Grand Portage National Monument: Cultural Landscape Report, Grand Portage National Monument, National Park Service

Bahr Vermeer Haecker, Contractor; John Milner, Contractor

Grand Portage National Monument preserves and commemorates a vital center of eighteenth-century fur trading activities and interprets the heritage and lifeways of the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) people. To assess and enhance the integrity of the park’s historic landscape, the National Park Service engaged Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects (BVH) of Lincoln, Nebraska, in association with John Milner Associates (JMA) of Charlottesville, Virginia, to prepare a Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for Grand Portage National Monument. Base Mapping Methodology The National Park Service provided JMA with extensive Geographic Information System (GIS) data for use in preparing project mapping. Additional GIS data was downloaded from the Minnesota Division of Natural Resources website. CLR project maps were then produced in AutoCAD from converted GIS data updated with information derived from field observations. These maps served as the basis for the report’s existing conditions maps, historic period plans, analysis diagrams, and treatment plan maps. Field Investigation Methodology Field investigations focused primarily on those portions of the site not previously documented as part of the 2005 CLI, such as the upper portage and Fort Charlotte. The CLR team also conducted a re-photographic analysis of the landscape by recreating the views of historic photographs. Research and Site Physical History Documentation Methodology The CLR site physical history was a collaborative effort between National Park Service Historical Landscape Architect Marla McEnaney and JMA Landscape Historian Jacky Taylor. In the collaboration, McEnaney prepared summary site history information for each of the historic periods identified by the CLR team, while Taylor contributed new findings derived from the research investigations. To supplement information available about the ethnobotanical uses of various local plants, such as Jennifer Kuzara’s 2001 “The Ethnographic Significance of Grand Portage Plants,” the CLR team prepared a list of questions to be used in conducting interviews with local Grand Portage Band members. Existing Conditions Documentation Methodology In accordance with the scope of work for the project, the existing conditions documentation portion of this study relied as much as possible on the information conveyed in Birk’s National Register of Historic Places nomination and Burt’s CLI. The documentation includes cross-referenced narrative, graphic, and photographic information organized in accordance with the framework established in National Register Bulletin 30: Guidelines for Documenting and Evaluating Rural Historic Landscapes Significance Evaluation Methodology Grand Portage National Monument is currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The 2005 National Register nomination is detailed and thorough, and the CLR generally concurs with its conclusions. The research and documentation conducted as part of this CLR was considered in conjunction with National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation and the state of Minnesota’s historic contexts to identify potential additional areas, contexts, and periods of significance. Site Analysis Methodology To better understand the relationship between the existing park landscape and the character of the landscape during the identified periods of significance, the CLR team prepared a comparative analysis of historic and existing landscape conditions. The analysis focused on extant features and their dates of origin. Treatment Plan The park’s 2003 General Management Plan served as the basis for the treatment approach conveyed in the CLR treatment plan.

Grand Portage National Monument: Cultural Landscape Report, Grand Portage National Monument, National Park Service

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