Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area National Park Service New Jersey, Pennsylvania US Department of the Interior Draft Historic Buildings Strategy July 2021 SUMMARY This document provides a strategy that prioritizes funding and preservation efforts for historic buildings within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (“the park”) based on historic significance, condition, interpretive value, and potential for adaptive reuse. There are 286 buildings within the park that are listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and are considered “historic.” Many buildings are found in groupings, such as on a former farmstead where there is a house, outbuildings, and agricultural landscape features such as fields and fencerows. These are referred to as “historic properties” in the Historic Buildings Strategy (HBS). There are 97 historic properties within the park. The number and condition of the buildings exceed the park’s ability to provide for maintenance. This HBS is a tool to assist the National Park Service in making strategic, prioritized maintenance and preservation decisions for the historic properties in the park. In order to determine which properties to include in the plan and which priority to assign to each property, each was evaluated for historical significance, the physical condition of buildings, and their interpretive value as it relates to their historic context. The HBS assigns a priority to each property—A, B, C, or D. Each category and identifies the types of treatments that would be appropriate under each category. The HBS does not prescribe specific treatments (e.g., specific repair and maintenance work), funding mechanisms, or uses for the property. Category A properties are the most historically significant properties in the park, are in good or fair condition and have high interpretive value. There are 48 Category A properties, of which 20 are currently vacant. Category B properties are often not as historically significant as Category A properties but are in good or fair condition and have high or moderate interpretive value. There are 27 Category B properties, of which 15 are currently vacant. Category C properties may have some historic significance but are in fair or poor condition and have fair or poor interpretive value. There are 11 Category C properties, of which 9 are currently vacant. Category D properties are in fair to poor condition and have poor interpretive value. There are 11 Category D properties, of which 9 are currently vacant. i Table of Contents Project Background............................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology for Inclusion and Evaluation in the Historic Buildings Strategy ................................... 1 Step 1: Determine Which Properties Should be Included in the HBS ................................................ 1 National Register Criteria for Evaluation ..................................................................................... 2 “Contributing” and “Non-Contributing” Buildings ...................................................................... 3 Step 2: Filter by Historic Significance ............................................................................................... 3 National or State Significance ..................................................................................................... 3 Historic Districts ......................................................................................................................... 4 Rarity ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Historic Integrity ......................................................................................................................... 4 Exemplification of Multiple Historic Contexts ............................................................................ 4 Step 3: Group Properties into Priorities Based on Condition and Historic Context/Interpretive Value. 5 Prioritization of Individual Buildings within a Historic Property.................................................. 6 Vacant Properties and “Adaptive Reuse” ..................................................................................... 6 Step 4: Assign a Management Strategy to Each Category .................................................................. 7 Types of Treatments for Historic Buildings ................................................................................. 7 Types of Uses for Historic Properties .......................................................................................... 8 NPS Administrative Use ....................................................................................................... 8 NPS Employee Housing ....................................................................................................... 8 Leasing ................................................................................................................................. 9 Partnerships and Other Agreements ...................................................................................... 9 Management Strategies Assigned to Each Prioritization Category ................................................... 10 Management Strategies for Category A Properties ........................................................................... 10 Management Strategies for Category B Properties ........................................................................... 10 Management Strategies for Category C Properties ........................................................................... 11 Management Strategies for Category D Properties ........................................................................... 11 Process for Re-Evaluation of Categories ............................................................................................ 12 Timing and Needs for Re-Evaluation of Individual Buildings or Properties...................................... 12 Evaluation of Newly Acquired Properties ........................................................................................ 13 Next Steps ............................................................................................................................................ 13 References and Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 14 Appendix A: “Strategy For Prioritizing Historic Properties” Flowchart .......................................... 21 Appendix B: Descriptions of Individual Historic Properties in New Jersey ...................................... 23 Appendix C: Descriptions of Individual Historic Properties in Pennsylvania .................................. 97 Appendix D: Historic Contexts at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area....................... 137 ii PROJECT BACKGROUND Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA or “the park”) was established in 1965. The National Park Service (NPS) acquired more than 1,000 buildings from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a result of the Tocks Island Dam Project and subsequent establishment of the park. Incidental to the land procurement process by the USACE, the buildings on that land were also acquired. The buildings were not critical to the subsequently established park’s mission, many were vacant, and there were inadequate resources to repair or maintain all of them. It is unlikely that adequate resources will be available in the future to preserve all historic buildings in the park; therefore, a strategy is needed that determines the highest priorities for long-term preservation. There are over 700 buildings within the park, of which 286 are listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and are considered “historic.” 171 of those buildings are in New Jersey and 115 are in Pennsylvania. Many buildings are found in groupings, such as on a former farmstead where there is a house, outbuildings, and agricultural landscape features such as fields and fencerows. These are referred to as “historic properties” in the Historic Buildings Strategy (HBS). There are 97 historic properties within the park. There are 65 historic properties in New Jersey, and 32 in Pennsylvania. The HBS is a means to help the National Park Service prioritize which historic properties in the park will be preserved and maintained in the long term. In order to determine which properties to include in the plan and which priority to assign to each property, the properties were evaluated for historical significance, the physical condition of buildings, and their interpretive value related to their historic context. METHODOLOGY FOR INCLUSION AND EVALUATION IN THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS STRATEGY In consultation with New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Offices, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the public, and other interested entities such as park partner and volunteer organizations, the National Park Service formulated a multi-step prioritization process that takes into account the property’s listing or eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP or National Register), historic significance, condition, and interpretive value to park visitors. The section below outlines this process in detail. Please see appendix A, “Strategy for Prioritizing Historic Properties,” for a flowchart