Name/Title
Special Boundary Study Newsletter #2 October 1989Entry/Object ID
LIB629Description
A study authorized by Congress in 1988 to examine issues concerning lands adjacent to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Visitors to the park are surrounded by a cultural richness and scenic beauty that is integral to the park experience. Many of these qualities come from nationally significant resources lying outside the park that are not protected and could potentially be lost through impending land use changes. The rural open landscape of the Harpers Ferry battlefield, General Stonewall Jackson's panoramic view of his surrounded foe, the magnificent downriver vista from Jefferson Rock, and the imposing backdrop of the Blue Ridge - all are intrinsic and critical images that visitors retain long after their visit ends. However, early attempts to find ways of protecting these resources and preserving the visitor experience through local and state means have been unsuccessful and have lead to this special boundary study, which is being initiated to find a way to help preserve these unique resources of America's heritage.
The first step in the special boundary study was a public workshop in March 1989; a July 1989 newsletter outlined the study process, summarized issues and concerns from the workshop, and incorporated comments that were received after the workshop. This second newsletter updates the progress of the special boundary study and solicits additional public input. After the release of this second newsletter, another public workshop will be conducted in the Harpers Ferry area to discuss the study and explore protection options for the nationally significant resources adjacent to the park. Comments from that public meeting will be incorporated into the final study. The final study will identify nationally significant cultural and scenic lands outside the current boundary that are integral to the
park and provide a range of methods for protecting those lands.
The following four management objectives, developed from the legislation that established the park, are fundamental to this special boundary study:
To offer visitors an opportunity to understand and appreciate the park's cultural/historical themes, which include: John Brown's raid, industrial and scientific history (U.S. Armory and Hall's Rifle Works), the Civil War, and Black history.
To present existing cultural/historic resources as nearly as possible to their appearance in mid-19th century times.
To make these cultural/historic resources accessible to many park visitors while not altering the character of the surrounding community and/or harmony of community activities.
To protect the aesthetic values of the park by ensuring that development within and around it is compatible with the historic and natural scene.
From these four objectives, the protection of cultural and scenic resources can be seen as major elements in meeting the management objectives while enhancing the visitor's experience of the park. For the purpose of this document, two general management objectives are appropriate and essential. They are as follows:
Cultural Resources - To interpret and preserve in perpetuity the cultural/historic sites and resources relating to the park themes of John Brown's raid, industrial and scientific history, the Civil War, and Black history.
Scenic Resources - To conserve the combination of open agricultural lands and undeveloped wooded terrain that is integral to the scenic historic setting and that relates to park themes and objectives.
Using these objectives and the legislation, nationally significant cultural and scenic resources outside the park boundary that contribute to park objectives were identified (see Cultural Resources and Scenic Resources maps in the "Resource Areas" section). These significant resources have been grouped into six resource areas, which are listed below. These six resource areas, shown on the following map, contain portions of all the nine study areas that were described in the first newsletter and additional areas that have been identified during further analysis and through public comments.
School House Ridge-Bolivar Heights
Jefferson View
Maryland Heights
Loudoun Heights
Park Approach
U.S. Armory
The significance and objectives for the six resource areas are described in this newsletter. Many landowners in the resource areas have been contacted to discuss the study. The National Park Service is interested in determining the appropriate methods of protection needed to conserve the nationally significant cultural and scenic resources in each of these areas.Acquisition
Accession
00Source or Donor
Found in collectionAcquisition Method
GiftPublication Details
Author
United States Department of the Interior/National Park ServicePublisher
National Park ServicePlace Published
* Untyped Place Published
Harpers Ferry, WVNotes
Date: 1989 October