A04 SOW.doc

SCOPE OF WORK

PREPARE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION FOR

WATKINS MILL NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK

LAWSON, MISSOURI

I. INTRODUCTION

The National Park Service (NPS), through the regional office located in Omaha Nebraska, seeks the preparation of a revised National Historic Landmark (NHL) nomination for Watkins Mill, located in Clay County near Lawson, Missouri. The current NHL documentation was prepared in 1983 and does not meet current requirements of the NHL program. A new NHL nomination is required meeting today’s professional standards and thematic framework, addressing all relevant historic contexts and areas of significance. The NHL nomination shall be completed within twenty-four (24) months of the date of the award. The work will be accomplished through contract and will consist of the components discussed in the statement of work.

In September 1955, Mrs. C.A. Mason, who then owned the property with her mother, alerted the National Park Service to “a very worthy project for possible historical, recreational, and conservational purposes, on a tract of ground of 1600 acres.” Mrs. Mason referred to the project as the “Watkins Woolen Mills Estate.” The department declined her offer, even though the Missouri Historical Society had recommended the mill be preserved and the Henry Ford Foundation had suggested that the mill and its contents be moved to its museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Missouri Senators Edward V. Long and Stuart Symington contacted the NPS in 1961 on behalf of the Watkins Mill Association when the Smithsonian Institution expressed interest in acquiring the mill machinery for its Museum of History and Technology in Washington, D.C. The NPS assigned evaluation of the property to the Omaha office, Region 2, and the next year, Historian Ray Mattison evaluated Watkins Mill for the National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings, under Theme XVII, Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture.

The Secretary of the Interior designated Watkins Mill an NHL on November 13, 1966, and the accompanying press release stated, “Built in 1859-60 and operative until 1886, this mill and its original textile machinery form the best-preserved mid-19th century woolen mill in the United States. The mill is owned by the State of Missouri and has been developed as a state park.” Mattison’s report and the context for Theme XVII, renamed Commerce and Industry, comprised the initial NHL documentation for the property. Questions about the NHL boundary led to the preparation of a National Register nomination in 1975-76 by Stephen Lissandrello, who worked with the NPS Landmark Review Project. This has served as the NHL documentation for the property. Questions persisted about the accuracy of the NHL boundary and properties included in the mill complex and the nomination was not approved until September 28, 1983. Lissandrello’s nomination captured important information about the Watkins Mill NHL district, however, it lacked a well-developed historic context, a complete and definitive assessment of contributing and non-contributing resources, and a discussion of several associated areas of significance. The goal of this project is to provide a complete NHL nomination that addresses these weaknesses.

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE RESOURCE

Waltus Watkins was born in 1806 in Versailles, Kentucky. He learned weaving and machine technology from his uncle and in 1830, Watkins moved to Liberty, Missouri, where he first operated a gristmill, then a cotton mill. After seven years in Missouri, Watkins purchased 80 acres located about 16 miles north of Liberty and established a farm there, which he named Bethany. By this time, he had married Mary Ann Holloway, who was also from Kentucky, and began their family. Waltus Watkins gradually acquired land and expanded his business interests through the 1840s into the 1880s. Some describe his enterprise as a quasi-utopian community where laborers, managers, and their families worked and lived together. By the time of his death in 1884, Watkins had built a successful farm with livestock, crops, and orchards, a gristmill, a saw mill, and a very large woolen mill.

Watkins Mill is located in Clay County, in the vicinity of Lawson, Missouri. The historic district includes the three-story brick woolen mill and machinery, three ponds that supplied water to the boiler in the mill, the brick Watkins family residence, a small family cemetery, a restored brick smokehouse, foundations and walls of a fruit drying house, foundations and partial walls of an icehouse (that has since been restored), a blacksmith shop, barn, scale house, and wool storage shed. A Division of Youth Services camp and perhaps a maintenance garage are also included in the property as non-contributing resources.

The Watkins Mill historic district includes additional contributing resources that are not contiguous to the mill complex, although they are associated with it historically and physically. These include a brick church (1856), a brick octagonal one-room school (1871), and a small cemetery associated with the church (dates of graves not known). The Rock Island Railroad runs between the district and the church, cemetery, and school. A bridge carries the railroad tracks across the historic road (now paved) that connects the church and school to the mill complex.

A historic road, since paved, connects the mill and residential complex with the church and school. The Watkins family helped establish the church and school, providing some of the funds needed to build them both. They, their children, and workers at the mill used the church and school. The NHL file contains a map that shows the landmark boundaries and shows the church and school located to the south east of the core of the NHL district.

A geographic area that contains ruins and remnants of cabins used by paid, apprenticed, and enslaved mill workers has not been documented or included in previous NHL documentation. This is a critical area of research and documentation that shall be included in this project. The period of significance, 1860-1886, shall also be revisited, confirmed, or revised as appropriate and as represented by extant resources.

III. STATEMENT OF WORK

The NPS seeks the preparation of a new NHL nomination for the Watkins Mill NHL that meets current professional standards. The NHL nomination must clearly state the historical and archeological significance of the cultural resources within the geographical boundary of the property, addressing all primary areas of historical significance. In addition, the nomination must include an evaluation of the district’s historic integrity, current condition, the contributing or non-contributing status of all associated extant resources, and a comparative analysis with similar nationally significant properties.

