Elizabeth HARTNELL
The characteristics of nonprofits, individuals, and government agencies lead them to manage industrial heritage sites differently. Moreover, the role of archaeology in industrial history interpretation varies widely. Two archaeologically explored heavy ordnance facilities in the United States are compared to illustrate the pros and cons of non-profit versus federal management.
The West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, New York and its Southern counterpart the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia both operated for most of the nineteenth century. Their importance during the American Civil War is well recognized and their later demise solidified their archaeological potential. Yet the nonprofit environmental group Scenic Hudson Inc. has adopted a very different approach to using archaeology in its interpretation of the West Point Foundry in comparison to the National Park Service who manages the former Tredegar Iron Works.
Scenic Hudson funded eight seasons of archaeological research into the industrial complex of the West Point Foundry and its adjacent worker housing. The nonprofit has been successful at balancing natural threats with archaeological sensitivity, vandalism and public access, safety and preservation. Moreover, the voice of archaeologists is a primary component driving interpretation plans for the site.
The National Park Service’s bureaucratic approach provides a stable and long-term preservation environment but interpretation often suffers by being drawn to broad, national themes at the expense of site specific history. At “The American Civil War Centre at Historic Tredegar,” the iron works themselves are thinly interpreted, forcing interested visitors to search for information about the industrial facility, products, or importance. Instead, buildings and adjacent ruins direct visitors to Richmond battlefields and interactive museum displays demonstrate the Civil War’s impact. These two extreme examples illustrate management styles associated with different owners and the role archaeological information can play to inform the interpretation of former industrial sites.