National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

CONTINUED » PAGE 2 

Heritage Matters 

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2008 C,^ 7 News of the Nation's Diverse Cultural Heritage 

Place and Memory: The Caddo Memorial 

Plaza in Natchitoches 

Brian D. Joyner/ National Park Service 

H

istory isn't dead, it's not even past," goes the quote from William Faulkner. It has a 

way of cropping up, forcing us to address its messages, however uncomfortable. The 

Caddo Memorial Plaza in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and the associated Keep Safe 

cemetery on Federal land is a result of a chance conversation and provides a new model for 

engagement between Federal government cultural preservation efforts and sovereign nations. 

Natchitoches Parish is a confluence of French, Anglo and African American, and Native 

American cultures, but much of the imprint of Native Americans on the landscape has been 

lost. The Caddo Indians were prevalent in western Louisiana, eastern Texas, and Arkansas, 

predating European settlement in 1714 by eight centuries. The Caddo lived in the region around 

Natchitoches until 1835, when a treaty between the Caddo Nation and the United States relocated the tribe to Texas and eventually Oklahoma. Plaques and other historical references to the 

Caddo can be found in Natchitoches and the surrounding area, particularly at Los Adeas State 

Historic Park, five miles from Natchitoches in Robeline, but scant other evidence is present. 

In 1931, the Fish and Wildlife Service established a fish hatchery to provide recreational 

fishing for Louisiana and surrounding states. Unknown at the time of purchase, the site chosen 

was once a Caddo Indian village. During its construction in the early 1930s, over 100 Caddo 

remains were looted or destroyed. A representative of the Smithsonian Institution retrieved 

some of the remains and removed them to Washington, DC, but most of the funerary objects 

and remains were lost. The story was unknown to the public until 2000, when Rhonda Clay, 

a Native American and Public Use Specialist, came to the hatchery. She informed Hatchery 

Manager Karen Kilpatrick about the significance of the hatchery grounds as a sacred site for 

the Caddo people. Upon understanding the role of the burial site in Caddo culture, Kilpatrick 

knew she needed to do something. 

Kilpatrick began communicating with the Caddo Nation to figure out how to honor this 

sacred space properly. She organized a Day of Prayer and Reconciliation in the Fall of 2000. 

this issue... 

Cultural Hub: Rehabilitating 

the Texas and Pacific 

Railway Depot as an African 

American Heritage Center 

HAER Documents the 

J.C. Lore Oyster House 

The Spanish Contribution 

to the Independence of 

the United States: Between 

Reform and Revolution, 

1763-1848 Symposium 

National Register 

Nominations 

National Historic Landmarks 

Designation 

Living History at Rancho 

Los Cerritos Historic Site 

Interpreting the Region's 

Spanish and Mexican 

Heritage 

The National Register and 

the History of Indiana Jews 
Mission of the 

National Park 

Service 

The National Park Service 

preserves unimpaired the 

natural and cultural resources 

and the values of the 

national park system for the 

enjoyment, education, and 

inspiration of this and future 

generations. The Park Service 

also cooperates with partners 

to extend the benefits of 

natural and cultural resource 

conservation and outdoor 

recreation throughout this 

country and the world. 

Heritage Matters, sponsored 

by the Cultural Resources 

Programs of the National 

Park Service, is published 

twice a year, and is free of 

charge. Readers are invited 

to submit short articles and 

notices for inclusion. (Limit 

submissions to fewer than 

600 words and include 

author's name and affiliation. 

Photographs or slides are 

welcome.) Please submit 

newsletter items in writing 

or electronically to: Brian 

D. Joyner, Editor, Heritage 

Matters, DOI/National Park 

Service, 1849 C Street, NW 

(2280), Washington, DC 20240. 

Phone: 202/354-2276, e-mail: 

brian.joyner@nps.gov. 

This material is based upon 

work conducted under a 

cooperative agreement 

between the U.S. Department 

of the Interior, National Park 

Service and the National 

Conference of State Historic 

Preservation Officers. Views 

and conclusions in this 

material are those of the 

authors and should not be 

interpreted as representing 

the opinions or policies of the 

U.S. Government. Mention 

of trade names or commercial 

products does not constitute 

their endorsement by the U.S. 

Government. 

Place and Memory 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 

During that visit, the Caddo Nation's Chairperson, LaRue Parker, and NAGPRA Coordinator, Bobby Gonzalez, discussed how to repatriate the Smithsonian remains and develop 

permanent displays to educate visitors about the cultural heritage of the hatchery. With the 

assistance of a 2001 grant from the Cane River National Heritage Area, a display of a Caddo 

village was designed and installed in the hatchery's aquarium. In 2003, Northwestern State 

University commenced an Archeological Field School at the hatchery to investigate potential 

burial sites for reinterring the remains as close as possible to their original burial site, in 

accordance with Caddo tradition. The findings from the field school resulted in a second 

display highlighting the impact of archeology in preserving cultural heritage. During this 

time, the Caddo NAGPRA Office and Kilpatrick worked with the Smithsonian to return 

remains that had been shelved for over 75 years. In March 2007, the Smithsonian confirmed 

it would repatriate the remains to the Caddo people. 

