A04-SOW_VAMA_EOA_Labor_History_REVISED.pdf

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site

Ethnographic Overview and Assessment: Hyde Park Labor History

Scope of Work

August 15, 2024, Background

Hyde Park, New York, is home to three national historic sites that together attract more than half a million visitors every year—Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site; Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (also known as Val-Kill); and Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. These parks are combined into a single administrative unit under one superintendent and operated by one staff, but each of the sites was established by separate legislation and has its own national significance. Together the parks include over 1,100 acres of federally owned land along the east bank of the Hudson River, along with three fully furnished historic houses, 40 historic buildings, 14 miles of roads and trails, 35 acres of forest plantations set out by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, five historic gardens, nearly 100 acres of open fields, and a museum collection of over 25,000 objects and artifacts.

Hyde Park is located in the central Hudson River Valley, some 80 miles north of New York City. The Hudson River stretches 315 miles from its source in the Adirondack Mountains to its mouth in Upper New York Bay. With its verdant landscapes and scenic views of the Shawangunk and Catskill Mountains to the west and the Taconic range to the east, the Hudson River Valley has inspired artists and authors for generations. It has also been home to entrepreneurs, attracted by the proximity to New York City. In addition to the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts, the mid-Hudson region has been home to other prominent families who also established “country places” along the east bank of the river in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Today, many of these estates are preserved and are open for public enjoyment, making this section of the Hudson Valley famous as the “Great Estates Region.”

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Congress accepted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s pledge to donate a portion of his estate for a presidential library and a national historic site in 1939. The President made his donation for the historic site, consisting of his home and 33 adjacent acres, to the American people in 1943. Expanded through subsequent donations and acquisitions, the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site (NHS) now comprises almost 719 acres of the former 1,522-acre historic Roosevelt Family Estate.

FDR was born at his family’s country place on the Hudson River in 1882 and remained closely connected to the house and surrounding lands until his death in 1945. The property was both home and political headquarters, a haven for spiritual renewal and, after he contracted polio, for physical rehabilitation. On this land he set out forest plantations, maintained family and tenant farms, built a hilltop retreat, and established the nation’s first Presidential Library. Here he participated in community life, welcomed dignitaries, supporters, and the media, and conducted the work of the presidency.

The FDR Home, or main house, is the centerpiece of the estate. After its renovation in 1915, the house figured prominently in his political career as a setting for meetings and accommodation for important guests. Other structures that were familiar features of FDR’s life and essential to the functioning of the estate include the Stable, the Garage, two Ice Houses, and the Greenhouse. Top Cottage, at the easternmost reach of the Roosevelt Estate, was conceived and built by FDR as a personal retreat and reflects his architectural sensibilities, regional interests, and physical needs. The intimate cottage evokes the personality of one of the 20th Century’s towering figures.

The site’s collections contain furnishings and objects of great historical value. They include over 10,000 historic items, archeologically recovered objects (77,000), and associated field records. The significance of the collection is based on its association with FDR and other members of the Roosevelt Family. The core of the collection consists of the furnishings of the FDR Home—FDR’s bird collection, top hat, personally designed wheelchairs, and telephone that once connected directly to the White House, all of which convey the human details of an extraordinary life.

The NHS preserves lands of the historic Roosevelt Family Estate that stretch from the Hudson River east to Route 9G and include gardens and grounds, woodlands, and former agricultural lands. These fields and forests are where FDR spent much of his boyhood and where he explored and showcased ideas about land stewardship later in life. FDR’s home included not just his house, but the entire estate, over half of which he personally acquired. Significant features include the native oak forest, numerous forest plantations, remnants of his first Christmas tree plantation set out in 1926, and experimental plantations established in cooperation with the New York State College of Forestry.

As the ultimate expression of his attachment to his Hyde Park home, FDR chose the family rose garden as his final resting place, where he and his wife Eleanor lie buried in a gravesite of his design. FDR also made the arrangements for his home to enter the National Park Service as a national historic site. He valued the agricultural setting (mostly lost) of the Route 9 corridor and made some effort in his lifetime to preserve the setting.

