Washington's Headquarters: Cultural Landscape Report, Morristown National Historical Park, National Park Service

Stevens, Christopher

The preparation of the following cultural landscape report (CLR) was timed to contribute to a planning effort that will guide decision-making at Morristown National Historical Park over the next twenty years. The 2000-2003 planning process, known within the National Park Service (NPS) as general management planning, effectively replaced the park’s General Management Plan (GMP) which had not been updated since 1976. Preparation of this CLR for the park’s Washington’s Headquarters Unit ensured that cultural landscape resources were considered during the process, and the report presents a component of the information on which the conclusions of the GMP were drawn. Besides informing the GMP process, a CLR typically serves important roles both as a synthesis and a storehouse of information related to a landscape’s evolution over time, and as the agency’s principle landscape treatment document. CLRs serve as a primary tool for long-term landscape management. Because of issues related to funding and scheduling, cultural landscape reports are accomplished in phases. These are generally broken down into three manageable segments. Part 1 – Site History, Existing Conditions, and Analysis and Evaluation Part 2- Landscape Treatment Recommendations/Treatment Plan Part 3 – Record of Landscape Treatment The following report, Part 1 of the CLR, presents a chronological site history of the property and its existing conditions in 2002 with both narrative text and illustrations. The Landscape Analysis chapter evaluates the significance and integrity using the terms and definitions of the National Register of Historic Places program. This report is a combination of original research and synthesis of previous research and management documents. Long-term park staff members have guided the project, and the park’s extensive archival collection has been tapped. The narrative landscape summary, synthesized from the archive’s collection of documents, photographs, and plans, is the heart of this report. Period Plans are a typical element of a CLR. These graphic plans are used to record landscape features present during a designated period or specific date. Period plans are generally developed from analysis and evaluation of all research findings, including maps, photographs, narrative sources, and site visits. For this project, period plans have been developed for 1900 and 1942, representative years for which there was adequate information. There is not enough information to create period plans for any of the Ford family tenures or for the time of General Washington’s encampment. A third plan has also been developed to depict existing conditions in2002.

Washington's Headquarters: Cultural Landscape Report, Morristown National Historical Park, National Park Service

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