Research shall take into consideration additional areas of significance that may be associated with Watkins Mill and represented by extant resources. These contexts may include, but are not limited to the following:

Euro-American settlement and immigration; use of labor at Watkins Mill African American settlement; use of enslaved labor at Watkins Mill The impact of the Civil War on the operation of Watkins Mill and its community

Emancipation after the Civil War Interactions with white Euro-American communities, race relations, segregation during the period of Reconstruction

Please refer to the following website for a copy of the correct NHL form to be used and a discussion about the preparation process, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/nhl-nomination.htm The NHL Bulletin, “How to Prepare National Historic Landmark Nominations,” can be found at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/nhl-bulletin.htm The nomination shall conform to the requirements provided in the NHL Bulletin and shall include the following elements:

A. Research

The Principle Investigator (PI) shall consult the archives and library of the Watkins Mill State Park/ State Historic Site and records held by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and State Historic Preservation Office in Jefferson City, Missouri. The Watkins family reportedly gave the mill records to the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. Additional research is needed to determine if other areas of significance may be associated with Watkins Mill, as mentioned above, because the current NHL documentation is incomplete. Sources, collections, and repositories for additional contexts (areas of significance) shall be identified and consulted as part of this project.

B. Statement of national significance

The PI shall apply NHL criteria to the nominated property and identify its period of significance, as outlined in the NHL Bulletin, “How to Prepare National Historic Landmark Nominations,” at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/nhl-bulletin.htm The PI shall use clear and concise declarative statements to explain Watkins Mill’s national significance and extant related cultural resources for its period(s) of significance. The PI will have to revisit the previous documentation in order to confirm period of significance in the new NHL nomination. The current documentation identifies the period of significance as being from 1860 to 1886. This should be changed to reflect the extant resources that compose the Watkins Mill NHL. This information will be provided on a new nomination form in Section 2. Significance Data and explained in Section 5. Significance Statement and Discussion.

C. Architectural and archeological description

A description and analysis of the architectural character of the extant buildings at Watkins Mill, with most attention paid to the operation of the mill and community that served it, and analysis of documented archeological resources in the district. This information shall be provided in Section 6 of the NHL nomination form, Property Description and Statement of Integrity. The PI shall describe the extant cultural resources, significant buildings and ruins on the property, the historic cultural landscape, and all associated resources that contribute to the historical and archeological significance of the property, as well as those that are non-contributing. Section 6 shall also include an assessment of the property’s condition and historic integrity, with a concluding discussion about the methodology used to determine the physical attributes that each property has in order to be considered for designation under specific NHL criteria.

D. Narrative history with well-developed historic contexts

The history portion of the nomination, provided in Section 5, Significance Statement and Discussion, shall expand upon the introductory, summary statements of significance mentioned in Item B above. The fully developed discussion shall apply NHL criteria to the nominated properties for their respective periods of significance, as outlined in the NHL Bulletin, “How to Prepare National Historic Landmark Nominations,” which can be found online at, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/nhl-bulletin.htm Section 5 shall also include a comparative analysis that discusses other relevant NHLs and nationally significant properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in comparison with the property being nominated.

E. Bibliography

Major sources shall be provided in a bibliography located in Section 7 of each NHL nomination, Bibliographical References and Other Documentation. This will include source materials used in the preparation of the nomination, including relevant research, surveys, and reports dealing with the history of the property, archeological resources, and general background research materials. The format must comply with the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.

F. Boundary description

A written boundary description and justification shall be provided in Section 4, Geographical Data, along with Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) or the Latitude/Longitude coordinates of the historic property. The UTM coordinates shall be clearly marked on a current U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) map, 7.5 minute series.

G. Maps

Maps shall be provided with the nomination package, according to directions provided in the NHL Bulletin, “How to Prepare National Historic Landmark Nominations,” available at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/nhl-bulletin.htm The nomination shall include a map that clearly shows the boundaries of the Watkins Mill historic district, a site plan that shows all extant resources (excluding archeological data and sites), and a base map (or maps) that clearly defines the geographic area where the property is located.

H. Photographs

Current photographs that document each property shall be submitted as part of the nomination package, per NRHP/NHL standards and requirements. They shall be prepared and labeled as required. All photographs not used in the final, approved NHL nomination will be considered U.S. government property and shall be submitted with the final research materials at the completion of the project.

I. Executive Summary

Upon completion of the NHL nomination and acceptance by the NPS, the contractor shall prepare an Executive Summary for the NHL nomination. The NPS requires a summary about the property that identifies the key elements of the NHL nomination and events in the preparation and approval process. The NPS will provide a template for the Executive Summary. The NPS will review the Executive Summary for each nomination and the documents will be revised by the contractor if necessary.