A Caddo Memorial Plaza was planned to honor and interpret the site for visitors. On 

March 6, 2008, the Caddo remains and associated funerary objects were reinterred in a 

private ceremony in a Keep Safe Cemetery formally established through a Memorandum of 

Agreement (MOA) between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Caddo Nation. On March 

7,2008, the Caddo Memorial Plaza was dedicated in conjunction with the 50th Annual 

Caddo Conference, held at Northwestern State University. The ceremony was the culmination of eight years of work involving numerous public and private partners, including the 

Cane River Creole National Historic Park, the Cane River National Heritage Area, and the 

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. 

The Caddo Memorial Plaza and the MOA ensures that this relationship will continue. 

The MOA not only allows any future Fish Hatchery Site remains to be interred without 

further permitting but also allows for any inadvertent discoveries within a 2.5 mile radius of 

the hatchery to be buried on Federal property without further permitting. This agreement 

is considered to be a significant tool for other sovereign nations seeking to reinter remains 

on federally-held lands. For these particular remains, the journey is complete, but for the 

ongoing commemoration of the Caddo and their contribution to Natchitoches' history, the 

journey is just beginning. •> 

(T) For more information on the Caddo Memorial Plaza, please contact Karen Kilpatrick, 

email: Karen_kilpatrick@fws.gov; phone: 318/352-5324. 

Caddo Nation Chairperson LaRue Parker addresses the audience at the 

dedication of the Caddo Memorial Plaza. Courtesy of Karen Kilpatrick 

The Caddo Memorial Plaza, 

located on the premises of the 

Natchitoches Fish Hatchery, 

sits above a Caddo burial site. 

Courtesy of Karen Kilpatrick. 
NPS INITIATIVES 

Cultural Hub: Rehabilitating the Texas and Pacific Railway 

Depot as an African American Heritage Center 

Virginia Price/ National Park Service 

T

he city of Natchitoches, Louisiana, was a regional 

transportation hub for over a century, connecting 

Texas and the Southwest to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Previously, roadways and waterways connected Natchitoches in the northwestern part of the state to New Orleans 

and the southeastern portion of the nation. The advent of 

the railroad in the mid-ioth century ensured that smaller 

cities such as Natchitoches, Louisiana, would continue to 

flourish as commercial centers and transportation hubs into 

the early 20th century. 

The construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway Depot 

in 1926-27 cemented the city's place in the region, bringing 

passengers as well as freight to and through the area. The 

addition of the railway depot highlighted the diverse demographics of the city. Natchitoches in the 1920s included not 

only the descendents of the French Creoles, but was home to 

a vibrant community of African Americans, many of whom 

lived within immediate vicinity of the depot. The depot was 

a source of livelihood for adults in the neighborhood and a 

place to play for children when no trains were in the station. 

The Texas and Pacific Railway Depot is one of four urban 

depots extant in Louisiana and is emblematic of the city's 

continued importance to the region as a transportation hub. 

Architecturally inspired by the villas of the Italian 

Renaissance with Spanish Revival flair, the depot is characterized by a grand entrance loggia that leads into a two-story 

space that served as the waiting room for white patrons. 

Flanking this lobby and loggia are towers capped by 

pyramidal-shaped roofs covered in red tiles. The wings are 

but a single-story in height. Details of the building speak to 

the local history, such as chandeliers modeled on the hilt of 

the sword of Louis Juhereau de St. Denis, founder of Natchitoches. It is clad with terra cotta ornament and embellished 

with classical details, including Persian-style columns and 

stylized decorative panels. The south wing was for freight, 

with the north wing as the waiting area for African Americans. 

As passenger cars replaced rail service in the middle of the 

20th century, passengers coming to the depot dwindled. 

Passenger service ceased in the 1960s and freight service 

ended in the mid-1980s. The building was closed. Without 

maintenance, it deteriorated to the point that it was included 

on Louisiana's Most Endangered Places in 2006. 

The neighborhood surrounding the depot thrived in the 

second half of the 20th century. Community leaders such 

as Ben D. Johnson ran several businesses and matched his 

entrepreneurial skill with philanthropic programs that 

benefited African Americans in Natchitoches. His campaign 

for civil rights brought him to the attention of Nelson 

Mandela and to the NAACP, who acknowledged his work 

with their humanitarian services award. Reflecting on 

This measured drawing highlights the Italian Renaissance design of the 

Texas and Pacific Railway Depot. Courtesy of the Historic American 

Buildings Survey. 

