National Park Service: Prince William Forest Park Cultural Landscape Field School Grant

Background – Prince William Forest Park was established in the 1930s as a Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA), one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. The Federal government purchased and condemned various properties leading to the initial creation of Chopawamsic RDA. Because of its proximity to the nation’s capital, Chopawamsic became a model for other RDAs to follow, using the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work force to build rustic architectural style group cabin camps. The natural setting provided a place for urban youth to escape the cities, improve their heath and connect with nature. Five organized group camps were built between 1935 and 1939. Laborers, both skilled and unskilled, used indigenous materials and methods established by the National Park Service to construct over 49 buildings, a vast network of roads and trails, recreational features and infrastructure to support the camps.

In 1942, use of the camps were transformed when the nation’s first intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) established training facilities at Chopawamsic. For security reasons, the camps were closed to the public during the OSS time period. By the summer of 1946, camp activities resumed and the park was renamed Prince William Forest Park in 1948 and became a unit of the National Park Service.

In 2011, the National Capital Region Cultural Landscapes Program completed the first Cultural Landscape Inventory for Cabin Camp 1 at Prince William Forest Park. A series of field schools will focus on the documentation of Prince William Forest Park cultural landscapes through field surveys, existing conditions mapping, and narrative descriptions.

Field Survey – Collect information about cultural landscape characteristics using the following techniques: use global positioning systems (GPS) to collect spatial data to accurately locate features; record landscape features and characteristics using digital photography; and create a character/condition log to identify features and evaluate field conditions and other notes. (Refer to A Practical Guide To Field Data Collection for the Prince William Forest Park Summer Field School 2018 for more information)

Existing Conditions Maps – Prepare maps of individual properties according to cultural landscape inventory guidance.  All data shall be submitted to NPS in the cultural resource data transfer standard.  A geodatabase template can be downloaded from:  https://irma.nps.gov/App/Reference/Profile/2182526.  This geodatabase template contains all of the various geodatabase objects required to implement the cultural resource spatial data transfer standard data model.  The geodatabase contains all of the various cultural resource feature classes defined with the standard, as well as all of the feature level metadata fields and domain values.  The data transfer standard contains the minimum fields required but other fields may be added to meet the practical needs of the project.  Refer to the Cultural Resource Spatial Data Transfer Standards guidelines for additional information regarding the structure of the geodatabase and its functionality which can be downloaded from:  https://irma.nps.gov/App/Reference/Profile/2182518.

Narrative – Prepare Cultural Landscape Inventories that include the following: annotated historical chronology for the physical development (excel spreadsheet template); historical narrative that addresses the physical development and identifies landscape changes through each period; historical significance summary explains how the property meets Na¬tional Register criteria, how it contributes to the areas of significance, and what the period of significance is; an analysis and evaluation of the landscape characteristics that apply to the property and indicates how the characteristics are related to the significance; and stabilization measures to improve the condition of the cultural landscape.