Sample draft Executive Summaries may be found at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/2020-fall-meeting.htm

J. Powerpoint Presentation to the NHL Committee

Presentation of the completed NHL nomination to the NHL Committee is a required component of this project. This presentation is an important part of the NHL review process and it will be scheduled by NHL Program staff when all components of the NHL nomination are completed. The short presentation, approximately five minutes in length, shall be made before the committee via a Powerpoint presentation about Watkins Mill and the NHL documentation. The contractor shall prepare the Powerpoint presentation per guidance provided by NHL Program staff in Washington, D.C. The NPS will provide a template and master slide background for use by the contractor. Selected images and maps from the historic context and nominations may be used.

The oral presentation will be made in person during a meeting of the NHL Committee that will be held in Washington, D.C. Upon completion of the Powerpoint, the contractor shall be prepared to answer questions about the NHL documentation from the NHL Committee. The contractor will serve as the subject matter expert on Watkins Mill and its associated contexts.

K. Final Revisions to the NHL documentation

The NHL Committee and National Park System Advisory Board have the prerogative of asking for changes to and revision of NHL documentation presented to them during the approval process. The contractor shall be responsible for addressing any changes or concerns raised by the NHL Committee and Advisory Board, finalizing the NHL documentation, and re-submitting it to the NPS NHL Program staff in Washington, D.C.

IV. ADDITIONAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

A. General provisions

1. The NHL nomination and Executive Summary must be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The NPS will provide templates for these.

2. During the period of revision of each draft, the PI shall consult with the NPS COR to ensure the satisfactory resolution of review comments and submission of a final draft in a timely manner. The PI will keep the COR informed at each step of the project.

3. All draft submissions will require line numbering for editing purposes. Line numbers will be removed from the final draft prior to submission.

4. The NPS reserves the right to require additional, technical reviews, as necessary. All drafts shall be reviewed by the NPS for contract sufficiency and professional quality. The contractor will be notified when review comments will be transmitted.

5. All data gathered during the course of this study are the property of the United States government. Within 60 days of written acceptance of the NHL documentation, all notes, records, maps, drawings, photographs, negatives, slides, tapes, summaries, and other data acquired during the course of this study will be submitted to the COR at the NPS regional office in Omaha, Nebraska (Attention: Rachel Franklin-Weekley).

B. Project completion

The contractor must begin work on the contract no later than 30 days after the award of the contract.

The project shall be completed within 24 months from the date of award.

C. Professional consultation Within 30 days of the awarding of the contract, the contractor shall attend a meeting via tele-conference or video-conference to discuss technical aspects of the contract and to confirm the schedule for the submission of the products described in the Scope of Work.

D. Report standards/format and submission schedule The completed NHL nomination shall adhere to professional guidelines presented in the NHL Bulletin, “How to Prepare National Historic Landmark Nominations.” Draft and final nominations will be submitted on the NHL nomination form provided by the NPS, and include the information required in the Section III, above. Photographs, maps, plans, drawings, and text must be clean, clear, and legible. The format must comply with the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. The use of footnotes is preferred to endnotes. Draft submittals will require line numbering for editing purposes. Line numbers will be removed from the final nomination.

E. Progress updates Quarterly progress updates about work completed and progress made during the performance of the research and writing phases of this contract are required. These brief updates shall be sent via email to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) Rachel Franklin-Weekley at rachel_franklin-weekley@nps.gov on September 30, December 31, March 31, and June 30.

F. Project submittals The Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Manager (PM) shall submit drafts of the NHL nomination at 3 stages in the course of the project, being a 75% submission, a 95% submission, and a 100% submission. These percentages reflect the degree of completeness of the project and shall be submitted according to a schedule agreed upon by both the NPS and the PI. Failure to meet the agreed upon work schedule without satisfactory reasons may result in termination of the contract.

Upon acceptance by the NPS NHL program, the PI or PM shall prepare and submit an Executive Summary of the nomination and a Powerpoint presentation for the NHL Committee meeting. The PI or PM shall make the presentation to the NHL Committee and revise the final NHL nomination if changes are required by the committee and NPS.

Partial payments up to 90% of the contract price may be made. Ten percent may be held until the NHL documentation is presented to the NHL Committee and final revisions are made.

G. Disposition of data All data uncovered during the course of this project are the property of the United States government. At the conclusion of research and within 60 days of written acceptance of the final draft of the study, all notes, records, maps, drawings, photographs, negatives, slides, tapes, summaries, and other data acquired during this project will be submitted to the NPS. All digital images, maps, and other graphics generated for or used in this project shall be submitted to the NPS on CDs, with their formats specified.

H. Contract Modifications The contract may be modified through negotiation with the NPS Contracting Officer (CO). If such a need is anticipated, the CO must be notified at the earliest possible moment, but always within seven (7) working days of when a problem affecting the contractor's ability to meet requirements is suspected.

V. PAYMENT

The PI shall be reimbursed as actual travel, research, and work costs are incurred and following the submission of quarterly progress reports. Payment of up to 90 percent of the agreed-upon cost of this project may be made in accordance with the schedule to be specified in the contract. Twenty percent shall be withheld until the NPS approves the final draft nomination and it proceeds to approval by the NHL Committee. Five percent will be withheld until the NHL Committee recommends the nomination for approval and any final revisions have been made.