Camp Greentop: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Catoctin Mountain Park, National Park Service
Stromberg J. 2015. Camp Greentop: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Catoctin Mountain Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 600103. NPS National Capital Region. National Capital Regional Office/ CLI Database
Camp Greentop is a 52‑acre planned organized camp site in the central and slightly west part of Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO) in the mountains on the western edge of Maryland’s Piedmont region, near the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. Camp Greentop is situated on a flat central plateau located between the merging of two mountains: South Mountain to the west and Catoctin Mountain to the east. The town of Thurmont is at the eastern foot of the mountain; the closest city is Frederick, Maryland, 15 miles to the south; and the cities of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., are within a 50‑mile radius of the park. Catoctin Mountain Park preserves about 6,000‑acres of eastern deciduous forest, mountain‑terrain, and portions of Owens and Hunting Creeks. The landscape is characterized by eastern deciduous forest, steep slopes, and undulating topography. The Camp Greentop landscape is significant as part of Catoctin Mountain Park, and also as a contributing resource within a multiple property nomination under the theme of “Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Architecture at Catoctin Mountain Park” (1989). Camp Greentop is also listed as a historic district (1989), and most recently, as a contributing resource within the Catoctin Mountain Park National Register Nomination (2014). Camp Greentop is a component landscape of the larger Catoctin Mountain Park landscape and as such contributes to this larger cultural (parent) landscape. The Camp Greentop landscape derives national and state significance under Criterion A in the areas of entertainment/recreation, and social history; and state significance under Criterion C in the areas of architecture and landscape architecture. In the area of entertainment/recreation, Camp Greentop is significant as a major element in the Catoctin RDA’s plan for the development of a group camp specifically for the MLCC and inner‑city children with disabilities. In the area of social history, the Camp Greentop landscape is significant as a main component in New Deal‑era park planning efforts that reflect social and economic goals of the recovery programs of the 1930s, which included RDAs. In the area of architecture, the Camp Greentop landscape is significant for containing distinct New Deal‑era rustic architecture of the 1930s. The Camp Greentop landscape is also significant in the area of landscape architecture as a contributing element within the park laid out by the National Park Service using New Deal‑era design and layout principles. This CLI proposes a period of significance for Camp Greentop: 1935 to 1948. The dates encompass the initial RDA efforts, including the planning and design of the landscape, the duration of the camp open to the public, the camp’s war contributions, ending in 1948, the year the last of the New Deal‑era features was completed following the reopening of the camp to the public.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Stromberg, Jennifer
- Date of Issue
- 2015-10-16
- Publisher
- NPS National Capital Region
- Units
- CATO , NCR
- Keywords
- Agricultural Field, Camp 2, Camp 2-A/ 2-C, Camp 2-C, Camp Greentop, Campground/ Picnic Area, Defense, Expressing Cultural Values, Extractive Facility Mining, Historic Designed Landscape, Historic Site, Historic Vernacular Landscape, Industrial/ Processing/ Extraction, Military Facility, Organized Group Camp 2-A/ 2-C, Outdoor Recreation, Recreation/ Culture