A04_SOW.pdf

S C O P E O F W O R K

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

HERBERT HOOVER NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

IOWA

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR – NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

PMIS PROJECT NUMBER # 245871

Introduction The National Park Service (NPS), through the Midwest Regional Office (MWRO), requires the performance of research and writing of an Administrative History for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Iowa. The history will help complete basic historical documentation of the park’s history and resources as developed and managed by the National Park Service. The information contained in the Administrative History is essential for present and future interpretation and resource management.

This Administrative History is a comprehensive synthesis of primary and secondary source material that is pertinent specifically to Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. The study shall conform to professional standards regarding methodology of historical research and writing.

Stylistic, bibliographical, and report production standards shall conform to the current edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. The study will include an oral history project whereby sixteen (16) current and former NPS employees and others important to the history of this park unit will be interviewed in person, digitally recorded, and transcriptions prepared.

West Branch is located approximately 10 miles east of Iowa City, and 40 miles west of Davenport, Iowa. From Interstate 80 exit 254, the park visitor center is 0.3 miles north.

The Administrative History, including enumerated appendices, graphics, and index shall be completed within twenty-four months from the date of contract award.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RESOURCES1

Herbert Hoover was a successful engineer, an international humanitarian, and the 31st president of the United States (1929–1933). Hoover spent his early childhood in West Branch, Iowa, from his birth in 1874 to his departure from the community in 1885. His experiences with family, community members, and members of his family’s Quaker church were strong influences on his life.

In the mid-1930s, after Hoover left the presidency, the Hoover family purchased and restored the Hoover Birthplace Cottage and began to develop a park on the site. The Hoover Presidential Foundation, which began in 1939 as the Hoover Birthplace Society, facilitated the preservation of the birthplace and the establishment of the park. Mr.

Hoover chose West Branch as the location for his presidential library and as the site of his

1 From the description of resource through listing of interpretive themes, this material is directly quoted from Foundation Document, Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Iowa. Omaha, NE: Midwest Regional Office, National Park Service, 2017.

final resting place. The park was designed to tell the story of his life, from humble beginnings to world renown.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site is managed by the National Park Service. It encompasses his Birthplace Cottage, Gravesite, Presidential Library – Museum, Friends Meetinghouse, Blacksmith Shop, Schoolhouse, statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis, two farms, a reconstructed tallgrass prairie, and an originally unnamed tributary of the West Branch of the Wapsinonoc Creek (locally referred to as Hoover Creek). The park is embedded in the town of West Branch, and provides an accessible, dignified, and spacious setting in which visitors can experience these resources.

The gravesite of Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, rests on a hillside 550 yards southwest of the Birthplace Cottage. The gravesite overlooks both the library and Birthplace Cottage. A reconstructed prairie and agricultural fields provide a background for the gravesite area. A loop road brings visitors to the gravesite, and the 1.8-mile Herbert Hoover Prairie Trail runs along the park perimeter and through a portion of the reconstructed prairie.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library – Museum is also included within the boundaries of the park. It is independently administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and is the primary repository of material related to Herbert Hoover’s presidency.

The National Park Service maintains a visitor center to greet visitors and guide their visit. Displays inside the visitor center focus on Mr. Hoover’s upbringing in West Branch, his success as an engineer, his significant accomplishments in international relief work following World War I, his presidency, and his involvement in developing the park. There is no fee to visit the NPS visitor center or the NPS-managed portions of the park; visitors must pay a fee to access additional resources at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library – Museum.

The purpose statement identifies the specific reason(s) for establishment of a particular park. The purpose statement for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site was drafted through a careful analysis of its enabling legislation and the legislative history that influenced its development. The park was established when the enabling legislation adopted by Congress was signed into law on August 12, 1965, as Public Law 89-119.

The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the park.

The purpose of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site is to preserve in public ownership the Birthplace Cottage, Gravesite, and other historically significant properties associated with the life of Herbert Hoover in West Branch, Iowa, and to commemorate and interpret his life, career, and accomplishments.

