The vernacular landscape

Abstract

Landscapes present a unique challenge to the preservation profession in regards to cultural resource management due to the constantly changing nature of the natural environment. The challenge is only intensified when presented with a cultural landscape used for agriculture, where fluctuating social, economic, and environmental conditions often contribute to rapid changes in land-use patterns. When seeking to interpret the Colonial Era tobacco culture that developed along the Northern Neck of Virginia, a peninsula bound by the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, one is faced with all these factors. This thesis investigates the methods and implications of site interpretation that have been used on tobacco culture sites and the application of the methods to Stratford Hall Plantation.