Johnson's lifetime work on behalf of African Americans, his 

epitaph reads, "I tried." 

Plans are underway for the depot to house the African 

American Heritage Center and highlight the community's 

experiences through exhibitions and interpretive programs. 

It conveys the inequities and injustices of segregation in the 

Jim Crow South through the separate waiting rooms that 

were divergent in architectural scale, finish, location, and 

accessibility. In addition, the depot would be a transportation 

hub for visitors to Natchitoches, expanding the interpretation of Natchitoches' history by connecting the African 

American neighborhood to historic Front Street and the 

National Historic Landmark District. It will be the center 

for walking and biking trails, will provide parking, and will 

be a transfer station from buses to trolleys, carriages, and 

other local transportation. 

The preservation plan has been completed, and conservation and stabilization of the structure are underway. 

Grants are pending that would fund further rehabilitation of 

the physical plant, and community-based planning sessions 

are fine-tuning the museum components of the project. 

Partners in revitalization of the Texas and Pacific Railroad 

Depot include: the Ben D. Johnson Foundation, the Black 

Heritage Committee, the Cane River Creole National Flistoric 

Park, the Cane River National Heritage Area, the city of 

Natchitoches, the Great American Station Foundation, and 

the State of Louisiana. •:• 

(T) For more information contact the Cane River National 

Heritage Area, 318/356-5555. 

HERITAGE MATTERS 3 
AlEUNHIAUVf. 

HAER Documents the 

J.C. Lore Oyster House 

Justine Christianson & Todd Croteau / National Park Service 

T

he Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), 

in cooperation with the Calvert Marine Museum, 

completed documentation of the J.C. Lore Oyster 

House with a historical report, measured drawings, and 

large format photographs in 2007-2008. The project was 

undertaken by the HAER Maritime Program, which works 

with The Council of American Maritime Museums and its 

member institutions to document historic vessels and 

land-based facilities. 

The Lore Oyster House, in operation from 1934 until 

1978, is a National Historic Landmark located on the 

banks of the Patuxent River in Solomons, Maryland. It is a 

highly intact example of the vernacular seafood processing 

operations that characterized Maryland's shores and an 

important reminder of the prominence the state once held 

in the world's oyster markets. The documentation focused 

on recording the process of fresh packing oysters, capturing 

the current condition of the building, and researching the 

predominantly African-American workforce. 

Fresh packing oysters involved packing shucked and 

cleaned oyster meat into sealed cans. The packed oysters 

were kept fresh by refrigeration or icing. The layout of the 

Lore Oyster House was typical of other oyster houses in the 

region. Boats brought oysters to the rear of the building. 

Workers unloaded the catch and transferred it to the receiving room for storage or delivered oysters to one of the two 

shucking rooms via wheelbarrows. Shuckers then extracted 

the meat from the shells. The freshly shucked oyster meat 

was cleaned and packed into cans in the processing room. 

A conveyor delivered cans from the processing room to the 

adjacent shipping room. Workers either loaded the cans 

onto trucks for shipment to various markets or packed them 

into ice-filled barrels that were then stored in one of two 

cold storage rooms until shipment day. 

Documenting the building provided some challenges to 

the survey team. Years of settlement on the unstable fill of 

the site's ground have warped the walls of the building. The 

sunken and cracked floors are now often below the tide line, 

so on occasion the team had to wade through knee-deep 

water to obtain measurements. To capture the irregularities 

of the building, the team utilized digital survey techniques 

that recorded the undulating lines of the structure. The 

result was several of the measured drawings that comprise 

a portion of the documentation. 

The story of the predominantly African American 

workforce in the oyster houses of southern Maryland is 

an important component of the Lore Oyster House story. 

Shucking, in particular, offered African American women 

an opportunity to earn money, albeit in difficult conditions. 

A unique culture was created within the shucking room as 

Joseph C Lore with workers (from left to right) Ethel Polk, Ernest Blake, 

Warren Hayes, Lillian Buck, Joseph Gross, Jud Jefferson, Marion Chase, 

Mary Gough, Elsie Johnson, and Thelma Jefferson in the shucking room, 

ca. 1940. Courtesy of Calvert Marine Museum. 

shuckers engaged in competitions to see who could shuck 

the most oysters, and developed individual shucking techniques, while singing religious songs. African American men 

had a wider range of jobs in the oyster house. In addition to 

shucking, they could find employment as floor men, which 

entailed a wide range of tasks including unloading boats, 

delivering oysters to the shuckers, and working in the shipping room. The Lore Oyster House helps preserve the story 

of the industry's workers and of oyster processing as the 

state's oyster industry continues its recent years of decline.•> 

(T) For more information on HAER documentation of 

the J.C. Lore Oyster House, contact Justine Christianson 

at Justine_Christianson@nps.gov or Todd Croteau at 

Todd_Croteau@nps.gov. 