Park Significance: Significance statements express why a park’s resources and values are important enough to merit designation as a unit of the national park system. These statements are linked to the purpose of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, and are supported by data, research, and consensus. Statements of significance describe the distinctive nature of the park and why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. They focus on the most important resources and values that will assist in park planning and management.

The following significance statements have been identified for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. (Please note that the sequence of the statements does not reflect the level of significance.)

1. West Branch, Iowa, is home to the birthplace and the formative years of

Herbert Hoover, which set him on the road to becoming the nation’s 31st president and a global humanitarian. His experiences and associations with family and the community influenced his personality, work ethic, spiritual and moral character, and ambition.

2. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site commemorates President Herbert

Hoover’s life and accomplishments and maintains historically significant properties associated with him. The park was designed with the direct involvement of Herbert Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover, their family, friends, and the community of West Branch.

Fundamental Resources and Values: FRVs are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance.

Fundamental resources and values are closely related to a park’s legislative purpose and are more specific than significance statements.

Fundamental resources and values help focus planning and management efforts on what is truly significant about the park. One of the most important responsibilities of NPS managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are essential (fundamental) to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. If fundamental resources and values are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The following fundamental resources and values have been identified for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site:

▪ Hoover’s Birthplace Cottage. The cottage birthplace includes the cottage itself, the furnishings in the cottage, and the immediate grounds and associated archeological resources.

▪ Hoover’s Gravesite. The gravesite includes the designed memorial hillside landscape, with plantings, walkways, flagpole, and vista to the Birthplace Cottage. The gravesite includes Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover.

▪ Friends’ Meetinghouse, Reconstructed Blacksmith Shop, and School House.

These buildings form the core historic area and encircle the Birthplace Cottage.

▪ Statue of Isis. This bronze statue was given to Hoover by the people of Belgium for his relief work in that country, and now stands between the Birthplace Cottage and the Presidential Library – Museum.

▪ PT Smith House and House of the Maples Site. Hoover lived in the House of the Maples (no longer extant) and had vivid memories of the Smith House next door.

▪ Commemorative Setting. The core area of the park is managed to commemorate and appreciate the president and Mrs. Hoover’s lives and legacies.

Other Important Resources and Values:

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site contains other resources and values that are not fundamental to the purpose of the park and may be unrelated to its significance, but are important to consider in planning processes. These are referred to as “other important resources and values” (OIRV). These resources and values have been selected because they are important in the operation and management of the park and warrant special consideration in park planning. The following other important resources and values have been identified for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site:

▪ Historic Buildings on Downey and Poplar Streets. These homes reflect the setting of Hoover’s birthplace and the character of West Branch in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

▪ Open Rural Space. A reconstructed prairie and agricultural lands form the backdrop of the park and help maintain the commemorative setting.

The following interpretive themes have been identified for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site:

▪ Simple Beginnings. “In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope.” — Herbert Hoover

▪ Family and Fellowship. Growing up in West Branch, Herbert Hoover saw his parents, family, and others in leadership roles, which instilled in him a drive to become a leader and a success.

▪ Triumphs and Tragedies. A child who grows up in a life of adversity takes a path that requires personal endurance and perseverance.

▪ Adversity Leads to Opportunity. Herbert Hoover’s loss of his parents in early childhood influenced his self- reliant character and his future concern for the physical and social well-being of the youth of all nations.

▪ Faith, Hope, Charity, and Love. Herbert Hoover’s Quaker beliefs in the equality of all people and in helping others in times of crisis or need led to his becoming one of the world’s great humanitarians.

▪ Nature and Stewardship. Herbert Hoover’s experience living in a rural environment in early childhood shaped his interest in the natural world, which influenced his choice of career and the recreational activities he pursued throughout his life.

▪ A Memorial and a Legacy. The influence of Herbert Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover, and their family shaped the development of the presidential memorial area in order for the public to gain a fuller understanding of Hoover’s life.

This unit of the National Park System has not previously had an Administrative History prepared for it.

The project will include reviewing and summarizing all NPS inventory, research, planning and management documents prepared for the park. Past oral history interviews and those conducted for this project with current and former park employees and partners, and examining more recent pertinent reports and records at the park and at the Federal Records Center/National Archives branch in the Kansas City, Missouri, metropolitan area.

