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Cabryn Gurdo MAHP Thesis 2018.Pdf (5.580Mb) ABSTRACT Title of Thesis: LAYERS: HERITAGE, SIGNIFICANCE AND THE COMPLEX HISTORIC PLACE Degree Candidate: Cabryn Lynn Gurdo Degree and Year: Master of Arts in Historic Preservation, 2018 Thesis directed by: Robert Baron, PhD, Chair Welsh Center for Graduate and Professional Studies Goucher College This study uses the Erie Canal Village (ECV), an outdoor heritage museum located in Rome, New York, as a case study. Intended to become an economic development tool for the city, it is now privately owned and threatened by neglect, although several layers of history and heritage are present at the site. This study also addresses how to approach a complex historic site with varying levels of significance assigned to each historic layer, in order that it receive the recognition and protection needed. Like other layered sites, geography was a factor in the presence of human use of the ECV site for transportation, defense, and then heritage activities. An analytical framework includes the evaluation of heritage and heritage tourism as it relates to the site, where history is both present and presented. Discussion includes the determination of which layer of the site’s history matters most. Analysis of current methods of evaluating historic and/or culturally significant places compares current American and Australian systems to determine which approach is more appropriate for a complicated, layered site and provides a broader application of protection and recognition. Understanding a layered historic place like the ECV will assist other historians and preservationists in coping with similarly complicated sites. The ECV layer is the only layer of the site that possesses local and state significance, while all of the other layers present at the site possess national levels of significance. I conclude that this layer, if protected and properly maintained, will continue to provide protection to the remaining historical layers present at the site. The presence of the village buildings, in effect, protects the historic layers at ground level, as well as the site’s undiscovered archeological resources. Key Words: History, Heritage, Significance, Layer, Layers, Canals, Erie Canal, Transportation, Tourism, Archeology LAYERS: HERITAGE, SIGNIFICANCE AND THE COMPLEX HISTORIC PLACE Cabryn Lynn Gurdo Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Goucher College in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Historic Preservation 2018 Advisory Committee Robert Baron, Ph.D., Chair Betsy H. Bradley, Ph.D., Director Daniel Franklin Ward, Ph.D. Copyright by Cabryn Lynn Gurdo 2018 i For the Citizens of Rome, New York ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank all of the people who have supported me through the process of creating this treatise and completing this degree. My hope is that I remember to mention everyone, but if I don’t, please accept my apologies in advance. First, I would like to thank Richard Wagner and his leadership for welcoming me into the program and setting a solid foundation for my education at Goucher College. Thanks to Tom Walker for continuing to lead the program today. Thank you to the MAHP faculty members—former and current—for their influence during my time in the program. To my thesis committee, you have my eternal gratitude for your guidance, advice and patience during the construction of this treatise. So many thanks to the employees, trustees and volunteers of the Rome Historical Society for their assistance over nearly a year and a half of researching the Erie Canal Village and the city of Rome. Specifically, thanks to Arthur L. Simmons III and Patrick Reynolds for taking the time to help me with this project. Thank you to the Oneida County History Center, the Onondaga Historical Association and the staff at Goucher College Library for helping me conduct my research. It was an honor to meet Phil Lord, Craig Williams, Joe Bottini, Pamela Vittorio and Brad Utter during my research into Rome and its rich canal history. Thank you all for your assistance and advice. Thanks to Rome Investigators of the Paranormal and the Fort Bull Research Group for holding a fundraising paranormal investigation of Fort Bull/Fort Wood Creek in conjunction with the Rome Historical Society in September of 2016. This event brought me back to the ECV for the first time in decades and drew me into the sad story of the ECV. As a direct result of that event, I was inspired to construct this treatise. To those who dedicated significant portions of their lives to planning for, interpreting, and/or caring for the ECV—Mary Reynolds, Mike Milewski and Al Pallas—your dedication and contributions to this important heritage place truly meant something. Thank you so much for sharing your stories with me. I would like to thank my family, friends, and coworkers for your understanding as I focused on this project for so many months. To the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica and the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee of Rome, I look forward to being actively involved in our group activities once again. Finally, Art, your invaluable support and encouragement throughout the construction of this treatise made this project happen. Thank you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... vi Chapter I: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Location of the Erie Canal Village .................................................................... 2 Statement of Hypothesis .................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Questions and Assumptions ........................................................... 8 Overview of Treatise ....................................................................................... 11 Chapter II: Overview of the Historical Layers at the ECV ................................................ 14 The Oneida Carrying Place ............................................................................. 14 Strategic Importance of the Oneida Carrying Place ................. 15 French and Indian War .................................................................................... 17 Western Inland Lock Navigation Company .................................................... 21 The Erie Canal ................................................................................................. 24 Erie Canal Village ........................................................................................... 30 Establishing Heritage ............................................................... 30 Historic Rome Development Authority .................................... 34 Location ................................................................................... 34 Buildings .................................................................................. 47 Examination of Current Situation at ECV Site ................................................ 52 Problems at the Village ............................................................ 52 Legal Issues Surrounding the ECV ................................................................. 66 Reversion Clause ...................................................................... 66 Lease of Artifacts ..................................................................... 68 Lease for Canal Bed ................................................................. 71 Demolition by Neglect ............................................................. 74 Archeological Excavation ........................................................ 76 Values of Each Layer ...................................................................................... 78 The Oneida Carrying Place ...................................................... 78 French and Indian War Forts .................................................... 79 The Erie Canal .......................................................................... 80 Erie Canal Village .................................................................... 81 Chapter III: Heritage as History: Outdoor Museums as Heritage Places ........................... 83 The Erie Canal Village as a Heritage Place ..................................................... 83 Outdoor Museums as Heritage Places ............................................................. 88 Presentation and Interpretation ................................................. 92 iv Interpreting the Erie Canal Village ........................................... 96 Perspective ............................................................................... 98 Authenticity and the Past .......................................................... 99 Saving the Outdoor Museum ......................................................................... 101 Resonance and Affective Relationships with the Past ............ 103 Shaping History ...................................................................... 106 Intangible Heritage ................................................................. 107 Sustainability .......................................................................... 109 Reconciling History and Heritage .......................................... 113 Protection of a Layered Historic Site............................................................. 116 Interpretation of a Layered Historic Site ................................ 117 Chapter IV: Evaluating Significance
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