Drawing showing layout of processing room where oysters were fresh 

packed. Courtesy of the Historic American Engineering Record. 

4 AUGUST 2008 
PARTNER INITIATIVES 

The Spanish Contribution to the Independence of the United 

States: Between Reform and Revolution, 1763-1848 Symposium 

Caridad de la Vega / National Conference of State Historic Preservation Offices 

O

n September 27-29, 2007, the Smithsonian 

Institution Latino Center, in partnership with the 

Sociedad Estatal para la Accion Cultural Exterior 

(SEACEX) and the Fundacion Consejo Espana-Estados 

Unidos, sponsored a three-day symposium, The Spanish 

Contribution to the Independence of the United States: 

Between Reform and Revolution, 1763-1848 (La contribution 

espahola a la independencia de los Estados Unidos: entre la 

reformay la revolution, 1763-1848) at the National Portrait 

Gallery. The symposium was connected to an exhibition 

by the Smithsonian Institution titled Legacy: Spain and the 

United States in the Age of Independence, 1763-1848 (Legado: 

Espaha y los Estados Unidos en la era de la Independencia, 

1763-1848), sponsored in cultural partnership between the 

United States and Spain. 

The exhibition and the symposium highlighted the 

relationship between Spain and the United States between 

the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which marked the 

end of the French and Indian War (known in Europe as the 

Seven Years' War) and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 

which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848. Both the 

symposium and the exhibit highlight the impact of Hispanics on the nation's history with particular focus on their 

contributions to the American cause for independence. 

They also addressed the subsequent diplomatic relationship 

between the two nations in negotiating territorial rights and 

boundaries and the Hispanic imprint made upon the social 

and cultural landscapes of Florida, Louisiana, California, 

and the Southwest during the United States' nascent years. 

The symposium panelists consisted of independent 

historians, journalists, and university professors from the 

United States, Spain, and Mexico, who presented papers 

interpreting the economic, military, cultural, social, and 

historical contributions of Hispanics to the establishment 

and subsequent formation of the United States. The panelists discussed topics such as the impact of the generous and 

clandestine financial contributions made by the Viceroyalty 

of Spain to the American colonists' quest for independence 

on the American economy. The military support offered by 

colonial Spanish Louisiana Governor Bernardo de Galvez, 

who successfully defeated the British in several campaigns, 

weakened the British presence on the Mississippi River and 

the Gulf of Mexico and ultimately aided the Americans in 

securing their independence. 

The post-revolutionary interactions of the Spanish with 

the young American Republic were discussed in a paper 

titled "Spain and the United States." Later panel discussions 

explored the evolution of the term "Hispanic" and how 

Hispanics on the Southwest formed "imagined communities," as a result of the annexation of Mexican territory by 

the U.S. which instantly made Mexican citizens foreigners 

in their own homeland. An interesting paper titled "Herbert 

Bolton and the Recovery of Spanish American History" 

discussed the early stages of the study of Hispanic history 

in tire United States and how Bolton "reintroduced" the 

American public to Hispanics and Spanish history in the U.S. 

Bolton is considered a pioneer in Spanish borderland studies. 

The exhibit that the symposium supported included 

portraits of the major players in the story of American 

Independence and the subsequent formation of the United 

States. It displayed portraits of American statesman such as 

George Washington and Benjamin Franklin alongside those 

of Spanish figures with crucial roles in assisting the revolutionary cause, such as King Carlos III, Bernardo de Galvez, 

and Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Conde deAranda, who was 

the Spanish Ambassador to France. The exhibit featured portraits of notable American, Spanish, and Mexican figures, but 

also included maps, treaties, and documents that reveal the 

political interactions among these nations during the colonial 

period and the early stages of the American republic. 

This cultural interchange between Spain, Mexico, and 

the United States is timely and appropriate as the Smithsonian prepares to inaugurate The National Museum of the 

American Latino, yet another new museum showcasing 

the complex and diverse history of the United States. The 

contributions of Spanish and Hispanics to the development 

of the United States are being reintroduced to the American 

historical narrative. •> 

(T) For more information, the online version of the 

exhibition highlighting a portion of the various portraits and 

documents is available at http://latino.si.edu/SpainLegacy/ 

Archive/index.html. 

National Portrait Gallery 

On September 27-29, 2007, the Smithsonian Institution Latino Center, 

in partnership with the Sociedad Estatal para la Accion Cultural 

Exterior (SEACEX) and the Fundacion Consejo Espana-Estados Unidos, 

sponsored a three-day symposium at the National Portrait Gallery. 

