Adventures with Cultural Resource Management

            This week I had the pleasure of spending my time at work with Cultural Resources Management down at Independence Hall. I’m told it was an especially busy week for the division, so I felt really lucky to be able to observe and help out. I started the week by spending the day with Jed Levin, the park’s Chief Historian and one of the recipients of this year’s John L. Cotter Award for Excellence in NPS Archaeology. We had an in depth conversation about the role of the Chief Historian in any cultural resource management program and discussed the pieces of legislation that have made historical preservation a mandate for federal agencies (including NEPA, NHPA, and ARPA). Jed also told me about his role as the person in the office who handles issues of Section 106 compliance (referring to section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which mandates that federal agencies consider the effects their actions may have on historic properties). Finally, we discussed archaeology in general, and the many archaeological projects on which he has worked in his time with Independence NHP, and then I spent a little time in the library looking at examples of archeological notes and reports.

 

On Tuesday, I spent most of the day working through an inventory list for a collection which is going to have to be moved in the near future and sorting the objects into different categories to give the contractors an idea of what will have to be moved and how much volume to expect. I was also able to look up and find more information about certain pieces while I was going through the lists, so I learned a little bit about where different things in the museum collection came from and how INDE acquired them.  

Wednesday was very busy – the division was overseeing two significant moves that morning. An original framed painting of the Pennsylvania Coat of Arms that had been away for cleaning for several years was returned to its place in Independence Hall. This was a pretty significant event (it even made the news!). We also oversaw the removal of a collection of items from one of the park’s historic houses so that construction could be carried out without harming any of the museum items.  

 

The original painting (left) with the reproduction it replaced (right). 

I also spent a lot of time this week in the archives, helping some of the employees with the yearly inventorying process. Part of this is just going down a list, finding different documents, and verifying that they’re undamaged and still in the places they were left – but it was pretty exciting, because the documents were all 18th-century papers, letters, and books, including a letter signed by George Washington himself:  

 

On Thursday, I spent the first half of the day with the park’s Museum Specialist, who is charged with the physical care of the park’s collection of museum objects. We visited four or five different buildings around the park to check on different objects in the collection as a part of the yearly inventory process. I also worked on a little research project – combing through the park’s administrative history files to see whether rumors about a child being born in the tower of Independence Hall were true. Signs point to yes!  

 

Inside one of the exhibits at the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial 

 

Written record of a baby being born in the tower! 

    
I spent Friday in the archives doing some administrative work. I also had the chance to go through some old

Kodachrome slides, with tons of pictures of the park throughout its history. 

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I’m so thankful to the kind folks at CRM for having me to their division this week. I learned a lot and I got to interact with so much history. Next week, I’ll be back with Visitor and Resource Protection at First State NHP. Until then, I’ll enjoy reading and hearing all about the experiences of my fellow ProRangers out at Lake Mead and Buffalo River!