In 2007, through the efforts of Scenic Hudson, Inc., the Town of Hyde Park, and the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, the NPS acquired an important tract of 334 acres between Route 9 and Route 9G, which restored much of the unity of the estate as it had existed during FDR’s lifetime. The Home of FDR National Historic Site also includes roughly one-half of the estate of FDR’s half-brother, James Roosevelt Roosevelt (“Rosy”). Although not considered a fundamental resource, this property is important due to its association with FDR and as part of the historic setting for the FDR Home and grounds. This property historically was similar to the FDR property in layout, with a straight, tree-lined main entry drive and a stately home (the “Red House”) at its terminus. The other half of the former J. R. Roosevelt property is outside NPS ownership and is now occupied by the Hyde Park Mall.

In 1974-75, the NPS added 24 acres of the adjacent Newbold-Morgan estate, known as Bellefield, for use as park headquarters. Although not considered a fundamental resource, this property is important as a park administration facility and as part of the historic setting for the FDR Home and grounds. The parks’ main administrative building is the historic centerpiece of the Bellefield property, Bellefield Mansion, originally built circa 1795 and reconstructed in a neoclassical style by McKim, Mead, and White in 1909-

11. Extending from the south side of the Mansion is the formal garden built circa 1912 to the design of Beatrix Farrand, widely considered one of the finest landscape architects of the early 20th Century.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum forms a vital part of the Roosevelt “campus.” It is managed by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Library property comprises nearly 20 acres. The visitor center for the parks and the FDR Presidential Library is the Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Center, located to the west of the Bellefield Mansion, on property transferred from the NPS to NARA for this purpose. The managers of the two sites work together closely, sharing the visitor center and presenting a comprehensive depiction of the Roosevelts.

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site was established by Congress in 1977 to preserve Mrs.

Roosevelt’s cherished home at Val-Kill on a portion of the Roosevelt Family Estate. Here she founded Val-Kill Industries to provide new skills and employment opportunities for unemployed local farm workers. At her Val-Kill home, she wrote books and newspaper columns, served as the first U.S. delegate to the United Nations, chaired the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and came into her own as one of the most influential figures of her time.

Originally purchased by FDR in 1911, Val-Kill soon became a favorite family picnic site. In 1924, FDR urged Eleanor and her friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman to build a cottage so they could enjoy the peace and solitude year-round. Construction of Stone Cottage was started in 1925 and completed the following year. Val-Kill Cottage was built in 1926 as a furniture factory for Val-Kill Industries, run by the three women. Eleanor Roosevelt converted it to her residence in 1936-37, and it became her year-round home after FDR’s death in 1945. At Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt surrounded herself with family and friends and hosted a range of people, from national and world leaders to local youth and students, who reflected her diverse interests.

Other important structures at Val-Kill are the Stable-Garage, the Doll House, the Playhouse, and the swimming pool. The Doll House is a small wooden structure, originally located near the FDR Home and moved to Val-Kill by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1945 for the use of her grandchildren. The Playhouse, a one-story frame building, was built in several phases beginning in 1928 and was adapted for various uses, including a forge and metal-working shop for Val-Kill Industries.

Eleanor Roosevelt loved the beauty and tranquility of the Val-Kill landscape, characteristics that endure today. Val-Kill Pond, a dammed section of the Fall Kill, is a central feature around which the main buildings, Stone Cottage and Val-Kill Cottage, are arranged. Lawns, gardens, woodlands, and forest plantations set out by FDR surround the structures. The site includes a large white pine plantation set out by FDR in 1914. The plantation, known as the “Secret Woods,” is said to be where Eleanor Roosevelt read stories to her grandchildren. In addition to the Secret Woods, the remains of several plantations survive, including white cedar, tulip tree, and Scotch pine plantations set out as experimental plots by the New York State College of Forestry. The agricultural context of Val-Kill remained important throughout Eleanor Roosevelt’s life, and she actively sought to continue it after FDR’s death, when she and her son Elliott launched Val-Kill Farms.

Although most of the furnishings and personal possessions were dispersed following Eleanor Roosevelt’s death, the park has since been able to acquire historic furnishings and other collections associated with the site. The collection includes primarily historical material (4,000 items). Objects such as handcrafted Val- Kill Industries furniture, family photographs, and personal memorabilia reflect the human dimension of life at Val-Kill. In addition to the objects, the park’s collections include approximately 15 linear feet of documents, photographs, and movie film.

In the enabling legislation, Congress authorized the NPS to enter into cooperative agreements with qualified public or private entities to carry on Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy. The NPS has a cooperative agreement with The Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill (ERVK) to carry out this mission. The park’s legislation also specified that a memorial to Eleanor Roosevelt be established at Val-Kill.

