Cultural Landscape Report Camp Misty Mount and Camp Greentop, Catoctin Mountain Park

University of Pennsylvania, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation / PennPraxis; Mason, Randall; Lester, Molly; Torkelson, Jacob; Piana, Max; Sexton, Elizabeth; Yuan Zheng, Joanne

The purpose of the Camp Misty Mount and Camp Greentop (Catoctin Mountain Park) Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) is to help the National Park Service develop an informed and consistent approach to managing change at these two cabin camps in Thurmont, Maryland. This guide builds on previous documentation efforts and offers holistic, coordinated management strategies for each camp. The project began with a kickoff meeting on October 14, 2020, and the final report was presented in 2022. Methodology In keeping with the National Park Service’s best practices and issued guidance for Cultural Landscape Reports, this project was designed according to several different (at times, overlapping) tasks: RESEARCH Using primary and secondary sources, our team conducted research to understand the physical history of each cabin camp, and the contextual history that informed their creation and evolution. Key repositories and archives included: Catoctin Mountain Park archives; National Park Service regional records; existing documentation (including recent cultural landscape studies for the camps and the broader park); administrative histories; social histories and ethnographic studies; etc. The project team also reviewed existing GIS data available from the park and the National Capital Regional Office (NCRO). Based on this intensive research, the team prepared a chronology and physical history to document the extended evolution of each camp. DETERMINATION OF PERIODS OF SIGNIFICANCE Using the physical history and prior documentation as a guide, we determined a period of significance for each camp: Camp Misty Mount, 1937-1969, and Camp Greentop, 1938-1969. (Refer to the Statement of Significance for explanations of these periods.) FIELDWORK AND DATA COLLECTION The team conducted fieldwork and site visits throughout the project. An initial site visit with park and regional staff took place in January 2021. Indepth fieldwork to document existing conditions and geolocate extant features took place primarily between January 2021 and June 2021. (In late 2020 and early 2021, there were some fieldwork constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) Researchers collected and recorded GIS data based on the documentation gaps identified in the research. The team identified, photographed, and recorded characteristic landscape features that date to, or postdate, the period of significance at each camp. MAPPING Maps for this CLR were produced following NCRO’s contemporary GIS standards. (Note: The standards have changed since this project’s mapping products were prepared.) Base data was derived from CATO GIS and resource management files, as well as from Frederick County and the National Capital Region Office (NCRO), NPS. Our team then collected missing data in the field, including some small-scale features and circulation features. This data was then edited in ArcPro and exported to Adobe Illustrator for graphics and final production. Field data was collected using the ESRI Field Maps app on an iPhone (as no GNSS unit was available for data collection). The accuracy of this data ranged from 2-20+ meters. Due to this range, the accuracy of points was carefully verified using detailed field notes and existing HABS documentation; these points were then edited accordingly in ArcPro to fix any accuracy errors. All working files, both GIS and Adobe, were transferred with this CLR to CATO and NCRO. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION Based on our understanding of the cabin camps, compiled through research, fieldwork, and mapping, our team evaluated the current conditions and integrity of these features. This feature-by feature assessment, contextualized within a larger study of each applicable landscape characteristic, comprises the Analysis & Evaluation section of the CLR. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT We recognize that these cabin camps serve a larger public of stakeholders, including camp users and complementary site managers. We conducted several (virtual) interviews in January and February 2022, with the objective of learning their perceptions of the camps’ physical features and their perspectives on the camps’ management challenges. These interviews informed our treatment recommendations. TREATMENT WORKSHOPS Our team consulted with National Park Service staff throughout the project, including members of the National Capital Regional Office and the Catoctin Mountain Park administration. Most intensively, our team convened a treatment workshop on November 15, 2021, to present our findings-to-date and our preliminary treatment priorities. TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the feedback received at the treatment workshop, and all other phases of work, our team prepared treatment recommendations for each cabin camp. Most of these recommendations are organized by—and applicable to—specific treatment zones, with additional recommendations that are generalized for each camp.

Cultural Landscape Report Camp Misty Mount and Camp Greentop, Catoctin Mountain Park

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