Cultural Landscape Report: Julian Price Memorial Park

The Jaeger Company

The purpose of this Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for Julian Price Memorial Park is to provide the Blue Ridge Parkway with a planning document that supports informed decisions for preservation and/or rehabilitation of Julian Price Memorial Park’s landscape to a more historically accurate representation of the period setting. Increased visitor use, age, environmental stresses, and other factors are serious threats to the continued preservation of the Parkway’s significant cultural resources. As stated in the National Park Service (NPS) Statement of Work, “the CLR will, (1) describe the historical development of the campground, picnic area, Price Lake, and hiking trails around the lake at Julian Price Memorial Park; (2) document the existing site conditions; (3) provide analysis of the landscape’s potential National Register significance; (4) identify the site’s character defining features; (5) determine an appropriate treatment strategy, and (6) develop treatment recommendations that facilitate preservation of these resources, address park management concerns, and inform the imminent development at Price Park.” Development of Price Park was completed 1964. As Price Park approaches fifty years of age since completion, the National Park Service’s Southeast Regional Office has recognized the importance of the historic resources contained within Price Park and the need for their protection. It is typical to begin preservation efforts within a decade prior to the resource becoming eligible for the National Register, particularly if planned improvements are imminent. Such is the case with Price Park. As stated in the NPS Statement of Work, the Parkway is “currently undertaking a rehabilitation of the campground and picnic area loop roads in the Julian Price Memorial Park, a recreational area south of Blowing Rock in Watauga County, North Carolina, extending from MP 295.8 to 298.6. A larger rehabilitation project for the area is scheduled for implementation in subsequent years.” To date there has been no comprehensive survey and analysis of the Price Park cultural landscape as has been completed for other Parkway sites and associated resources. Uninformed development at Price Park may threaten the historic character of this cultural landscape. The CLR will ultimately provide documentation, analysis, and treatment recommendations to guide management decisions within Price Park.

Cultural Landscape Report: Julian Price Memorial Park

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