HERITAGE MATTERS 5 
National Register Nominations 

Caridad de la Vega / National Conference for State Historic Officers / Rustin Quaide / National Park Service 

Ah Louis Store 

The Ah Louis Store is significant for its association with the 

Chinese American pioneer Ah Louis (or On Wong), and as 

the oldest of four surviving buildings associated with the 

Chinese American community in San Luis Obispo, California. 

The brick building is a two-story Victorian Italianate-style 

building built in 1885 located on the edges of the downtown commercial core. The Ah Louis Store served as the 

center of San Luis Obispo's Chinese-American community 

from 1874 to 1930, and as the home of Ah Louis and his 

eight children from 1874 to 1936. 

The building served the Chinese and Asian communities as 

a general store, post office, bank, employment office, and 

as a gathering spot for the community. Chinese workers 

were hired at Ah Louis' store and worked on the Pacific 

Coast Railway and the Southern Pacific Railroad. The men 

contracted by Ah Louis helped build several county roads, 

and the wharf at Port San Luis, and worked in agricultural 

and domestic fields throughout the county. Ah Louis is also 

responsible for pioneering the flower and vegetable seed 

business in San Luis Obispo County with his seeds being 

shipped throughout the United States during World War I. 

The Ah Louis Store is one of the oldest buildings in California still owned by descendants of the original builder. 

Ah Louis store served as the centerpiece of the Chinese American 

community from 1874 until 1930. Courtesy of William J. Watson. 

6 AUGUST 2008 

O Bennett Avenue Historic District 

The Bennett Avenue neighborhood was established in 

Richmond Heights, Missouri, by and for African Americans during the 1940s to 1960s as a modern suburban 

development. The neighborhood is associated with Dr. 

Thomas and Georgia Rusan, an African American couple 

who developed this suburban neighborhood near Hadley 

Township, a working-class African American neighborhood where Dr. Rusan grew up. The Rusans encouraged 

other African American professionals to build modern 

spacious homes in what is the historic district. 

The neighborhood was built during the height of the 

modern Civil Rights era-at a time when Missouri ordinances still separated neighborhoods by race. Opposition 

to the neighborhood took the form of delayed building 

permits and a delayed sewage system. Very few white 

architects or builders were willing to work with the 

residents of Bennett Avenue due to the racial barriers, 

until highly respected architect Robert G. McMahon was 

commissioned to design houses. Other architects followed 

McMahon's lead. Despite early difficulties, Bennett Avenue 

grew and attracted a large number of professionals, 

including educators, doctors, and dentists. 

A notable resident of the Bennett Avenue Historic District 

was Robert A. Hudlin, an educator and one of the first 

African American tennis players on the University of 

Chicago's tennis team. He taught future tennis stars 

Althea Gibson (the first African American to win the 

United States Open, Wimbledon, and the French Open 

tournaments) and Arthur Ashe (the first African American 

to play on the United States' Davis Cup team). In 1960-61, 

Ashe lived with the Hudlins at 1221 Lacledes Station Road. 

Bennett Avenue Historic District includes 30 dwellings, 

constructed from 1945 through 1968. 
3 Black Hawk Powwow Grounds 

Located in Komensky, Wisconsin, the Black Hawk Powwow 

Grounds site is a traditional cultural property of the Ho-Chunk 

Nation (Ho-Chunk Wazijaci people) dating to 1896. The 

Black Hawk Powwow Grounds sits on a 20-acre area of open 

grasslands surrounded by trees and several permanent and 

semi-permanent buildings, including a concrete grandstand, 

with a wooden drum arbor, a legion post building known as 

the "cook shack," and a meeting building. 

The Black Hawk Powwow Grounds site is central to the 

Ho-Chunk nation's history and culture as a ceremonial and 

social center, a dance-ring (or powwow) ground. In addition, 

the Black River Falls Hills Ho-Chunk community uses the 

grounds for activities such as medicine lodge ceremonies, 

tribal councils, clan festivals, and religious gatherings. 

The dance arena at the Black Hawk Powwow Grounds has been a 

central gathering place for the Ho-Chunk people since the 1800s. 

Courtesy of Jay Toth. 

The Cohn-Sichel 

House was 

the home of 

the prominent 

Jewish family 

of Moses and 

Gussie Sichel 

from 1910 until 

1952. Courtesy 

of Rank Dixon. 

The Cohn-Sichel House, located in Portland, Oregon, was the 

home of Jewish community leader Moses Sichel (1859-1891), 

and wife Gussie Sichel (1862-1952). This two-and-one-half 

story house is one of the first examples of early Craftsman 

Style design in Portland by master architect Emil Schacht, 

built as a speculative venture by S. Morton Cohn. The house 

is also a contributing resource to the National Register of 

Historic Places Alphabet Historic District. 

