LIFE TENANCY AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE—A TOOL FOR CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT by Katherine Rose Candler (Under the Direction of Cari Goetcheus) ABSTRACT Since its creation in 1916, the National Park Service has managed cultural resources through different strategies, one of the primary being protecting resources for the public in perpetuity through acquiring land and resources. Through land acquisition, these cultural landscapes and historic resources are protected for the enjoyment of the public. In some National Parks, life tenancy has been the process through which land and resources have been acquired. By learning how the NPS land management options are defined, identifying and studying properties that have been or are currently under life tenancy, and how they are used by the NPS after the life tenancy has ended, this thesis will serve to better understand the process of life tenancy and one unique facet of the NPS land management strategy for cultural resources, as well as explore the possibility for recommendations for how this system could be improved upon. INDEX WORDS: Life Tenancy; National Park Service; Historic Preservation; Cultural Resources; Cultural Resource Management LIFE TENANCY AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE—A TOOL FOR CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT by KATHERINE ROSE CANDLER B.A., Wofford College, 2012 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTERS OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2015 © 2015 KATHERINE ROSE CANDLER All Rights Reserved LIFE TENANCY AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE—A TOOL FOR CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT by KATHERINE ROSE CANDLER Major Professor: Cari Goetcheus Committee: James Reap Gary T. Green Fred Boyles Electronic Version Approved: Julie Coffield Interim Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without a number of special people who have offered guidance and support throughout this process. Special thanks to my Major Professor, Cari Goetcheus for her constant feedback and advice. Thanks also to my other committee members – James Reap, Gary Green, and Fred Boyles for offering encouragement and feedback for this thesis and helping point me in the right directions. Thanks to my fellow graduate students in the UGA Master’s in Historic Preservation program for their support and encouragement offered to one another. Finally, thank you so much to my many other friends and family members who supported and encouraged me to work hard to complete my degree. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 Research Question .......................................................................................3 Methodology................................................................................................4 Organization of the Thesis...........................................................................6 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................8 Cultural Resource Management...................................................................9 National Park Service Interpretive Planning..............................................22 National Park Service Organization and Management Policy...................27 National Park Service Policy and Legislation ...........................................44 Conclusion .................................................................................................46 3 CUMBERLAND ISLAND OVERVIEW........................................................48 Early Settlement.........................................................................................48 Plantation History ......................................................................................51 Carnegies and Other Island Residents .......................................................52 Cumberland Island National Seashore.......................................................60 v Cumberland Island Legislation..................................................................64 Conflict on Cumberland.............................................................................65 Cumberland Island Today..........................................................................67 Conclusion .................................................................................................70 4 RETAINED RIGHTS AGREEMENTS AND ANALYSIS............................72 Cumberland Island General Management Plan .........................................72 Retained Rights on Cumberland Island .....................................................75 Judgment and Decree from Camden County Superior Court ....................76 Life Tenancies............................................................................................76 Tenancy for Years......................................................................................77 Management of Existing Structures...........................................................79 New Construction ......................................................................................81 Landscape Management.............................................................................82 Easements ..................................................................................................85 Analysis and Conclusion............................................................................87 Summary Table..........................................................................................89 5 RETAINED RIGHTS SURVEY AND ANALYSIS.......................................90 Survey Goal and Content...........................................................................90 Survey Methodology..................................................................................92 Delimitations and Limitations of Survey...................................................93 Survey Results and Analysis......................................................................94 Locations....................................................................................................97 Survey Response Background ...................................................................98 vi Land Use ..................................................................................................101 National Park Service Presence and Relationship ...................................102 Resources on Properties...........................................................................106 Analysis and Conclusion..........................................................................109 Summary Table........................................................................................111 6 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS .............................................................114 Expired Leases in Retained Rights Areas................................................114 Historic Leases.........................................................................................123 Recommendations....................................................................................125 Conclusions..............................................................................................129 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................133 APPENDICES A Glossary of Terms..........................................................................................138 B Cumberland Island Retained Rights Agreement Notes .................................141 C Copy of Retained Rights Cumberland Island Questionnaire.........................176 vii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Summary Table of Retained Rights Agreement..................................................89 Table 2: Summary Table of Survey Respondent Answers .............................................111 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: National Park Service Hierarchy Flowchart.......................................................30 Figure 2: Map of Cumberland Island.................................................................................49 Figure 3: The Ruins of Catherine Greene Miller’s Dungeness..........................................53 Figure 4: First African Baptist Church in the Settlement ..................................................54 Figure 5: Interior of the First African Baptist Church .......................................................54 Figure 6: Dungeness Mansion circa 1950..........................................................................55 Figure 7: The South Side of Dungeness in the Early 1900s ..............................................55 Figure 8: The South Side of Dungeness Ruins, Present Day.............................................56 Figure 9: Plum Orchard Mansion, Present Day.................................................................57 Figure 10: Stafford Mansion, Date Unknown....................................................................57 Figure 11: Greyfield Mansion, Present Day