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site

Located about three miles north of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home is the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. President Roosevelt directed the designation of this property as a national historic site in 1940. The NPS administers 212 acres, or the “pleasure grounds” portion of the former 684-acre country place.

Frederick W. Vanderbilt, a grandson of the shipping and railroad magnate “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt, saw himself as part of his family’s illustrious tradition of arts patronage. In 1895, he purchased an existing estate and employed the nation’s most prestigious architects, landscape architects, artisans, and craftsmen to improve and furnish it. The centerpiece of the estate is the Mansion created for Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt by McKim, Mead, and White, a preeminent architectural firm at the turn of the 20th Century. The fully furnished 50-room house rivals the most stately North American homes of the period in the quality of its design, interiors, and decoration. It also incorporates advanced building features, such as steel and concrete construction and a centralized heating system.

To the north of the Mansion is the Pavilion, a neoclassical-style guest house, also designed by McKim, Mead, and White. The Coach House was built in 1897 to the design of architect Robert H. Robertson. It is a brick structure in Queen Anne style that the architect adapted as a garage for automobiles in 1910. The Tool House and Gardener’s Cottage are matching buildings and the only ones that pre-date Vanderbilt occupancy. The Main Gate House and Lower Gate House, which echo the Beaux-Arts style of the Mansion, were built to McKim, Mead, and White designs in 1898. The Mansion had electric power and running water supplied by its own hydroelectric plant. Located on the south side of Crum Elbow Creek, the Power House is a one-story cobblestone building built in 1897 that provides a prime illustration of the self-sufficiency of the large estates of the era. It produced electricity by water power until 1938 and pumped water to the farm portion of the estate until 1941.

The site is one of the most intact remaining Hudson River picturesque landscapes and depicts the evolution of landscape design in America over some 200 years. The Vanderbilts retained much of the landscape as it was planned after 1828 by the Belgian landscape designer Andre Parmentier, who laid out carriageways and pathways to reveal an unfolding series of dramatic views framed by precisely arranged trees. They modified the formal Italian garden and added a rose garden and classically inspired support structures. Below the formal gardens is the Crum Elbow Creek valley, a naturalistic landscape that forms the southern end of the park. Paralleling the creek with its ponds and waterfalls is a gently winding drive lined by specimen trees and grass shoulders. Numerous structures were erected to support and enhance the estate’s vast gardening operation and embellish the designed landscape, among them the Pool House (1903), the Loggia (Garden House, 1910), Pergola (1903), and White Bridge (1897). The White Bridge is significant as one of the early surviving Mellan arch bridges in the U.S.

An overlook from the Mansion provides a dramatic vista up the Hudson Valley, with the Catskill Mountains in the distance, a view that has become emblematic of the great Hudson Valley estates. The site includes Bard Rock, one of the few arms of land in the area that extends beyond the railroad track and offers direct access to the Hudson River. More than 7,000 historic objects, featuring European fine art, American and European decorative arts and furnishings, and carriages and automobiles, are vital in portraying the lifestyle of the Vanderbilts. This collection has outstanding integrity for its association with the family, the distinction of the designers, and the intrinsic and artistic value of individual objects.

Approximately 90% of the original furnishings for the Mansion survive in the collection, including many important examples of European fine art and American and European decorative arts and furnishings from the 16th to the early 20th Centuries. In addition to the objects displayed in the main public rooms on the first and second floors of the Mansion, the collection retains most of the domestic equipment and furnishings associated with the kitchens, laundry, and other basement work areas.

Purpose, Need, and Scope of Study

This project documents the evolution of cultural landscapes within the context of labor and economy for three park units. These parks comprise a record of labor and land history that responded to multiple social changes and pressures from the inception of the United States in the 18th century through 1940 and chronicle changes in the local economy. Against a backdrop of social history, surviving historic records provide a context for estate development. Additionally, the landowners were active participants in the transformation of American capitalism and property ownership through policy and practice. During the period in question, Dutchess County moved from a rural farming economy utilizing slave labor, to a regional breadbasket, and eventually, to landed estates for American capitalists.

This study will build upon the context established in previously published reports that cover the entire history of the park properties but emphasize the Roosevelt and Vanderbilt periods of ownership. This study will broaden those subjects by including relevant historical contexts that occurred in the town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County, and the Hudson River Valley.

