Pathmakers: Cultural Landscape Report for the Historic Hiking Trail System of Mount Desert Island - History, Existing Conditions, & Analysis
Brown MC. 2006. Pathmakers: Cultural Landscape Report for the Historic Hiking Trail System of Mount Desert Island - History, Existing Conditions, & Analysis. Cultural Landscape Report. ISBN 0-9779833-0-7. National Park Service, Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation. Boston, MA
Pathmakers is Volume I of a two-part Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for the Historic Hiking Trail System of Mount Desert Island, a section of Acadia National Park on the east coast of Maine. Volume I focuses on the history and significance of the trail system with an emphasis on its physical features, used to develop the recommended treatment plan presented in Volume II. The National Park Service (NPS) identifies the CLR as the primary resource guide for treatment and use of a cultural landscape. The trail system of Mount Desert Island, connecting summits to ocean ledges, offers opportunities to explore the park’s natural beauty while serving as a reminder that the trails were a product of evolving human design and activity. Steps, ladders, bridges, cairns, and drainage systems illustrate the craftsmanship and construction techniques of trail maintenance crews. The development of the trail system has a layered history, associated with Native American use, early transportation, turn-of-the-century village improvement associations, public works programs, and conservation movements. Currently, there are 103 named trails covering 118 miles within park boundaries. This report contains three sections: Site History, Existing Conditions, and Analysis of Significance and Integrity. This documentation and evaluation of the cultural landscape features relative to particular historic contexts contributes to a property’s eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NR). The site history is divided into three periods of trail construction: pre—1600 to 1889, 1890 to 1942, and 1942 to the present. Each period is associated with different groups, construction approaches, and use patterns, contributing to the varied character of trails within the system. Through research and documentation of trail features with regard to associated historical contexts, Volume I provides a framework for understanding the development of the trail system. The project team determined that the trail system is eligible for the NR in areas of community planning, conservation, recreation, landscape architecture, and social history. Its primary period of significance is 1867-1942, beginning at a time when the current trail system had been established and documented in early guidebooks, continuing through periods of trail improvement and development, and ending with the close of the Civilian Conservation Corps program. The report also offers recommendations for further field documentation, research, and analysis. To receive this report in a format that is optimized to be accessible using screen readers for persons with visual or cognitive impairments, please email irma@nps.gov.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Brown, Margaret
- Date of Issue
- 2006
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation
- Units
- ACAD , HIST , NER
- Keywords
- Acadia National Park, Archeological Sites, Cairns, CCC, Civic Improvement, Civilian Conservation Corps, Colonial Roads, community planning, Conservation, cultural landscape, Early Guidebooks, Fire Damage, Friends of Acadia, Gravel Tread, Hiking, hiking clubs, Hiking Trails, Lafayette National Park, Land Use, Landscape architecture, Managment, Maps, Mission 66, Mount Desert Island, Native American Trails, OCLP, Olmsted, Plan, Recreation, retaining wall, Rustic style, Sieur de Monts National Monument, Social History, The 1930s: Era of Public Works, Tourism, trail maintenance, Trails, VIA, Village Improvement Association, Village Improvement Society, VIS, Visitors, Wabenaki
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 650065: Historic Hiking Trail System
Series
Other versions
See also
- Cultural Landscape Report for the Historic Hiking Trail System, Treatment plan, Acadia National Park