Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2018 Testament to Home: Using the Cultural Landscape Report for Conserving Historic House Grounds Sylvia Rody McLaurin Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation McLaurin, Sylvia Rody, "Testament to Home: Using the Cultural Landscape Report for Conserving Historic House Grounds" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 4244. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/4244 This Graduate Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Template B v3.0 (beta): Created by J. Nail 06/2015 Testament to home: Using the cultural landscape report for conserving historic house grounds By TITLE PAGE Sylvia Rody McLaurin A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Landscape Architecture in Landscape Architecture in the Department of Landscape Architecture Mississippi State, Mississippi December 2018 Copyright by COPYRIGHT PAGE Sylvia Rody McLaurin 2018 Testament to home: Using the cultural landscape report for conserving historic house grounds By APPROVAL PAGE Sylvia Rody McLaurin Approved: ____________________________________ Robert F. Brzuszek (Director of Thesis) ____________________________________ Timothy J. Schauwecker (Committee Member) ____________________________________ Michael Seymour (Committee Member/Graduate Coordinator) ____________________________________ George M. Hopper Dean College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Name: Sylvia Rody McLaurin ABSTRACT Date of Degree: December 14, 2018 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Landscape Architecture Select Appropriate Title: Robert Brzuszek Title of Study: Testament to home: Using the cultural landscape report for conserving historic house grounds Pages of Study: 192 Candidate for the Degree of: Master of Landscape Architecture in Landscape Architecture Testament to home: Using the cultural landscape report for conserving historic house grounds The cultural landscape report (CLR) is a document commissioned by historic sites for the purpose of confirming an historic landscape’s significance and integrity, assessing its defining characteristics, evaluating the condition of its features, and recommending present and future landscape treatments. In this study of six publicly owned historic home grounds in the Deep South, the contents and format of the respective CLR’s are reviewed and site directors interviewed to determine their use of the CLR for their sites. While CLR’s are valuable especially to support bids for funding and other appropriations, directors indicate needs not readily met by their respective CLR’s, such as cost and phasing of treatment plans; means of balancing visitor expectations, environmental sensitivity, and historical preservation; and treatment recommendations that realistically consider site resources. DEDICATION To WJM, who has made the improbable a certainty ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To restate the words of John Donne, “No man [or woman] is an island, entire of itself.” Numerous individuals have contributed to this study directly or indirectly; to them I owe the inspiration, assistance, and knowledge that has made this study possible. Faculty of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Mississippi State University; major professor Robert Brzuszek Staff of the Mississippi State University Libraries; Judy Hammett Historic Home Site Directors: Jeffery Atkins, Morgan Baird, Evan Clements, William Griffith. William Hiott, Marilynn Jones, Also, I offer many thanks to myriads of others who through various kindnesses have been enablers, even when they weren’t aware of being so. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER .......................................................................................................................... 1 I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Historical and Cultural Landscapes .......................................................................3 Why Preserve Cultural Landscapes? .....................................................................5 The Language of Preservation ...............................................................................8 The Cultural Landscape Report ...........................................................................10 Elements of the Cultural Landscape Report ........................................................12 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .............................................................................15 Early Landscape Preservation Studies .................................................................16 Landscape Preservation Standards ......................................................................18 The Issue of Change ............................................................................................20 Historical Period Selection ..................................................................................21 Timeframe ...........................................................................................................23 Sense of Place ......................................................................................................24 Landscape as Narrative ........................................................................................25 Authenticity and Integrity ....................................................................................28 Property Management .........................................................................................31 Costs and Labor Skills ...................................................................................33 Environmental Impact ...................................................................................35 Site Use ..........................................................................................................37 Routine Maintenance .....................................................................................38 Management and the Cultural Landscape Report ...............................................39 III. METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................41 Focus of Study .....................................................................................................42 Qualitative Research ............................................................................................43 iv Study Design .......................................................................................................44 Study Site Selection .......................................................................................45 Frames of Reference ......................................................................................47 Study Procedure ...................................................................................................48 Site Cultural Landscape Reports ...................................................................49 Face to Face Interviews .................................................................................49 Observation ....................................................................................................52 IV. FINDINGS ..........................................................................................................53 Columbia Historic District (Robert Mills Historic District) ................................54 Historic Columbia Foundation Cultural Landscape Master Plan (CCLMP) ...........................................................................................56 Observation and Interview ............................................................................60 Management ............................................................................................62 Special Challenges ...................................................................................65 Use of the CCLMP ..................................................................................65 Fort Hill ...............................................................................................................66 Fort Hill Cultural Landscape Report (FHCLR) .............................................67 Observation and Interview ............................................................................71 Management ............................................................................................72 Special Challenges ...................................................................................73 Use of the FHCLR [Section 4.0 Landscape Evaluation—Fort Hill Master Plan ..................................................................................74 Kingsley