Moses Sichel was a successful merchant who was well-known 

in Portland for his men's furnishings store, M. and H. H. Sichel 

and Company. Sichel and his wife were influential in the 

Jewish community, Moses as a successful entrepreneur and 

Gussie through her charitable work. The house, built in 1907 

and owned by the Sichels from 1910 to 1952, was notable in 

the architectural development of Portland, Oregon. 

O Saint Joseph Church and Shrine 

The St. Joseph Church and Shrine 

in Cambridge Township in 

southern Michigan is an outstanding example of 20th-century North 

American artwork, produced by 

Mexican artists in the trabajo 

rustica style. The original church 

dates from 1863 but a later 

1928-29 expansion adopted a 

Spanish mission-inspired design. 

The complex includes a sanctuary 

built during the expansion phase 

that sits in the rear of the church. 

The Spanish colonial design of 

the church is rare for its location, 

which was a popular tourist 

destination on the route from 

Chicago to Detroit during 

the 1930s. 

Saint Joseph Church and Shrine 

is significant not only for its 

religious art but for its marble 

statuary, and for its trabajo 

rustica styled sculptures (concrete shaped to resemble wood 

or other organic substances) 

and its Mission Crafts ceramic 

tile plaques in the Via Dolorosa 

Shrine. The shrine was built in 

the 1930s and is a representation 

of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, 

and its pathways and stairs lead 

to the Stations of the Cross. The 

six trabajo cust/co-styled statues 

that constitute the Stations of the 

Cross are the work of Raphael 

Corona and other Mexican 

itinerant artists from San Antoni' 

Texas. Corona was an apprentice 

of the acknowledged master of 

the trabajo rustico in the United 

States, Dionicio Rodriguez, who 

also assisted Corona with the 

Stations of the Cross sculptures. 

Sitting on a highly traveled 

road that connected Detroit 

to Chicago, the Saint 

Joseph Church and Shrine 

became a major tourist 

attraction during the 1930s. 

Courtesy of Gladys Saborio. 
NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATIONS 

National Historic Landmarks 

Designation 

Rustin Quaide/ National Park Service 

Kero Farmstead Historic District 

The Kero Farmstead Historic District in Carbon County, 

Montana, represents the development of Finnish communities in the United States which emerged because of 

difficult economic conditions in Finland (then part of the 

Russian Empire) in the early 20th century. Many young 

Finns came to the United States and found employment 

in the mining and lumbering regions of Minnesota and 

Michigan. As mining opportunities opened up further 

west, the Finns moved west arriving in Montana. By 1900, 

Finnish people constituted 3.3% of the total population 

of Montana, and Carbon County had the third largest 

concentration of Finns in the state. 

Jacob Kero was one of the Finns who settled on the West 

Bench above Rock Creek in Carbon County. The Kero 

farmstead contains two log buildings, the house, and 

the sauna that reflect the Fenno-American traditional log 

construction techniques. Jacob Kero built his two-story, 

seven room house in 1907. Other structures include the 

root cellar, the garage, and a secondary residence, built 

later. The Kero Farmstead Historic District is situated on 

lands originally designated as the Crow Indian Reservation 

by the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty. 

(I) For more information about the National Register 

visit http://www.nps.gov/nr 

Beth Sholom Synagogue 

The Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Montgomery Park, 

Pennsylvania, is one of the most important works of the great 

American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1859). Beth Shalom 

Synagogue, Wright's only commission for a synagogue, is 

noteworthy for the unusually collaborative relationship between 

Wright and Beth Sholom's rabbi, Mortimer J. Cohen (1894-1972). 

The finished building is a striking religious design quite unlike 

any other and is a benchmark in Wright's career, mid-20th century 

architectural trends, and in the history of American Judaism. 

Beth Shalom Congregation was founded in the Logan neighborhood of north Philadelphia in 1919 in a period of rapid expansion 

for Conservative Judaism in American cities. Reflecting the 

nationwide post-World War II expansion into the suburbs, the 

congregation decided to move out of Philadelphia. Rabbi Cohen 

and Beth Sholom's board purchased the Elkins Park property in 

January of 1949. At the suggestion of sculptor Boris Blai, the dean 

of the nearby Tyler School of Art, Wright was contacted about the 

commission. Wright and his staff completed working drawings 

early in 1955. Delays in materials slowed the project, and Wright 

died before it was completed in May 1959. 

Beth Shalom officially opened on September 20, 1959. The synagogue, as envisioned by Frank Lloyd Wright and Rabbi Mortimer 

Cohen, has been used continually for worship services since 1959. 

The synagogue building is composed in a single, complex volume. 

It consists of a glazed, pyramidal tower, broad in form and made 

up of three sides, and a base of reinforced concrete, steel, and 

glass. These components rise from an irregular, yet bilaterally 

symmetrical, hexagonal plan in which the main (west) elevation 

faces Old York Road with the southeast and northeast elevations 

coming to a point opposite, facing east. This axis orients the 

worshippers to the arks placed near the building's eastern point, 

facing in the direction of Jerusalem, an orientation that reflects 

a planning convention used in many Conservative Jewish 

synagogues built in the mid-20th century. 

