Mount Vernon Essay Example

and protect for future appreciation, certain sites of an historical importance, but have also enacted laws in order to save for posterity as well as setting a precedent, of government involvement and funding towards these most worth while projects.

The modern idea of historic preservation began in 1853 with the restoration of Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington while he was President and in the years after.Since Washington’s death in 1799, the house had fallen into disrepair. “The Mount Vernon Ladies Association and its leader Ann Pamela Cunningham were formed and efforts were started to help save this most important historical site from the raves of time. ” In 1853, very little of what remained at the home was formerly the possession of Washington.

Not only was the house brought back to its original condition, but many of the relics that had left Mount Vernon in years past, were returned.Ever since then, not only has the Mount Vernon Ladies Association brought Mount Vernon back to its original splendor, the efforts helped to spread across the country, the need for preserving aspects of this country’s past, that once, lost, is many times lost forever. The national attention that the saving of Mount Vernon brought also propelled other efforts at historical preservation in the 19th century. “In 1878, Mrs.

William Holstein, made efforts to save Valley Forge, another important aspect of colonial American history.She helped raise money for the cause and within a short time; Valley Forge had also been brought back from the brink of extinction. ” In 1888, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, wife of the former President’s grandson, also wrote to the Mount Vernon Ladies

Association in order to obtain advice about the preservation of The Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson. The Mount Vernon Ladies Association continued to be the force for historical preservation during the latter half of the 19th century.In his book Presence of the Past, the author, Charles Hosemer, talked about the associations influence; “the Mount Vernon movement influenced preservation for years to come.

From the ranks of the younger lady managers of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association were the future leaders or parents of the leaders of the great waves of patriotic associations in the 1890s. ”The effect of Mount Vernon can hardly be overestimated for almost every early preservation group had some contact with the Ladies’ Association. Due to the fact that the Ladies’ Association had been the first as well as the most influential, they preserved for themselves, a high level of respect, the influence of the Ladies Association began to spread. Not only was it the responsibility of the association to preserve homes that were valued as historical, but also whole districts as well as being able to document the claims that made one house more historically relevant over another.

The need that the country felt for historical preservation greatly increased in the immediate decades after the Civil War. At this time, not only were there private societies that were responsible for the upkeep of historical homes but it was a time in which the federal government became involved in the work as well. “Following the tradition set by Mount Vernon, private historical preservation projects in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries generally centered on saving landmarks that were important

to American history. At this time, the federal government’s involvement centered on mostly American battlefields or natural areas such as Yellowstone National Park.

One of the most important battlefields that were saved at this time, and which to this day, receives a great deal of visitors to its grounds is the Civil War Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On July 1-3 1863, the largest battle within the Western Hemisphere took place when over 150,000 soldiers from both the Northern and Southern forces came together in battle.The South would lose over 27,000 men and would never reach that far north for the rest of the war. The North would lose over 23,000 men as the casualties of over 50,000 made the battle much deadlier and with much more importance than any other battle seen in American history. In the late 1880s and 1890s, veterans affairs and historical preservation associations helped to preserve aspects of the entire battlefield with monuments within Little Round Top, Big Round Top and The Devil’s Den.

The place where President Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address is sectioned off as well as the hotel where he stayed the night before and made his final touches to his speech. Such care is given to that hotel and to that room, it is sectioned off and one may only look at it from a far in order to see the exact condition in which the room was when, on that most important night, President Lincoln tried to put into words, what the country was experiencing.Gettysburg would only be one of more than a dozen famous battlefields that were saved from the ravages of time in order

that future generations could more appreciate the historical importance of a specific event in our nation’s history. Concerning the involvement of the federal government’s involvement in historical preservation, a milestone came in 1906 with the Antiquities Act of 1906. “This law provided protection for federally owned historic sites and set many standards for their administration.The Antiquities Act still stands today and has remained largely unchanged, though it has been broadly interpreted to include areas of all sizes with a diverse array of cultural and scientific features.

” Ten years after the Antiquities Act of 1916, the National Park Service was established to manage federal sites. This agency continued in the mission of preserving the “cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations. This helped to come about through the efforts of Theodore Roosevelt who saw that not only the preservation of specific historic districts and building was important but that so too was the natural resources and that the advances of man made these resources more finite than previously though. The field of historic preservation can be split up into two major categories: federal and the private sector. The latter was not better seen than in the attempts to bring back to its original condition, colonial Williamsburg.

In 1923, Mr. Goodwin began a campaign to restore the town.A major source for understanding of the American Revolution, Williamsburg lost much of its visitors when the capital of Virginia was moved to Richmond. But as is the case with most private attempts to restore an entire town, the issue of money was at the forefront

of the impediments that prevented this from actually coming to fruition. This problem would be alleviated when Mr.

Goodwin, at a meeting of the Phi Beta Kappa Society meeting in New York City, happen to meet the riches man in the history of America, John D. Rockefeller, who in 1920, “had an estimated fortune worth more than $12 billion.The money was secured and Williamsburg, VA now attracts many of the visitors to colonial American sites in this country. It was also in the 1929, that an entire town was restored to its original splendor. Henry Ford, a great admirer of Thomas Edison, the most famous American inventor, sought to preserve the laboratory and as many of the artifacts from Edison as possible.

