Colonial Revival at the Crossroads Colonial Revival landscapes their significance, challenges and preservation October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia
A Brief Overview of Stratford Hall s History Dating to the late 1730s, the landscape of Stratford Hall, with its classic Georgian Great House, reflects a remarkable example of colonial Virginia architecture and historic plantation activity. The 1900-acre property along the Potomac River encompasses a historic mill site, geologic cliff formations that are seen in only four other places on earth, numerous archeological sites and several examples of Colonial Revival garden design. Stratford Hall s social history is equally striking: it was the site of a large 18th-century tobacco plantation, the home of two signers of the Declaration of Independence (Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee), and the birthplace of Robert E. Lee. Since 1929, the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association (RELMA) has cared for Stratford Hall as a public historic site. Upon acquiring the property, RELMA hired nationally-prominent historians, architects and landscape architects to undertake research with the intent to return the plantation to its former glory. Recent research much of it conducted collaboratively by RELMA professional staff, faculty and students within the University of Georgia s College of Environment and Design (UGA CED), the Stratford Hall Historic Landscape Advisory Panel, and other partners has further revealed how the ethos and spirit of the Colonial Revival period shaped the cultural landscape at Stratford Hall. These insights have also generated a number of difficult questions, however. Which aspects of the landscape s authentic Colonial Revival history if any should be valued, interpreted, conserved and preserved? How important is the site s Colonial Revival history relative to earlier Lee family periods? Similar questions undoubtedly pertain to numerous historic sites across the U.S., and they are among the complicated issues that will be explored in Colonial Revival at the Crossroads. Page 2 Colonial Revival at the Crossroads October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia
Premise of the symposium Between the late 1800s and the 1930s, the Colonial Revival was the premier American garden style. Interest in this topic was particularly influential at historic sites that preserved and celebrated Colonial-era history such as Williamsburg, Carter s Grove, and Stratford Hall. Reflecting the merger of the burgeoning landscape architecture and historic preservation professions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these designed landscapes embodied the ideas and ideals of progressive movements during the era. While not always historically accurate, Colonial Revival landscapes nonetheless have earned their own historical importance through their association with important landscape designers and their reflection of an important period in the history of American culture. Stratford Hall s Colonial Revival legacy dates to 1929, beginning with the reconstruction of the landscape surrounding Thomas Lee s Great House an endeavor that spanned several decades, and employed such prominent designers as Arthur Shurcliff, Morley Jeffers Williams, Alden Hopkins, and the firm of Innocenti & Webel in addition to The Garden Club of Virginia. Many aspects of the Colonial Revival cultural landscape of Stratford Hall survive today in its formal gardens and reconstructed buildings and structures. Recently, Colonial Revival landscapes have received much attention, praise, and criticism from the cultural landscape community. Colonial Revival at the Crossroads will explore aspects of this reassessment, including questions about how to identify, evaluate, interpret, and manage Colonial Revival landscapes. Who should attend? Private and public historic property managers who care for Colonial Revival landscapes Landscape architects who consult on historic gardens and landscapes Gardeners who work with historic plant materials Academics who research and write on the topic of Colonial Revival landscapes All interested individuals What will attendees gain? A clear definition of the term Colonial Revival The context of Colonial Revival landscape design Biographies and works of key Colonial Revival landscape designers Insight into the identification and assessment of Colonial Revival landscape features Robust discussion about the challenges and successes of conserving Colonial Revival landscapes Pragmatic advice on Colonial Revival landscape maintenance and conservation issues Colonial Revival at the Crossroads October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia Page 3
