Cultural Landscape Report and Environmental Assessment for Theodore Roosevelt Island, George Washington Memorial Parkway.

Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc.

Theodore Roosevelt Island is located in the Potomac River between Georgetown in Washington, DC and Rosslyn in Arlington County, Virginia. People have used this landscape with its high plateau, river, and woodlands for thousands of years. American Indian peoples utilized the island extensively as a fishing and agricultural hub until about 1717. The landscape gained historical prominence in the 18th century under the ownership of the Mason family, who established a ferry route from the island to Georgetown and later developed the land as a plantation. During the Civil War, the island supported a variety of Union Army functions. A camp was established there and, for a short period in the summer of 1863, it housed the 1st United States Colored Troops, a regiment composed of free and formerly enslaved black men. The island was purchased by the Roosevelt Memorial Association in 1931 and transferred to the federal government the following year with the intention of creating a presidential memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. The landscape was transformed from 1932 to 1938 by the establishment of a native hardwood planting plan designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and his associate, Henry V. Hubbard. In 1967, the memorial plaza on the island, designed by architect Eric Gugler and sculptor Paul Manship, was completed. Theodore Roosevelt Island is significant primarily as a national memorial to President Theodore Roosevelt, perpetuating the memory of Theodore Roosevelt for the benefit of the people of the United States of America and of the world, including his devotion to the conservation of America’s natural resources. TR Island is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). While the primary significance of TR Island is as a memorial to President Theodore Roosevelt, the Historic Periods of Significance for TR Island are defined as: American Indian Period (unknown to 1717, Mason Settlement (1748-1833), Civil War Occupation (1861-1865), and Presidential Memorial (1931-1979). However, it also represents several other historic themes spanning centuries: the American Indian use of the landscape; the Mason family development of the site for residential, agricultural, and transportation purposes; and Civil War-era use and its connection with African American history. This combined Cultural Landscape Report and Environmental Assessment recommends rehabilitation for the Theodore Roosevelt Island landscape. The rehabilitation approach provides a framework for the treatment of the landscape that preserves historic resources in their multilayered context. The Environmental Assessment is prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing regulations (40CFR1500-1508) and Director’s Order 12: Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis, and Decision Making (NPS 2011) and its accompanying handbook (NPS 2015). Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act will be a separate, but parallel, process for this project. An Assessment of Effects report will be prepared to meet the requirements under Section 106. While the landscape conditions at Theodore Roosevelt Island strongly evoke the site’s memorial character, the report also recommends enhanced interpretation of the earlier historic themes. Treatment focuses on the protection of important prehistoric and historic resources and enhanced accessibility for the landscape so that visitors may continue to enjoy this unique cultural landscape.

Cultural Landscape Report and Environmental Assessment for Theodore Roosevelt Island, George Washington Memorial Parkway.

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