As a result, his old laboratory which resided in Ohio and New Jersey was moved to Dearborn Michigan, piece by piece and later assembled as it would have been during the years of Edison’s most important inventions.The chair that Edison sat in has been nailed to the ground, the last person ever to sit in the chair and in the exact position that Edison left it when he helped to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his invention of the light bulb. Thomas Edison would die only two years later but he was able to see, through the influence that historical preservation and the idea that such accomplishments were and are important to American history and ought to be preserved, what he was able to give to the country.After the successful restoration of Williamsburg and Edison’s laboratory, the creating of historic districts was becoming as successful as the single efforts of a handful of

people on only one specific home or building. Some of these first historical districts were Charleston, South Carolina in 1931, New Orleans in 1936 and Alexandria Virginia in 1946 for if one wanted to visit the latter, would then before transformed to another time in history.

The pebble roads and the old fashioned street lamps, accompanied by the old Victorian and Civil War homes, made a visitor come to believe that in our fast paced environment, some things were still viewed as having a lasting worth and was deemed necessary to save. “Designing an area as a historic district generally includes the establishment of zoning ordinances and an architectural review board, which reviews proposed changes to the exteriors of the structures. This always faces resistance from business owners and others within the construction business who see these laws as impediments to their business.For example, in the New Orleans historical district, one law is on the book which relates to the size and style of the signs that merchants may want to exhibit which would advertise their store and services: “The scale and design of any sign should be compatible with the buildings and environment with which it is related.

The materials, style and patterns used in any sign should be compatible with the buildings and environment with which it is related. Despite the impediments that such ordinances give to the minority, its preservation is still seen as vital to the fabric and appreciation that contemporary society has for history. As a result, there are more than 12,000 historical districts in the country that are found on the National Register of Historic Places. The first state wide

historic preservation group was the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

This group was formed in 1889 and was responsible for reflecting a broader focus on statewide preservation.The APVA owns historic buildings all across the state including historic Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America as well as Cape Henry Lighthouse, one of the first public works of the United States. The upkeep of Williamsburg is also on their list of priorities. One of the current projects of the APVA is the restoration of six historic landmarks.

These would include Mary Washington’s house as well as Beacon Castle, which is the oldest brick residence in the state and perhaps even in the country.This is to show that historic preservation is not only important on a country wide level by also, each state deems what they feel to be important to their own history and sense of accomplishment over the years. The state of Georgia continues to lead the country in the preservation of their state’s history through the renovation of some of their most important sites. What helped to make this possible for each state was the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.In the long history of historical preservation and the increased involvement of the state and federal levels, this Preservation Act serves as one of the most important and far reaching within historical preservation. The Act “expanded in a new direction that eventually led to today’s multifaceted preservation program.

” The Act resembled the state and country’s desire, not only to preserve single buildings but also historic districts and especially in the South, aspects of their state’s history which did not

present the best light on the actions of one’ ancestors.The preservation of plantations within Georgia, serve the architectural history of the time but also the negative mark that the institution of slavery put not only on the region, but on the country as a whole for allowing to continue for as long as it did. In America’s highly exposable society, it is very easy for America’s young generation as well as older generations, to easily glance over not only a disfavor able period in our nation’s history but also a period that happened so long age.In a day and age when more young adults can name characters in the Harry Potter books than the members of the Supreme Court Justice or even what century the Civil War took place, it is not only important but absolutely essential that the preservation of former slave plantations, with its controversial history and the ability to incite pent up frustrations about this country’s past, that such land be forever preserved. At least the state of Georgia feels this is so.

In 1980, two key pieces of legislation helped to stimulate the growth of Georgia’ Preservation efforts.The Georgia Preservation Act, passed through the advocacy efforts of the growing body of interested and active citizens, provided the authority for local historic preservation commissions. ” Within the next twenty years, the state would see the rise of eighty seven such commissions as the ability and influence of this preservation society’s expanded in influence as well as financial ability. In 1992, Congress passed a bill which aided in the funding for historic resources associated with transportation routes and facilities.The restoring of railroad depots,

historic downtowns as well as the new creation of bikes trails and walkways throughout the state so that these sites may be not only being preserved but its citizens are given easier access to enjoy them.

“Historic preservation offered a way to reconnect people with their past through the rebuilding of their damages resources.... Georgia’s preservation system, like that of the nation’s, may not be neatly structured and obvious.

