Cultural Landscape Report for Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Petersburg National Battlefield, National Park Service

Auwaerter, John

A Cultural Landscape Report is the primary document used by the National Park Service for management of its historically significant landscapes. This report for Poplar Grove National Cemetery has been developed according to the Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports: Contents, Process, and Techniques (National Park Service, 1998). The project area for this Cultural Landscape Report focuses on the eight-acre cemetery landscape delineated by the brick inclosure wall, and secondly on the approach road and setting consisting of a parcel owned by the National Park Foundation and several other privately-owned tracts proposed for park acquisition in the park’s General Management Plan. Many of these objectives pertain to planning for the line-item construction project, “Restore Facilities, Resources & Character Defining Elements to National Cemetery Standards.” Poplar Grove has lacked any significant enhancements in nearly fifty years. Today, the park recognizes that the condition of the headstones, decline in plant materials, loss of historic furnishings, and contemporary alterations detract from the landscape’s historic character and the sacred nature of the cemetery. The construction project is intended to comprehensively address these deficiencies by enhancing the property’s historic character, addressing deterioration of the grave markers, and improving visitor safety, orientation, and interpretation. The construction project is compatible with both the park’s legislative purpose and its General Management Plan, which calls for the cemetery to be brought up to the National Cemetery System standards of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Overall, research for this Cultural Landscape Report has been undertaken at a thorough level of investigation. Historical research focused on holdings in the National Archives in Washington, D. C. and College Park, Maryland, and at Petersburg National Battlefield. Research was compared to field observations at Poplar Grove and at its companion Civil War-era national cemeteries in Virginia, including City Point, Cold Harbor, Culpeper, Fort Harrison, Glendale, Richmond, Seven Pines, and Yorktown. A history of Poplar Grove National Cemetery, prepared by National Park Service Historian Herbert Olsen in 1954, provided the basis for the overall history of the site, although it contains limited information on the landscape, and in particular on its development after 1880. Research into historic contexts, including the Civil War, post-war search and recovery program, and the administrative history of the War Department, National Cemetery System, and Petersburg National Battlefield, was limited largely to secondary sources. Documentation of existing conditions is based upon field inventory, the most current site surveys and plans (including the park’s GIS database), and discussions with park staff about current issues pertaining to maintenance, administration, and interpretation. The analysis and evaluation is based on the findings of the site history, the most current draft of the National Register documentation for Petersburg National Battlefield, the existing National Register multiple properties documentation for Department of Veterans Affairs Civil War-era National Cemeteries, and consultation with the History Program of the Northeast Region. Finally, the treatment chapter was developed based on the findings of the analysis and evaluation, the parameters of the line-item construction project, a treatment workshop with National Park Service staff, and a civic engagement held by the park to gain public input into the proposed rehabilitation project.

Cultural Landscape Report for Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Petersburg National Battlefield, National Park Service

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