Preserving Cultural Landscapes in Palm Beach County, Florida
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2008
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MA in Historic Preservation
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To view a complete copy of this thesis please contact Goucher College Special Collections & Archives at archives@goucher.edu or (410) 337-6075.
Abstract
The power of place is inherent in our cultural landscapes. The connection of their historic meaning motivates people to preserve them. This study examines cultural landscapes, their complex characteristics, and the historic preservation strategies and methods that can best preserve them in Palm Beach County, Florida. Following a discussion of cultural landscapes, a matrix of cultural landscapes in Palm Beach County is constructed to illustrate and define types and characteristics of cultural landscapes. A review of Palm Beach County’s history and cultural events in relation to its landscapes is presented. The rationale supporting preservation of cultural landscapes is addressed, as are the strategies and methods that make preservation materialize. An investigation of two cultural landscapes in Palm Beach County, including their historic context and significance, illustrates the complexity of preserving cultural landscapes and identifies successful and unsuccessful preservation strategies and methods. The case study of the Loxahatchee River and Environs presents an excellent example of the whole being greater than the parts, and how preservation of a cultural landscape can create partnerships to optimize benefits to Palm Beach County. This cultural landscape includes remnants of the earliest settlers in Florida including Native American villages and early pioneer settlements. It also contains the Loxahatchee Battlefield, where the Battle of the Loxahatchee occurred during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) over the banks of the Loxahatchee River. This landscape has an abundance of cultural significance to Palm Beach County. The approaches to its preservation are comprehensive. The case study of Canal Point presents a different cultural landscape where the cultural significance to the County is also in abundance. Here the local community continues to exist. The approach to the preservation of Canal Point’s cultural landscape has been different from the Loxahatchee approach and has produced markedly different results. An active citizens group attempted to partner with Palm Beach County, but success was not forthcoming. The conclusion compares and analyzes the strategies that were utilized in Palm Beach County’s cultural landscape preservation approach to these two sites. Strategies and methods for comprehensive cultural landscape preservation programs are clearly indicated. It is these strategies and methods, in coordination with the underlying rationales, which are necessary to cultural landscape preservation. It is the power of significant partnerships that can make it successful.