It is however, built on an extensive, strong network of public state and local programs complemented by continually growing state and local non profit organizations.The nation’s history should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development. ” This is the promise of states like Georgia and Virginia as they move deeper into a new century and all of the technological advances that the ones once residing in these structures would have been unable to fathom, yet what is valued: history and the preservation of what is deemed important to that history, will continue to be protected from the damage that not only natural disasters and can bring but also from an apathetic public that believes that nothing of value or importance ever occurred before either they or their parents were born.Sadly, this is the prevailing attitude in many aspects of the country and especially, within a large percentage of the younger generation. For those reasons, federal, state, local as well as the private sector, have deemed it necessary for the time, money and effort necessary be exerted in order to preserve what is important to the historical make up of that particular town or state. But these districts and towns of historical

importance are not only found in the big or famous cities but in the small towns all across the country.

One example of this came be seen in Coles County, Illinois.The most important town within this country is the town of Charleston, Illinois. “The city of Charleston, Illinois resides 200 miles south of Chicago and has a population of 21,000 of which 11,000 are college students. ” Charleston is one of seven towns in Illinois that hosted the Lincoln Douglas Debates of 1858 and it was an area that Lincoln had passed through on more than one occasion.

The fairgrounds where the debate took place has been sectioned off as well as the exact spot where Abraham Lincoln stood as he gave his responses to Douglas’s inquiry into whether or not slavery should be allowed to spread into the newly former territories.Not only are the fairgrounds protected by pres4ervation laws but also a few miles outside of town, in the country where only a few homes are within sight, is the location of the Moore Home; Lincoln’s half sister. The home is not occupied but rather preserved as it was when it was occupied by Lincoln’s half sister in order than people may be able to look and experience for themselves, what life might have been like during that time. To a greater degree, is Lincoln Log Cabin, which is an entire settlement, made to look, sound and feel as like was in the 1840’s when Abraham Lincoln spent most of his time there.

The settlement is made up of farms, livestock, a dozen authentic log cabin homes as well as a visitor center where some

Lincoln artifacts are on display. The settlement is financed by the Charleston Historical District and within a year’s time, thousands of individuals and school field trips from all around the area, come to visit. Another example within Coles County is the cemetery where Lincoln’s father is buried and is one of the last stops Lincoln made before traveling to Washington D. C.

to being his presidency.Shiloh Church, eight miles outside of Charleston and is surrounded only by farm land and a dairy farm across the street, has been historically preserved. The tombstone of Thomas Lincoln is surrounded by an old black steel gate and fence and a sign can be seen on the front of the cemetery lawns, describing the importance of the area to Lincoln. The church, having been more than 150 years old, would have easily fallen down had it not been for the forethought and attention given to it by the townspeople as well as from the state as Charleston Illinois was recently declared a historic city by the governor of Illinois.And one last site in Cole County which has been deemed worthy of preservation is what is called the Five Miles House. This house never could boast of any famous residence or the location in which a famous speech, important to the country was given.

It is called the five miles house because it resides exactly five miles from the outskirts of town. The house serves as the oldest house in Coles County, dating back to the 1830s. The house is not imposing at all. “It is less than a thousand square feet and lacks all of the basic necessities that

all houses have today.

Nevertheless, the house has been preserved by the Coles County Historical Society for the reason of keeping a lasting testimony, not to a single individual, but to the pioneer men and women who forged out a tough existence in order to create a permanent homestead in the area that would eventually become a town where a large majority of its residences, find to be a very safe and comfortable town, rich with tradition and excited about its growth and future.Many people outside of Central Illinois may never have heard of Coles County and the importance that it has on the historical fabric of the area but it is not always the case that a building or a district needs to be known to the entire country before it can be deemed worthy of saving. In this regard, the private sector is essential to the historic preservation of this country’s important buildings.But it is not only single buildings that are only worthy of being preserved for its historical importance but anytime a person brings back from the brink of extinction, an old car, book, or piece of furniture, that has fallen into disrepair and is in danger of being lost forever, they too are contributing to the historic preservation of this country. And with an increase in attention that is being given to this nation’s historical sites and the need to preserve them for future attention and appreciation, there is most likely a project that requires the attention of the town.Historical preservation, as previously seen, does not only mean the names and sites that is known to the world but also the

Victorian house down the street that is in danger of being demolished or the antique car, once responsible for driving a family across the desert plains during the Great Depression for the riches of California, and is at risk of being lost forever, also requires the attention of a caring contemporary public.

Not only does the famous battlefields of the Civil War require constant attention in order to keep them safe and in their original condition but also the preservation of the importance of that time in history.The preservation of important buildings and whole towns and districts has a rich history but also is important when one is able to experience in person, the buildings and places that they only read about. Being able to walk through the same hallways that Abraham Lincoln did while living in Springfield or standing in the exact spot within the laboratory where Thomas Edison invented the light bulb or dozens of other important inventions that people use on a daily basis, contributes a great deal in keeping history alive. But as it is the case with endangered animals, once they are lost, they are lost forever.Replications do not carry 1/10th of the fascination that the original building of an historical importance can bring to an inquiring mind.

The history of historical preservation possesses not only a rich and exciting history but also an important one as well. The preservation of this country’s most valuable sites, valuable to the country, the state, the local level, or within a neighborhood, directly aids in the appreciation of the sacrifices that others have made, the mistakes that can be avoided and the successes

than can now more easily be repeated.