The only synagogue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Beth Sholom 

Synagogue exemplifies the modern movement in synagogue design. 

Courtesy of Alexis Flack. 

8 AUGUST 2008 
PARTNER INITIATIVES 

Living History at Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site 

Interpreting the Region's Spanish and Mexican Heritage 

Miroslava Chavez-Garcia / University of California, Davis 

R

ancho Los Cerritos Historic Site and Museum in 

Long Beach, California, has developed a researchbased living history program to interpret a key 

component of the state's history—the Spanish and Mexican 

heritage of the ranchos, large tracts of land granted to 

soldiers and other military personnel for their service to the 

Spanish crown in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth 

centuries. The ranchos, along with the misiones (missions), 

presidios (forts), and pueblos (towns), served a vital role in 

Spain's colonization efforts in its northernmost region. 

The land grants were meant to attract military men who, 

along with their wives and children, would help populate the 

territory, protect it from resistant Native American peoples, 

and defend it from foreign incursions. 

However, the Spanish government granted only a 

handful of ranchos. Among them was Rancho Los Nietos, 

granted to Manuel Perez Nieto in 1784, for his role as 

"founder of the territory." Nieto bequeathed 27,000 of his 

167,000 acres (originally 300,000 acres), to his daughter, 

Manuela Nieto after his death in 1804, to create Rancho Los 

Cerritos. She and her spouse, Guillermo Cota, a prominent 

citizen and former military leader, used the land to graze 

livestock, maintain corrals of horses and livestock, support 

themselves, and establish their social position and status in 

the larger region. 

During the Mexican Period (1821-1848), the number of 

ranchos granted increased, coinciding with the seizure of 

mission-held properties in the 1830s. The indigenous 

population of California, after years of labor for the missions, 

government, or as private citizens, was generally excluded 

from receiving land of their own. Instead, the bulk of the 

ranchos went to descendants of Spanish-speaking colonists 

or Californios, political leaders, and "Mexicanized" Americans and Europeans, those who had become Mexican 

citizens by pledging an oath to the government of Mexico, 

converting to the Catholic religion, and learning to speak the 

Spanish language. A significant number of these citizens also 

married Calif or nianas, daughters of settler-families. Among 

them was John "Juan" Temple, originally from Massachusetts, who wed Rafaela Cota, a distant relative of Guillermo 

Cota. In 1843, half a dozen years after Manuela Nieto's 

death, Temple purchased Rancho Los Cerritos from 

Guillermo Cota for 83,025. 

Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site is seeking to interpret 

the histories of the various peoples and families who called 

the rancho home in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. A 

James Irvine Foundation grant of 836,000 given over two 

years and a matching grant from the Rancho Los Cerritos 

Foundation are supporting the development of a living 

history program. Interpreters or character-based docents 

will provide visitors a context for understanding the 

rancho's ethnic heritage in the broader region. The funding 

enables them to produce a living history program, a script of 

eighteen historical figures, including Guillermo and Manuela Nieto de Cota, John and Rafaela Cota de Temple, and a 

visitor's orientation video. The funds will also aid in training 

the living history presenters how to engage, listen to, and 

respond to visitors in ways that reflect the historical period. 

To aid in researching Rancho Los Cerritos's heritage, 

the rancho has contracted with university professors and 

graduate students to conduct character-specific investigations into the broader social milieu of the site's ethnically 

and racially diverse peoples. Such an understanding is 

crucial to the thousands of southern California students 

who come through the gates. One target audience is Mexican 

and Mexican American children who infrequently see themselves or their histories represented in public spaces. As an 

innovative and experiential museum, Rancho Los Cerritos 

offers them an invaluable opportunity to engage in a history 

that reflects the Spanish and Mexican legacy that belongs to 

them as well as to Californians more broadly. •> 

1

 For more information on Rancho Los Cerritos visit www.rancholoscerritos.org or call 562/570-1755. 

HERITAGE MATTERS 9 
PARTNER INITIATIVES 

The National Register and the History of Indiana Jews 

Jeannie Regan-Dinius/ Indiana State Preservation Office 

I

n 2002, the Midwest Region's Cultural Resources 

Office of the National Park Service awarded the Indiana 

State Preservation Office (SHPO) a grant to conduct 

a survey of Indiana's Jewish heritage and the related built 

environment. The survey's purpose was to identify and 

study Jewish heritage sites and their potential for National 

Register of Historic Places listing or National Historic 

Landmark designation. Additionally, the ISHPO hoped 

to better understand the impact Jews played in the 

development of Indiana, and to use the results of the 

survey to educate the public. 

