1 Foreword 2 Preface 3 Harpers Ferry and Its Place in History 4 Remembering Harpers Ferry 5 The Local Campaign for a National Monument 6 Local Residents and the National Park Service 7 Harper House and the Women's Clubs of West Virginia 8 John Brown: Devil, Hero, Terrorist, and Abolitionist 9 Civil War Commemoration and Preservation 10 Industry, Archaeology, and a Working-Class History 11 Making African-American History Prominent at Harpers Ferry 12 Time Freezing: Harpers Ferry and Its Place in Time 13 Lessons Learned - Or Not - at Harpers Ferry
Teresa S. Moyer is a research assistant in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she received her MAA in 2002. She is currently a PhD candidate in American studies. Paul A. Shackel is professor of anthropology at the University of Maryland at College Park and director of the Center for Heritage Resource Studies. Previously, he was employed as an archaeologist at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
One of the finest park histories that I’ve read—thoughtful,
original, fluidly written, meticulously researched. By juxtaposing
three intertwined stories—history, archaeology, and
interpretation—Moyer and Shackel explain how the quest for
historical authenticity can give way to the creation of a
fantastical parkscape. A superb case study on how 'history makes
itself' and a model for future park histories.
*R. Bruce Craig, former executive director, National Coalition for
History*
More than just a meticulously researched account of the creation of
an iconic American park, the authors present a human story of
contested meanings, good intentions, and power politics. Why did
the National Park Service demolish most of the 19th-century
architecture in Harpers Ferry? Who claimed that John Brown was a
lunatic? And why was one of the first of the park's historians
relegated to cleaning restrooms? Read on.
*Adrian Praetzellis, professor of anthropology, Sonoma State
University; author of Dug to Death*
This is the kind of thoughtful and provoking study of shifting
policy and practice that every historic site needs. Moyer and
Shackel have probed beneath the surface to analyze the changing
treatment and presentation over time of a complex historic place at
the confluence of two majestic rivers where events occurred that
propelled Americans toward the Civil War.
*Richard West Sellars, author of Preserving Nature in the National
Parks: A History*
How is history preserved, presented, and commemorated? In this
book, Moyer and Shackel give us rare insight into the process of
how a national park gets made. In the process we learn how the
conflicting goals and differing perceptions of various stakeholders
can cause the past to be changed over time. This is a superb
example of multidisciplinary research at its finest, told with
conviction and feeling. It's destined to become a standard text in
classroom and field, and hopefully also in the halls of power.
Those of us concerned about our vanishing cultural heritage need
more books like this one.
*Charles E. Orser Jr., Vanderbilt University*
Teresa S. Moyer and Paul A. Shackel help us analyze the historical
reality of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park through their
careful examination of the National Park Service's restoration and
interpretation of this historically important place. In so doing,
they emphasize two topics shared by most historic sites:
restoration philosophy and multiple histories.
*Dwight Pitcaithley*
Harpers Ferry is, to my mind, one of the most compelling historic
sites in the nation. There are so many histories living in layer
after layer of this place. Teresa S. Moyer and Paul A. Shackel
excavate them in all their exquisite complexity, offering a model
biography of a historic site.
*Edward T. Linenthal, editor, Journal of American
History*
A lovingly told story....The book is useful because it tells
several neglected stories....A fine study.
*H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online, April
2008*
Moyer and Shackel skillfully uncover the site's many layers and
illuminate both its strengths and limitations as a window on the
past and as a canvas for changing NPS initiatives.
*Journal of Southern History, November 2008*
The Making of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is a
fascinating book that is fully engaged with the present. The
'making' in the title highlights the importance of the recent past,
present, and even the future in the author's perspectives. Moyer
and Shackel have created a useable past by discussing the
shortcomings of preservation and interpretation at the park . . .
This book should be required reading for all cultural resource
management professionals.
*Material Culture*
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