Ethnographic Overview and Assessments are essential baseline documents that have not been prepared for three adjacent park units in Dutchess County, New York (Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt NHS, Vanderbilt Mansion NHS). Labor and economic practices associated with the land are not presently understood in a broad context. Existing baseline documents for the park include Historic Resource Studies and Cultural Landscape Inventories. Taken together for these three park units, the documents provide some history of labor and domestic economy of the Roosevelt and Vanderbilt estates, but this represents only a fragmented history.

The roots of rural change were written on these landscapes and by the residents of Hyde Park. From the earliest part of the Republic, the cultural landscape represented by the Vanderbilt property demonstrates one of the oldest planned landscapes in the country and retains much of its early 19th-century features.

Earlier owners of the property, Samuel Bard and David Hosack, were heavily involved in the design of the landscape. Both men were slave owners, yet the park has no understanding of how this celebrated landscape was implicated in enslaved labor systems, if at all. This labor and social system then transformed in the19th Century and was the topic of interest for Hyde Park residents in the 20th Century.

For instance, the area has a much longer land development history that President Franklin D. Roosevelt wished to perpetuate at a time when agriculture was vanishing in the region at an alarming rate. FDR acquired farmland surrounding his home in Hyde Park to establish forestry demonstration plots as a way to keep land in agricultural production. Roosevelt planted half a million trees in Hyde Park during his lifetime, and the experience certainly influenced New Deal programs during his presidency. At Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt established a furniture factory to test the feasibility of handcraft traditions to supplement income for farming families and preserve agricultural economies. Her experiment was intended as a solution to help keep farms viable. Most of the employees at Val-Kill Industries were first-generation immigrants. Domestic service on the large Hudson River estates (there were four river front estates in Hyde Park) provided many jobs in the area. Census documentation demonstrates that a large percentage of household help were among first-generation immigrants, while men employed to maintain the farms, grounds, and gardens were members of families that had been in the area for generations.

Historic documentation in the park’s archives and at the adjacent FDR Presidential Library (NARA) include many labor and payroll records for the later period that have largely remained unstudied. The FDR Library holds many other important collections on the earlier history of Hyde Park, as do two local historical societies.

Stipulations

1. All work must be technically and legally defensible.

2. Research must meet NPS standards for a “thorough investigation” as defined in NPS-28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline for an ethnohistorical study; i.e. research will be done in selected published and documentary sources of known or presumed relevance that are readily accessible without extensive travel and that promise expeditious extraction of relevant data.

Findings must be presented in no greater detail than required by this scope of work.

3. The researcher's quality control efforts must ensure that all draft and final deliverables are completed documents, as specified, that meet the standards of scholarship as defined by the guidelines of the various professional organizations including but not limited to the American Historical Association, American Anthropological Association, and the National Council for Public History.

4. The researcher must coordinate with the NPS and OAH as necessary to complete the work as and when required. This may include participating in conference calls and product review meetings.

5. The researcher is responsible for the cost of all reproductions and for securing copyright permission, where applicable. Wherever possible, the researcher shall choose illustrations that are in the public domain. All illustrations must be labeled with captions that fully identify the subject, where published (if published), and provide credit/courtesy lines identifying where the original can be found. Illustrations must be numbered and referred to by number in the text. A full list of illustrations with captions must be included following the table of contents.

6. The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, guidelines will be used for citations and as a general guide to style.

7. Research files (or copies of these files), negatives and photographs, and other material produced as a result of this project, except for those items for which another institution either has copyrights or has placed restrictions on its distribution, shall be delivered to Weir Farm NHS and become the property of NPS upon completion of the project or upon its being declared null and void whether they are used in the preparation of the study or not.

8. The NPS retains all rights to publish and disseminate this report. The research materials and completed products will be in the public domain and may not be copyrighted. However, the researcher may publish the results of the research without written permission, but shall inform the NPS and OAH of any publications resulting directly from the products of this research. Revision of the manuscript for publication with an academic press, after completion of the project, is encouraged, provided that the role of the National Park Service and the Organization of American Historians is acknowledged in print. The researcher must obtain prior Government approval from the Agreements Officer for any public information releases concerning this award (including outside publication) which refer to the Department of the Interior or any bureau or employee (by name or title). The specific text, layout photographs, etc. of the proposed release must be submitted with the request for approval.

