Cultural Landscape Report
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Laurel Hill Cultural Landscape Report Prepared by: John Milner Associates, Inc. Charlott esville and Alexandria, Virginia Prepared for: Fairfax County Park Authority Fairfax County, Virginia June 2009 Laurel Hill Cultural Landscape Report Prepared by: John Milner Associates, Inc. Charlott esville and Alexandria, Virginia Prepared for: Fairfax County Park Authority Fairfax County, Virginia June 2009 Credits Fairfax County Park Authority Michael Rierson, Manager, Resource Stewardship Branch, CLR Project Manager Charles Smith, Natural Resource Management and Protection, Natural Resources Specialist Elizabeth Crowell, Ph.D., Cultural Resource Management and Protection Section Manager Karen Lindquist, Historic Preservation Program Coordinator John Milner Associates, Inc. Laura Knott , Project Manager Krista Schneider, Project Landscape Architect Adriane Fowler, Lead Project Designer Jenny Mikulski, Project Designer Christina Osborn, Project Designer Sarah Traum, Architectural Historian Lane Maben Burritt , Materials Conservator TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction and Administrative Data Project Summary and Administrative Context ...................................................................................... 1 Project Scope ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Project Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 11 Phase I: Inventory and Analysis .......................................................................................................... 12 Phase II: Treatment ............................................................................................................................. 14 Summary of Findings .......................................................................................................................... 15 Recommendations for Further Study .................................................................................................. 15 Chapter Two: Site Physical History Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Prehistory and Early Settlement (to 1787) .......................................................................................... 16 Lindsay and Extended Family Ownership (1787-1873) ..................................................................... 17 Post-Lindsay Family Ownership (1873-1914) .................................................................................... 20 D.C. Penal Institutions – Progressive Era (1914-1962) ...................................................................... 22 Prison into Park (1962-Present) .......................................................................................................... 30 Chapter Three: Existing Conditions Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 36 Environmental Context and Setting .................................................................................................... 37 Cultural Context and Setting ............................................................................................................... 39 Laurel Hill Landscape Description by Characteristic ......................................................................... 40 Chapter Four: Analysis and Evaluation Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 66 Signifi cance Evaluation ...................................................................................................................... 66 Comparative Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 86 Integrity Assessment ........................................................................................................................... 93 Chapter Five: Landscape Treatment Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 96 Management Issues...............................................................................................................................96 Recommended Landscape Treatment Approach ...................................................................................99 Treatment Guidelines ..........................................................................................................................100 Treatment Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 104 Vegetation Management ..................................................................................................................... 106 Masonry Stabilization ........................................................................................................................ 113 Bibliography Appendix LAUREL HILL CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PROJECT SUMMARY AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONTEXT Laurel Hill was originally the 18th-century estate of the Revolutionary War hero William Lindsay. Lindsay was a major in the Virginia Militia during the war and the husband of Anne Calvert, the granddaughter of Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore. This Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) provides a detailed documentation and analysis of the immediate surroundings of the former Lindsay home, which was sited upon and also named for the high point of elevation on that estate. The house Lorton itself is documented in the Laurel Hill House Historic Structure Report (HSR) and is not the focus of this study.1 This study does include the Lindsay Cemetery Figure 1-1. The study area is near the community of Lorton, as well as features which contribute to the integrity within Fairfax County, Virginia. Source: Virginia Department of the surrounding D.C. Workhouse and Reformatory of Transportation. National Register Historic District, primarily the neoclassical Terraced Garden constructed by former prisoners in the 1930s, during which time the Laurel FAIRFAX COUNTY Hill House became the residence of a series of the VIRGINIA ± PO TO M A C R reformatory’s superintendents. IVER LOUDOUN COUNTY Ge In 1787, near the location of the present-day or ge to wn UPPER community of Lorton (Figure 1-1) in Fairfax County, To wn o f L e Herndon POTOMAC es Pik bu e Du r .W. Mem lle g G oria s l A P P c s & ces To i k ll ke w Ro 5 a y Virginia, William Lindsay purchased almost 1,000 y d 9 4 S w - k I u P l l y y t H R n DULLES AIRPORT u u d o n McLEAN C t acres for the estate he named Laurel Hill. In the early e VIENNA r x a f M ir a i l l F R 3 2 20th century, this property became part of a large d 1 t. Rt R To wn o f R CITY OF . 5 t. 0 Vienna 7 FALLS CHURCH S P l t 9 e . 2 workhouse, reformatory and penitentiary complex r Rt i FAIRFAX n a COUNTY OF ARLINGTON g s R f e t . e Rt. 50 JEFFERSON a l I-66 l 2 o n 8 w t V R a owned by Washington, D.C. This federal complex BULL RUN d BAILEYS l le CITY OF FAIRFAX y R ik e d R bia P . t. 236 Colum 29 operated until 2001. Rt. ANNANDALE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA Braddock Rd. LINCOLNIA 95 R -3 I-95 o I- I ll 49 i 5 n g Today, the name Laurel Hill generally refers to a large R Fa d Rd. irf . onia To wn o f ax ranc C SPRINGFIELD F Clifton o u y n t gfiel . w Cl y in d P d k Spr kw R if P a y P ton ni planning district that includes these former federal o h k c p l Rd. w an a r r ROSE a F i PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY y g le r e HILL o R T t. m e 1 2 5 M POHICK 3 9 lands, which were deeded to Fairfax County in 2002. - I . B 1 W . t . e R MT. G u l a h VERNON Prior to this acquisition, the county developed a S t . ER IV reuse plan that would maximize use of the land for R R FORT Laurel Hill HouseAC Planning Districts BELVOIR M O T 2 O open space, parks, and recreation. This complex and LOWER P in Fairfax County G POTOMAC u n s to n Annandale McLean ambitious plan concerns a district that includes several R d Baileys Mount Vernon . large sub-areas of interest which are described below. Bull Run Pohick Fairfax Rose Hill Jefferson Springfield Lincolnia Upper Potomac Lower Potomac Vienna Note: This map is intended for reference purposes only. Fairfax County does not provide any guaranty of the accuracy or completeness regarding the map information. Map is current as of October, 2007 Courtesy of Fairfax County GIS and Mapping Services 1. Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects, Laurel Hill House Figure 1-2. The study area lies within the Lower Potomac Historic Structure Report and Treatment Options, prepared Planning District, indicated in blue. Source: http://www. for Fairfax County Park Authority (Fairfax County, VA, fairfaxcounty.gov/maps/gallery.htm. 2008) (HSR). 2. Fairfax County, “Transfer of Prison to Fairfax County,”http:// www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz//laurelhill/tranfer.htm (accessed 18 September 2008). CHAPTER ONE • INTRODUCTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE DATA • JUNE 2009 • JOHN MILNER ASSOCIATES, INC. • 1 LAUREL HILL CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT The Lower Potomac Planning District of Fairfax Plan (GMP/ CDP) for Laurel Hill Park, approved in County is generally bounded on the north and the 2004, designates its 1,200 acres for many different west by the acreages that formerly