Speakers M. Kent Brinkley, FASLA, is a native Virginian and award- winning landscape architect, lecturer, and author whose professional career with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation spans over two decades. From 1985-2003, Brinkley worked as Colonial Williamsburg s Landscape Architect. He currently works as a Historical Interpreter in the Military Programs department. Brinkley coauthored The Gardens of Colonial Williamsburg with Gordon Chappell. Kent has managed a commercial landscape architectural division for a design-build landscape company, and continues to occasionally serve as a historical landscape architect consultant to various historic sites and museums in the mid-atlantic region. Elizabeth Hope Cushing, Ph.D., is the author of a forthcoming book on Boston landscape architect Arthur A. Shurcliff (1870 1957). For the last twenty years she has been consulting, writing, and lecturing on landscape matters, including cultural landscape reports for private and public institutions including the National Park Service (NPS). Her NPS report on Frederick Law Olmsted and Brookline, Massachusetts, has just been published as a book, Community by Design, written with Keith N. Morgan and Roger Reed. She recently received a grant from the Gill Family Foundation to write a biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Cari Goetcheus is an Associate Professor with the University of Georgia, College of Environment + Design, and Director of the Cultural Landscape Laboratory. Prior to her academic career, Goetcheus worked as a Historical Landscape Architect with the National Park Service in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., and in the private sector with firms known for their cultural landscape work. On a volunteer basis at the national level, Cari was instrumental in developing the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) program and its documentation guidelines. Eric MacDonald, Ph.D., teaches in the landscape architecture and historic preservation programs at the University of Georgia, College of Environment + Design, and participates in the Cultural Landscape Lab. His research focuses on the history of American environmental design during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and on the conservation and stewardship of ecological and cultural systems in landscapes. Kenneth M. McFarland has a B.A. in History from Virginia Commonwealth University and a M.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His interests are wide ranging, but he has focused primarily on architectural and landscape history. He retired in 2010 as Stratford Hall s Director of Education. During a portion of his Stratford tenure, he also served as Director of Preservation and as liaison with The Garden Club of Virginia s Restoration Committee. He helped develop the partnership between Stratford Hall and the University of Georgia CE+D, which led to the creation of today s Cultural Landscape Laboratory at Stratford. Dennis Pogue, Ph.D., has more than 30 years of experience as an archaeologist, museum administrator, and historic preservationist. He is an adjunct associate professor in the historic preservation program at the University of Maryland, and consults on a variety of preservation-related topics with museums, historic sites, and others. He served for 25 years at George Washington s Page 4 Colonial Revival at the Crossroads October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia
Mount Vernon Estate, where he was Vice President for Preservation. His award winning book, Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey Industry, grew out of a 10-year effort that he led to research and reconstruct Washington s whiskey distillery. William D. Rieley has practiced landscape architecture for over 30 years, focusing on the design of parks, natural areas, and roads, as well as on historic preservation. Project sites include Acadia National Park, the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, and the Ozarks National Scenic Riverways. Closer to home in Virginia, his work includes Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Poplar Forest and several area parks, including McIntire, Towe and Walnut Creek. As Landscape Architect for The Garden Club of Virginia, he has worked with its Restoration Committee on many of its historic gardens, among them Stratford Hall. He graduated with an MLA from the University of Virginia where he taught for 20 years. He is a published author, and speaks frequently about historic gardens. Douglas W. Sanford, Ph.D., is a Professor in the University of Mary Washington s Department of Historic Preservation. He has an anthropology undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, a master s degree in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Virginia. His career has focused on Chesapeake region historical archaeology, with primary research interests being the archaeology of the African diaspora in relation to Virginia plantation contexts, and the architecture of slavery. At UMW he teaches classes in archaeology, as well as in introductory historic preservation and cultural resource management. Lucy Lawliss, ASLA, has 23 years experience with the National Park Service focusing on historical parks and cultural landscapes (CL). After 10 years as the Southeast Region CL program lead, she went to Washington, DC, as the national program lead. In 2008, she became superintendent of George Washington Birthplace National Monument and Thomas Stone National Historic Site and is currently superintendent of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park an 