Research Project – Develop and Complete the Administrative History for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

An NPS Administrative History is a history of a park unit as an institutional entity. Its purpose is to present the history of a park since the time it was first proposed through Congressional authorization and subsequent NPS management. It provides NPS managers a historic context for making decisions on issues relevant to park management. This research project will include a legislative history detailing federal laws relevant to Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. It will also focus on all studies, plans, restoration/preservation activities, and management decisions regarding the operation, interpretation, and preservation of the park.

This document will describe legislative efforts to preserve and protect historic Hoover properties in West Branch, park authorization, the park’s NPS development and operational history, and how it has been managed by NPS to the present day.

The completed study will include the following elements:

A. Introduction providing an overview of prehistory and history, including geology, Native

American habitation, area tribal history, European-American exploration and settlement, Hoover family occupation, sale, and return to West Branch, preservation efforts including National Historic Landmark designation.

B. Legislative history leading to the authorization of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in 1964, and all subsequent legislation pertaining to the park, including all boundary adjustments.

Nine months after contract award, the contractor will supply draft chapters for A.

and B. to NPS for review and approval.

C. The primary emphasis of the study will provide a description and analysis of the development and administration of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site as a unit of the National Park System. The origin and rationale for key management decisions shall be thoroughly discussed and reference made to planning documents, studies, and other historical, archeological, and scientific research reports that resulted in major management decisions. Other topics, in addition to those enumerated above, to examine (in no particular order) include:

Contents of all NPS reports and plans are to be summarized and management decisions explained. Principal park planning documents:

· 2015 Wayside Exhibit Plan

· 2015 List of Classified Structures Update

· 2013 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Update

· 2011 Community Trail Plan

· 2010 Cultural Landscape Inventory

· 2009 Long-Range Interpretive Plan

· 2006 General Management Plan

· 2006 Hoover Creek Environmental Impact Statement

· 1998 Gravesite Rehabilitation Plan

· 1996 Cultural Landscape Report addendum for Gravesite Area

· 1995 Cultural Landscape Report

· 1982 Signage Plan

· 1982 Historic Structure Reports for Isaac Miles Farm House and houses on Downey Street and Poplar Street

· 1971 Historic Structure Report “The Hoover Houses and Community Structures”

· 1970 Historic Structure Report “Buildings in the Core Area and Jesse Hoover’s Blacksmith Shop”

· 1969 Historic Structure Report “The Peter T. Smith House”

· 1968 Base Map and Grounds Study

· 1965 National Historic Landmark nomination

· “Birthplace Foundation Guidelines”

· Structural Fire Plan

· Fire Management Plan

· Prairie Prescribed Burn Plan

Hoover Creek flooding/maintenance facility in floodplain/stormwater retention and redirection

Shared space NPS visitor center and U.S. Post Office

Soundscape issues from adjacent six-lane Interstate 80

Relationship with presidential library; duplication of programming and operations;

collaborative efforts and events; relationship with Hoover Presidential Foundation

Disposition of non-contributing Scellars’ Barn

Use of Thompson Farm fields and buildings; potential for historic leasing program

Proposed GMP amendment upon completion of floodplain mitigation, Thompson Farm, and prairie/agricultural management

NPS collaboration at resolving right-of-way ownership issues (roads and utility corridors) with City of West Branch

The study will elaborate on Herbert Hoover National Historic Site’s association, cooperation, and interaction with the other NPS units in Iowa—Effigy Mounds National Monument--and surrounding states. The study will also detail similar association, cooperation, and interaction with the NPS Midwest Regional Office, Midwest Archeological Center, Denver Service Center, Harpers Ferry Center, and Washington Office.

Study will document how and why the administrative operations changed over time. Attention will be paid to the annual budget and staff growth. Similar treatment must be afforded to other park divisions.

Policy development and changes over time.

Succession of park managers/superintendents and their accomplishments.

