Jayne's Bend Archaeological District Mehoopany Township, Wyoming County
Farming has guided Pennsylvania's economic growth and cultural development and has profoundly shaped the lands and people of the Commonwealth. Road improvement activities, new housing construction, and economic development projects together exert enormous pressure on agricultural lands. Every year the Federal Highways Administration, PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Bureau for Historic Preservation (BHP) evaluate thousands of historic agricultural resources as part of the planning process for transportation projects across the state. Deciding which resources merit historic preservation requires high quality accessible information. In the face of sprawl, multiple initiatives across the state seek to protect historic open space, farmland, and natural historic resources. Heritage Tourism and education projects seek reliable information about rural historic resources for planning and interpretation. No such source of information is available now; this project will create one.
What is the Project?
With funding from the Federal Highways Administration, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and PennDOT's Bureau of Design are working with the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) to develop a Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) for Pennsylvania's historic agricultural resources. This MPDF will establish clear and specific guidance on questions of National Register eligibility, defining standards for significance and integrity according to the National Register Criteria and guidelines. The primary beneficiaries of the project will be federal, state and local, and private agencies whose work affects the rural landscape. A comprehensive planning document that addresses the scope and character of Pennsylvania's historic agricultural resources will be a valuable tool that can be used to protect natural and historic resources that comprise Pennsylvania's "farm country."
Aerial View - Farm, Huntington Township, Luzerne County
The Principal Investigator for the project is Sally McMurry, Professor of History, and the Faculty Associate is Cecilia Rusnak, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Pennsylvania State University. Research Assistants are Elizabeth Anderson, Jeremy Ammerman, Brent Biggs, Ann Brinton, Ashley Burchell, Aaron Collins, Andrew Douglas, David Greenspoon, Jessica Kubiske, Benjamin Harvey, John Hoenig, James Lewis, Kevin Lowe, Jitesh Malik, Katherine Maas, Rachel Moran, Timothy Orr, Andrew Prymak, Adam Rogers, Audrey Schwartzberg, Brandelyn Shackelford, Elizabeth Vose, Timothy Wesley, Jason Bedford and William Bryan. Project Managers are Carol Lee, Bureau for Historic Preservation, PHMC, and Kara Russell, Bureau of Design, PennDOT. Staff Consultants are Keith Heinrich, PHMC; Matt Hamel, PennDOT; Joe Baker, PennDOT; David Anthony, PennDOT; Scott Shaffer, PennDOT; Mark Shaffer, PHMC; Jeffrey Decker, PHMC.
The activity that is the subject of this project has been financed in part with funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior. This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to:
Office of Equal Opportunity
National Park Service 1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington , D.C. 20240
