Kennecott Mill Town: Cultural Landscape Report, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Dates
Year
2001
Citation
Gilbert, Cathy, White, Paul, and Worthington, Anne, 2001, Kennecott Mill Town: Cultural Landscape Report, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska: NPS Alaska Regional Office NPS Cultural Landscapes Program: Alaska Regional Office, v. 2001, 211 Pages.
Summary
The CLR for the Kennecott mill town is divided into two parts. Part I includes the Site History, Existing Conditions, and the Analysis and Evaluation of cultural landscape characteristics. Part II includes Treatment of the cultural landscape and includes recommendations and a five-year management plan. The CLR is an interdisciplinary document, compiled by historical landscape architects, archeologists, mining historians, historical architects, planners, and natural resource specialists. The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve serve initiated the project in the spring of 1997. In addition to park and regional staff in the Alaska office, project agreements with other NPS offices and contracts with Michigan Technological University [...]
Summary
The CLR for the Kennecott mill town is divided into two parts. Part I includes the Site History, Existing Conditions, and the Analysis and Evaluation of cultural landscape characteristics. Part II includes Treatment of the cultural landscape and includes recommendations and a five-year management plan. The CLR is an interdisciplinary document, compiled by historical landscape architects, archeologists, mining historians, historical architects, planners, and natural resource specialists. The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve serve initiated the project in the spring of 1997. In addition to park and regional staff in the Alaska office, project agreements with other NPS offices and contracts with Michigan Technological University (MTU), and the Wrangell Mountain Center provided topical information on the physical history, vegetation, and archeological resources. The Denver Service Center was contracted to undertake the planning and public processes associated with the Kennecott Interim Management Plan (l999), portions of which are incorporated into Part II of the CLR. Because there is a significant body ofliterature on the history and mining technology associated with operations at Kennecott, no additional historical research was undertaken for this project. Furthermore, the CLR does not address the use of the area by native peoples, prior to or after the historic period. Using both primary and secondary sources from the park and regional fIles, MTU compiled the Site History for the mill town. New work was undertaken to inventory, describe, and assess the condition of historical archeological features, historic structures, and characteristics of the cultural landscape throughout the mill town. This work is contained in the Analysis and Evaluation section of the document. MTU also generated a series of detailed GIS/AutoCAD site maps (computer-generated, geographic information surveys) that illustrate existing conditions, archeological resources, and the historical development of Kennecott. Recommendations and priorities for the treatment of cultural landscape resources in the mill town are based on the landscape characteristics that contribute to the significance of the site. In addition to the treatment recommendations, a proposed action plan is incorporated into the CLR. This plan is excerpted from the Kennecott Interim Management Plan and reflects findings from the CLR, public input, and NPS management objectives for the site. The primary purpose of the interim plan was to address the immediate (five-year) management requirements for the site. The CLR's recommendations support actions in the interim plan, including associated design guidelines, and also I address the long-term stewardship of the mill town.
