Reintegrating Public History and Environmental Education: Preservation and Interpretation of an Architectural Ruin at Java Plantation, Edgewater, Maryland
Abstract
The mansion ruin at Java Plantation in Edgewater, Maryland, has deteriorated
significantly since its abandonment as a dwelling in 1923. Located on a hilltop
overlooking the Rhode River, a Chesapeake Bay tributary, the remains of a five-part
Georgian mansion are anchored by a landscape that retains the rural character of its
agricultural past. On-going archaeological investigation, along with recent transition
from private control to ownership by the neighboring Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center, makes the Java Plantation site unique among historic resources.
This study provides an argument justifying the expenditure of financial and
human resources for stabilization of the Java Plantation ruins based on an
interpretation plan that partners public history with environmental education
objectives. In addition, this investigation offers the field of preservation an example
of how stabilized ruins may function as features on the landscape where heritage
preservation and environmental conservations interests intersect in literal and
symbolic ways.
Notes
This document has had referenced material removed in respect for the owner's copyright. A complete version of this document, which includes said referenced material, resides in the University of Maryland, College Park's library collection.
Final project submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Historic Preservation, 2008."/ "HISP 700 Spring 2008"--Cover./ Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-117).