Format

The researcher shall be responsible for producing all submittals in Microsoft Word (2010 or later version). The final approved report will contain all sections described below and include footnotes. All citations and formatting will be according to the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. The researcher will be responsible for all sections of the study. To facilitate reviewer comments, all pages will be numbered and provide left margin line numbers for all progress reports and drafts.

The following overview details the major sections that must comprise the ethnohistoric report. Standard content sections for Ethnohistory Studies. Ethnohistories are often tied to known events in the past, using contemporary people, memory and the historical record points of view and elevate perspectives missing from the currently known or dominant narrative. Ideally, new voice, either from memory or historical record is added to traditional, dominant group narratives about a place or point in time. These studies can rely on genealogical study, lineal descent identification together with ecological, material culture, linguistic, and contemporary interviews of people residing in or transiting a place. Incorporation of these elements adds a descriptive dynamism to narrative research and may lead to an active management strategy or proposal.

Overall, these documents produce comparative material that is derived from a community(ies) voice that is an additional parallel to an existing historical narrative.

1. Front matter

2. Executive Summary

3. Introduction. Statement of the problem being addressed, question being answered. Include sections on project timeline; methodology of research and cultural anthropology and historical research methods used. If fieldwork was conducted; sources of information (libraries; archives; fieldwork with group members; linguistic data, etc.)

4. Methods. Needs to include informed consent procedures, inquiry format, and reporting format. In projects that work with federally recognized Tribes, research methodologies should be reviewed and approved in advance by tribal collaborators and their governments, and include any required tribal protocols for research. All community derived research requires informed consent and scope co-creation to ensure awareness among those directly involved in the work, and those within the greater community. This consideration is particularly important for derived information that will track family names and ties to a location or place as may be particular to an ethnohistory study. Recognition that Section 110 may be covered. Historical knowledge shared with the agency may be considered as Indigenous Knowledge, and both PIs and agency staff should consult Departmental guidelines on IK. Please, also, consider FOIA considerations. See Derived Information Language from DO28b. Project Setting Background of park area/region

5. Cultural Background. Results may illustrate deep relations between people residing in a contemporary setting and their places of origin, which may not be where they currently reside.

6. Setting. Ecology, locality, geography, and boundaries past and present .

7. Concise History. Political and social situation beginning in the present and reaching into the past. This may contain information relative to a historical context developed for previous NPS work, e.g. EOA, HRS, Interpretive Materials.

8. Concise Archeology. May be relevant, to describe relations of material cultural and settlement from present to earlier time periods, potentially into deep time, e.g. past 10,000 years

9. Literature Review

10. Ethnohistory of Traditionally Associated Groups

11. Community(ies) Identification and Associations

12. TAG History. Description about the history/narrative/context that the study is addressing.

May have to accommodate more than one point of view or community. including Literature Review, Oral History or Interviews, and Park Resource Descriptions/Site Visits).

13. Lineage and Geographical Orientation to park resources

14. Park Resources or Landscape Elements identified as culturally important/significant [i.e. lists of ethnographic resources]

15. Conclusion

16. Community Historical Narrative 1

a. TAG 1 Narratives Derived from Interview/first person accounts.

b. Narratives Historical Record

c. History

d. Park Resources identified as culturally important/significant [i.e. lists of ethnographic resources]

17. Community Historical Narrative 2

a. TAG 2 Narratives Derived from Interview/first person accounts.

b. Narratives Historical Record

c. History

d. Park Resources identified as culturally important/significant [i.e. lists of ethnographic resources]

18. Ethnohistoric Synthesis. What was learned? How are parallel and divergent histories assessed?

Implications for Resource Management. Recommendations for further study. Recommendations for resource management. Future Required Engagement to Ensure Continuity from Study

19. Conclusion/Research Summary

20. References Cited

21. Index

22. Appendices

23. List of primary materials developed for the derived information presented in the report, and their repositories.

24. Transcripts

25. Facsimiles of Historical Documents.

26. Annotated bibliography of major sources used for the research

27. CRIS-ER Data section. New information derived from community and archival based work offers potential new Ethnographic Resource data. Could be that resource narratives are updated if not new. Section 110 requirements may be met through this work. In this instance, CRIS-ER required fields for each identified ethnographic resource should be entered into the Management system.

Include a narrative summary within the document, and as possible any necessary condition update and assessment requirements. The data spreadsheet will not be imbedded in the document and should be submitted separately. NPS Anthropologist should provide a sample CRIS-ER record and review the spreadsheet with the researcher in advance.