Interpretation and education programs and how they evolved over time. Museum exhibits and collections. Long-Range Interpretive Plan. Wayside exhibits. Web site introduction and development. Interpretive films. Park store. Cooperating association.

Park visitor protection/law enforcement program

Summary of natural resource program and activities

Resource Management (cultural and natural resources)

All archeological investigations

Americans with Disabilities Act compliance

Operations Evaluation Report (FY 2007)

Youth Partnerships Program/Teen Rangers.

Park Housing Management Plan (HMP) and use of buildings for onsite park housing

Boundary markers

Technological updates with computer technology; use of radio communications; land line telephone service and cellular service.

Cultural resources management. List of Classified Structures (LCS) and Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI) initiatives and enrolled properties. National Historic Landmark and National Register listings. Improvement of collection storage facilities; eliminating backlog of uncatalogued objects, and improvement of curatorial procedures.

Volunteer in Parks program – volunteers assist in every aspect of park operations. Also Cultural Demonstrators, and Artists-In-Parks opportunities.

Collection Management Plan

Annual celebrations and events

Interpretive publications

Fire suppression plan and system; system upgrade; development of park fire history

The Administrative History must place Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in context with the evolution of management policies, procedures, and practices of NPS over time. Contractor will utilize the files, library, and archives of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.

D. Oral history interviews with key decision-making personnel. Because NPS documentation is not complete, oral history interviews will be especially useful in the Administrative History.

Sixteen (16) formal oral history interviews will be conducted in person according to professional standards with current and/or retired NPS employees, community members, and partners pertinent to the park’s history as follows (grouped geographically, names and contact information to be provided following contract award):

West Branch/Eastern Iowa Area:

J.C.: former chief ranger, Cedar Rapids, IA N.K., former chief ranger, West Branch IA K.F.: current presidential foundation trustee, West Branch IA J.F.: current presidential foundation director, West Branch IA B.J.: former park guard, West Branch IA K.S.: Current presidential foundation member, West Branch IA T.S.: current library director, West Branch IA P.S.: current park superintendent, West Branch IA T.W.: former library director, Iowa City, IA

South Dakota:

C.S.: former park superintendent, Custer, SD

New York:

C.K.: former park superintendent, Hyde Park, NY

Washington, DC:

J.F.: former library director, Washington, D.C.

Arizona:

D.B.: former chief ranger, Gilbert, AZ B.M.: former park superintendent, Prescott, AZ

Wisconsin:

D.H.: Superior, WI C.W.: former park historian/curator, DePere, WI

A list of alternate interviewees will be provided in case any of the above candidates are unwilling or unable for whatever reason to participate. The alternates may be interviewed via telephone and not in-person.

Oral history interviews will be conducted in person, digitally recorded, transcripts produced, a digital photograph of each interviewee taken, and assignment of interview rights forms signed.

All interviewees will be given an opportunity to review and edit his/her interview transcript over a one-month period.

Within one year of contract award, contractor will provide transcriptions of all oral history interviews for NPS inspection and approval.

E. Bibliography of source materials, including all previous research, surveys, and reports dealing with Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.

F. Appendices: Information including, but not limited to, all pertinent legislation, maps and/or drawings, listing of annual budgets, and a comprehensive listing of past and present NPS personnel, will be included in the Administrative History's appendix. The study shall include appropriate maps and other figures within the narrative, including historic and contemporary photographs. The photographs shall have captions and identify their source. Photographs will include images of past/present superintendents and other key managers.

G. Contractor shall also prepare two short articles (1 to 2 pages) and illustrations on any topic related to this Administrative History to be uploaded to the park’s website or other internet site.

H. A draft of the completed Administrative History with all above specified elements will be prepared and provided to NPS for review and comment according to a planning schedule and matrix outlined between NPS and contractor at the start of the project. Contractor will then incorporate all comments and resubmit a final draft. Following approval of the Administrative History by NPS, an index (generated by the latest version of Microsoft Word) will be prepared which incorporates all significant names, places, objects, activities, and programs referenced in the document. Used in conjunction with the Table of Contents, the Index will assist readers find particular topics of interest with ease. The final draft will then be reviewed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) to ensure all NPS comments have been incorporated, and then submitted for approval signatures.