8,500 acre landscape park that includes four Civil War battlefields, two nationally significant plantation sites and a nationally significant Civil War-era national cemetery. Ms. Lawliss has a BLA, MLA and certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia. Beate Ankjar-Jensen has a BLS in Historic Preservation from Mary Washington College. She is also a graduate of the Monticello- University of Virginia Historic Landscape Institute and is currently enrolled in the University of South Carolina s Master of Library Science program. Beate is the Site Preservation Manager at the Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont, where she is responsible for preservation and restoration of the gardens, grounds, and buildings. Ms. Ankjaer-Jensen is also a member of the Germanna Community College Horticulture advisory board, the Stratford Hall Historic Landscape Advisory Panel, and Thomas Jefferson s Poplar Forest Historic Landscape Advisory Panel. Colonial Revival at the Crossroads October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia Page 5
Schedule Friday, October 31, 2014 12:00 1:00 pm 1:00 1:20 pm Registration at Stratford Hall s Jessie Ball du Pont Memorial Library Welcome and Overview of the Symposium Session 1: Colonial Revival 101 1:20 2:15 pm 2:15 2:30 pm Session 2: 2:30 3:15 pm 3:15 4:00 pm 4:00 4:15 pm 4:15 5:00 pm 5:00 5:20 pm 6:00 7:00 pm 7:00 8:00 pm Introduction to Colonial Revival William D. Rieley Break Key Figures of the Colonial Revival Arthur Shurcliff, Boston Landscape Architect Elizabeth Hope Cushing The firm of Innocenti & Webel, and Landscape Architect Alden Hopkins M. Kent Brinkley Break Morley Jeffers Williams, Landscape Archeology Dennis Pogue Moderated Closing Reception Dinner in Stratford Hall s Plantation Dining Room Saturday, November 1, 2014 8:00 9:00 am 9:00 9:10 am Session 3: 9:10 10:00 am 10:00 11:15 am 11:15 12:30 pm 12:30 1:00 pm Session 4: 1:00 2:30 pm 2:30 3:30 pm Registration at Stratford Hall s Jessie Ball du Pont Memorial Library Welcome and Overview of the Symposium Colonial Revival and Stratford Hall The Role of Stratford Hall and the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association in the 20th-century Preservation Movement Kenneth M. McFarland Stratford Hall Cultural Landscape and Archeological Research Findings Cari Goetcheus, Eric MacDonald, Doug Sanford Stratford Hall Colonial Revival Landscape Tour Box Lunch Colonial Revival Landscape Preservation Maintenance Issues Maintaining Colonial Revival Landscapes Lucy Lawliss and Beate Ankjar-Jensen Roundtable Discussion and Concluding Remarks Page 6 Colonial Revival at the Crossroads October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia
Colonial Revival at the Crossroads: Colonial Revival landscapes their significance, challenges and preservation October 31 November 1, 2014 Conference Registration Form Name Business Affiliation Address City State Zip Phone Email Ticket Quantity Friday Only ($85 early bird until June 13; $125 after 6.13.14) Saturday Only ($100 early bird until June 13; $135 after 6.13.14) Friday & Saturday ($175 early bird until June 13; $225 after 6.13.14) Student Rate ($85) NOTE: Lodging arrangements shall be made by participants separately from this symposium registration, see further details below. Food Preference No preference I have dietary restrictions: (i.e. food allergies, Vegan, No Gluten, etc.) Payment Preference Personal check (Make check out to RELMA and mail to Jon Bachman at address noted below; check must clear prior to confirmation being mailed) Credit Card (Please circle) VISA MASTERCARD AMEX Credit Card # Name as it appears on card Exp. Date Security Code Zip Code Please email this completed form to: Jon Bachman, Public Events Manager: jbachman@stratfordhall.org If you have any questions, please contact Jon Bachman at Stratford Hall, 483 Great House Road, Stratford, VA 22558, or call 804-493-1972. Upon receipt of your registration form and processing of your payment, a confirmation email will be sent with further details on the conference, so please be sure to complete your contact information above. Lodging Arrangements Lodging arrangements shall be made by participants separately from this symposium registration. Lodging will be at Stratford Hall where standard rooms are $133/night and include a continental breakfast. If Stratford s lodging is full, they have an arrangement with River Edge Inn in Colonial Beach, VA, approximately 15 miles from Stratford Hall. To make lodging reservations at Stratford Hall, contact Lesley Brooks at (804) 493-1966; be sure to mention the name of this symposium for the rate noted above. Colonial Revival at the Crossroads October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia Page 7
Colonial Revival at the Crossroads Colonial Revival landscapes their significance, challenges and preservation October 31 November 1, 2014 Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia Please email the completed registration form to: Jon Bachman, Public Events Manager jbachman@stratfordhall.org If you have any questions, please contact: Jon Bachman at Stratford Hall, 483 Great House Road, Stratford, VA 22558, or call 804-493-1972.