher, Sherene Barbara
2019-10-15T16:48:50Z
2019-10-15T16:48:50Z
2019-08-30
ProQuest Submission ID: 10488
ProQuest Publication ID: 13864605
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/67611
https://doi.org/10.7298/d4q6-dp30
11050594
Chatham Manor became part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in December 1975 after the death of its last private owner, John Lee Pratt. Constructed between 1768 and 1771, Chatham Manor has always been intertwined with the landscape and has gained significance throughout its 250-year lifespan. With each subsequent owner and period of time Chatham Manor has gained significance as a cultural landscape. Since its acquisition in 1975, the National Park Service has grappled with the significance and interpretation of Chatham Manor as a cultural landscape. This thesis provides an analysis of the National Park Service’s ideas of significance and interpretation of the cultural landscape at Chatham Manor. This is done through a discussion of several interpretive planning documents and correspondences from the staff of the National Park Service, including interpretive prospectuses, a general management plan, and long-range interpretive plan. In addition, the influence of both superintendents and staff is taken into consideration. Through the analysis of these documents, it was realized that the understanding of cultural landscapes is continuing to evolve within the National Park Service. In the 1960s and 1970s Chatham Manor was considered significant and interpreted almost solely for its association with the Civil War. That changed for a time in the 1980s as the cultural landscape was defined by the National Park Service in 1982, and the 1920s Colonial Revival Garden was restored at Chatham Manor, headed by Superintendent James Zinck. A shift to refocus on the Civil War occurred in the mid- to late-1990s when the staff of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park developed a long-term goal to restore Chatham Manor to its 1860s appearance to better interpret its Civil War history. Today, there has been a growing understanding of the cultural landscape at Chatham Manor with the execution of the Cultural Landscape Report for Chatham and the draft for the National Register of Historic Places nomination update. Additionally, the significance of the property has been broadened as the 1920s Colonial Revival gardens and associated buildings have been deemed significant. Although the National Park Service has been slow to approach Chatham Manor as a cultural landscape, steps are being taken to consider the property’s evolved significance and interpret its layered history.
en_US
National Park Service
History
Historic Preservation
Interpretation
American history
Chatham Manor
Cultural Landscapes
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
An Evolved Understanding: An Examination of the National Park Service's Approach to the Cultural Landscape at Chatham Manor, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
dissertation or thesis
application/pdf
City and Regional Planning
Cornell University
Master of Arts
M.A., City and Regional Planning
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/59810
Publication
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Heckendorf, Olivia Holly
5893a6ea-7af3-41d7-abc6-04bcd26ab5df
open.access
open.access
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<Title>An Evolved Understanding: An Examination of the National Park Service's Approach to the Cultural Landscape at Chatham Manor, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park</Title>
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<Keyword>National Park Service</Keyword>
<Keyword>History</Keyword>
<Keyword>Historic Preservation</Keyword>
<Keyword>Interpretation</Keyword>
<Keyword>American history</Keyword>
<Keyword>Chatham Manor</Keyword>
<Keyword>Cultural Landscapes</Keyword>
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<Abstract>Chatham Manor became part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in December 1975 after the death of its last private owner, John Lee Pratt. Constructed between 1768 and 1771, Chatham Manor has always been intertwined with the landscape and has gained significance throughout its 250-year lifespan. With each subsequent owner and period of time Chatham Manor has gained significance as a cultural landscape. Since its acquisition in 1975, the National Park Service has grappled with the significance and interpretation of Chatham Manor as a cultural landscape. This thesis provides an analysis of the National Park Service’s ideas of significance and interpretation of the cultural landscape at Chatham Manor. This is done through a discussion of several interpretive planning documents and correspondences from the staff of the National Park Service, including interpretive prospectuses, a general management plan, and long-range interpretive plan. In addition, the influence of both superintendents and staff is taken into consideration. Through the analysis of these documents, it was realized that the understanding of cultural landscapes is continuing to evolve within the National Park Service. In the 1960s and 1970s Chatham Manor was considered significant and interpreted almost solely for its association with the Civil War. That changed for a time in the 1980s as the cultural landscape was defined by the National Park Service in 1982, and the 1920s Colonial Revival Garden was restored at Chatham Manor, headed by Superintendent James Zinck. A shift to refocus on the Civil War occurred in the mid- to late-1990s when the staff of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park developed a long-term goal to restore Chatham Manor to its 1860s appearance to better interpret its Civil War history. Today, there has been a growing understanding of the cultural landscape at Chatham Manor with the execution of the Cultural Landscape Report for Chatham and the draft for the National Register of Historic Places nomination update. Additionally, the significance of the property has been broadened as the 1920s Colonial Revival gardens and associated buildings have been deemed significant. Although the National Park Service has been slow to approach Chatham Manor as a cultural landscape, steps are being taken to consider the property’s evolved significance and interpret its layered history.</Abstract>
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