I. Following the recommendation of the Superintendent, concurrence of the Associate Regional Director for Cultural Resources, and approval by the Regional Director, contractor will provide 100 printed and perfect bound copies.

Report standards/format and submission schedule

The final report will be in the latest version of Microsoft Word and include the information required in the specifications listed in Section II, above. It must be typed on 8-1/2 by 11-inch white paper. All pages must be numbered. Copies of photographs (screened for reproduction clarity), maps, drawings, and text must be clean, clear, and legible. Historic photographs can be in black and white; contemporary photographs will be in color. The format must comply with the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. The document must be Section 508 compliant.

In addition, all reports must contain the following:

1. Title/Cover page listing the name of the Principal Investigator. If the report is also authored by Project Historians, the title page must identify the author(s) and bear the inscription, "Prepared under the supervision of (name), Principal Investigator." The title/cover page shall also include signature and date lines for three approving officials in the following order:

“Recommended/Superintendent, Herbert Hoover National Historic Site/Date;

"Concurred/Associate Regional Director, Cultural Resources, Midwest/DOI Regions 3, 4, 5/Date; and Approved/Regional Director, Midwest/DOI Regions 3, 4, 5/Date."

2. Five (5) hard copies of an outline and the preliminary chapters will be submitted eight months following contract award for NPS review and approval. The outline shall include descriptions of each chapter containing sufficient detail to demonstrate the complete range of topics and themes to be discussed as well as chronological periods. The draft material will be typed, double-spaced, with numbered reference lines in the left margins on each page of text for reviewers to target their comments to specific pages and line numbers. Line numbering will start with “1” atop each page. NPS will provide review comments on the chapter outline and preliminary chapters to the PI within 30 days of receipt of the document. The PI shall make necessary revisions and submit the final chapter outline to NPS within 15 days of receipt by the contractor.

The outline will provide the basis for the “Table of Contents” for the Administrative History.

3. Five (5) hard copies of the multi-chapter draft report will be submitted twenty months following contract award to NPS for review. The draft will be typed, double-spaced, with numbered reference lines in the left margins on each page of text and will include all maps, graphics, footnotes, and appendices to be included in the final report. The draft will be reviewed by NPS for contract sufficiency and professional quality. Within 45 days of receipt by NPS, the draft will be reviewed and the contractor will be notified when review comments will be transmitted.

4. A final copy of the report addressing review comments transmitted to the contractor by NPS will be submitted to NPS prior to printing of the final document. The copy should be forwarded to the NPS COR for presentation to the Regional Director to secure his signature approval. The contractor will design appropriate cover art/graphics including the NPS Arrowhead for the camera-ready final document. Printing on the document's spine will include title, author, National Park Service, and year of publication. Within 60 days of NPS acceptance of the final draft (indicated by the three required signatures specified above) and before expiration of the twenty-four month contract period of performance, the contractor will furnish one (1) camera ready unbound final document printed on archival paper, 100 dry ink digital printed and separately perfect-bound copies of the report, and a compact computer disk or disks containing the final document in the latest version of Microsoft Word and in pdf form.

5. All formal oral history interviews conducted will be digitally recorded and transcriptions prepared. All interview candidates must sign an interview rights release form (format to be supplied by NPS). Any additional interviews which take place on an informal basis (i.e., telephonically) must be comprehensively documented in a memorandum of telephone call. All recordings, transcripts, interview rights release forms, photographs, and memoranda of telephone calls will be organized for curatorial storage and transmitted to NPS with the final document.

Disposition of data

At the conclusion of research and within 60 days of written acceptance of the final camera-ready report, all notes, records, maps, drawings, photographs, negatives, slides, digital images, tapes, digital recordings transcripts, and other data acquired during the course of this study will be professionally organized for archival purposes and submitted to the Contracting Officers Representative, to be deposited in the archives of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.

Progress reports

Quarterly progress reports during the performance of the research and writing phases are required. The initial due date will be 90 days after contract award. All quarterly reports will be submitted to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) who will be appointed at the time of award.