28. Back Matter

29. Appendices. The appendices should include copies of key documents and data including but not limited to legislation, agreement documents, maps, and other valuable information.

30. Bibliography. The annotated bibliography must list the primary and secondary source materials researched and used for the preparation of the study. The bibliography will be broken into sections by kinds of materials (i.e., primary and secondary sources, etc.) as directed in The Chicago Manual of Style. This section will also include a discursive “bibliographic essay” which discusses the repositories consulted and outcomes, with a description of the research value of each repository.

31. Illustrations should appear within the relevant chapters and should appear centered at the top of the page. Wherever possible, the researcher should choose illustrations that are in the public domain. The researcher is responsible for the cost of all reproductions and for securing copyright permission, where applicable. All illustrations should be labeled with captions that fully identify the subject, where published (if published), and provide credit lines identifying where the original can be found. Illustrations should be numbered and referred to by number in the text. A full list of illustrations with captions will be included following the table of contents. Copies of permission agreements, grouped together and clearly labeled, must be included in the research materials that are turned over the park at the completion of the project.

32. Accessibility

a. Avoid using tables in general, avoid tables if possible and present the data another way, like paragraphs with headings and banners.

b. Use built-in title, subtitle, and heading styles Title, Subtitle, and headings are meant to be scanned, both visually and with assistive technology.

c. Create paragraph banners

d. Include alt text for illustrations

33. Format. Report format shall utilize NPS graphic identity standards and fonts. The standards specify two typefaces: NPS Rawlinson and Frutiger. NPS Rawlinson is used by the National Park Service under license from its creator, Terminal Design. Frutiger is used under license from Adobe Systems. Contractor is responsible for acquiring their own use licenses.

Project Schedule

Offerors should submit as part of their proposal a project schedule that addresses at a minimum the following tasks:

1. Initial Site Visit

2. Proposed bibliography, historiographic overview

3. Proposed report outline

4. Draft 1

5. Draft 2

6. Final draft

7. Final delivery

Final Deliverables

1. Print Copies. 15 printed copies utilizing cover stock (70/90/100 lb. gloss), text stock (80/100 lb.

matte), spiral coil binding (plastic or comb binding is not acceptable). If size of report warrants, print in multiple volumes.

2. PDF. Contractor shall submit the final report in 508 compliant pdf file.

The Period of Performance is one year (365) calendar days.

Selection and Evaluation Criteria for Proposal Submissions

A. Professional Qualifications of Key Personnel

Key personnel proposed must meet the requirements specified in 36 CFR Appendix A, Professional Qualification Standards and the intent of Section 112 (a)(1) of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as Amended through 1992 as identified at the following link:

http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/arch_stnds_9.htm. Key personnel must have proven professional experience in preparing historic resource studies, ethnographic studies, undertaking cultural research of similar scale, significance and complexity. Submit resume for key personnel proposed. Submission of peer reviewers is not required as a part of the proposal but should be submitted and reviewed by NPS by the selected consultant.

B. Quality Control Plan

Submit a Quality Control Plan to demonstrate your firm’s ability to successfully accomplish, proven management capabilities and organization as it relates to the ability to assemble a multidisciplinary team to meet the graphic and other technical requirements of the work. Plan should include how and when peer reviews will be completed and identify the impartial subject matter experts/peer reviewers.

C. Past Performance

Past Performance must include experience of proposed project personnel to include at least 3 similar, successfully completed projects within the last 5 years for federal agency or agencies.

Past Performance must assess the project team’s quality of work, cost control, compliance with performance schedules as well as cooperation and responsiveness. Submit a minimum of 3 references; include contact name, telephone number, email address, project description, contract value, and completion date or status. Limit 1 page per past performance reference. Note: Quoters with no past performance will be given a neutral rating and must indicate on the technical proposal if there is no past performance.

D. Cost Proposal

Contractor shall provide a cost proposal that includes all items listed in the scope of work in sufficient detail (cost and hours) to understand the level of effort for each task and the professionals assigned to accomplish each task. Any assumptions shall be clearly listed, and the estimate shall be reasonable and realistic.

E. Technical Criteria for Evaluating Proposals

The project will be awarded on a low price/technically acceptable basis with the award going to the lowest priced offer that meets the minimally acceptable technical criteria:

1. Price

2. Professional Qualifications of Key Personnel

3. Experience

4. Quality Control Plan