The first "wave" of immigrants arrived as early as the 

1760s, when Jewish traders settled in the territory. These 

settlers were, in general, men who assimilated into the 

dominant Christian culture. After statehood in 1816, more 

Jews arrived in Indiana, forming Jewish enclaves across the 

state: Vincennes had Jewish settlers by the mid-i820S; Rising 

Sun's community was established in 1824; andTerre Haute 

had settlers as early as 1827. However, these pioneers lacked 

the support of a practicing Jewish community. 

The next wave came in the mid-ioth century, when an 

influx of German-Jews migrated to the United States. Many 

of Indiana's early German-Jews worked as peddlers, while 

those with tailoring and related skills went into the clothing 

business. This wave expanded Jewish communities throughout the state. Jewish business leaders provided services 

and goods to customers, and became involved in Indiana's 

political and social life. However, the greatest contribution 

of these German-Jews was the establishment of Indiana's 

Jewish cultural and religious life. 

By the mid-i840S, Jews were establishing congregations 

in towns all across Indiana. Fort Wayne saw the formation 

of Indiana's first formal congregation in 1848. In 1884,Ule 

congregation expanded and needed to provide additional 

burial plots for members. It purchased acreage within the 

larger community cemetery, Lindenwood Cemetery, listed 

in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. However, 

the nomination made no mention of the Jewish portion of 

the cemetery. In 1856, Indianapolis's first congregation was 

formed. It became the focal point of the Southside community, which also built schools, cemeteries, community 

centers, and a mikveh (a ritual bathhouse). While a strong 

Jewish presence remains in Indianapolis, little of the built 

environment remains on the Southside. 

Other towns erected temples to support growing 

communities. Madison's temple was founded in 1855; 

Wabash had Jewish businesses, a temple, and cemetery, 

most of which is still extant; and Ligonier established a 

temple in 1865. Ligonier was of particular interest in the 

survey because despite a small community, it had a sizable 

Jewish population and early settlement (in the 1850s) with 

politically and commercially active Jewish citizens. Research 

was undertaken into its potential nomination as a National 

Historic Landmark, but it was determined to be ineligible. 

With the passing of the National Immigration Act of 

1924, both immigration from Eastern Europe and Jewish 

immigration slowed. This coupled with the internal 

migration of second and third generation Indiana Jews to 

larger cities with more opportunities, decreased the rural 

Jewish population. Small Jewish communities, such as 

those in Ligonier and Wabash, dwindled away. 

Most Hoosiers (residents of Indiana) do not know the 

role that Jews have played in the development of Indiana. 

This survey was valuable to the Indiana SHPO and will 

benefit other communities as they learn about the impact 

of Jewish immigrants. Out of this study, the SHPO plans to 

update all National Register listings to include any relevant 

association with Jewish history and culture, and write new 

nominations for individual structures and historic districts. 

Finally, there are plans to collaborate with other state 

agencies to include this history in interpretative packets 

for teachers, to educate all Hoosiers. •:• 

(T) For more information contact Jeannie Regan-Dinius at 

JRDinius@dnr.IN.gov; phone: 317/234-1268. 

10 AUGUST 2008 

Indiana State Flag 

Most Hoosiers (residents of Indiana) do not know 

the role that Jews have played in the development 

of Indiana. This survey was valuable to the Indiana 

SHPO and will benefit other communities as they learn 

about the impact of Jewish immigrants. 
Conferences and Events 

Conferences 

August 2008 

AAAM Annual Conference 2008: 

Reflect, Reinvest, Revitalize! 

August 27-30 2008 / Chicago, Illinois 

The Association of African American Museums (AAAM) will hold 

its 2008 Annual Conference on August 27 - 30 in Chicago, Illinois. 

This year's theme "Reflect, Reinvest, Revitalize" will focus on 

watershed exhibitions featuring proficient curatorial practices 

such as "Field to Factory." It will also profile both successful 

development campaigns that reinvest in the growth of an 

organization and programs that revitalize professionalism in 

all aspects of museum operations. 

For more information, visit http://www.blackmuseums.org/ 

prodev/conference.htm. 

September 2008 

2008 AASLH Annual Meeting 

September 9-12, 2008 / Rochester, New York 

On September 9-12, in Rochester, NY, the American Association of 

State and Local History (AASLH) will host its annual conference, 

with this year's theme "Discovering the Power of Transformation." 

The history profession is a steward of a great transformative 

power-the power of ideas, people, and places. This power is 

evidenced throughout American, state, and local history. History 

organizations see this power of transformation as they interact 

with the public, whether it is using an historical character to 

inspire a young person to make a difference in their world or 

providing historical context for an important contemporary issue. 

For more information visit http://www.aaslh.org/anmeeting.htm 

October 2008 

APTI Annual Conference: 

Moving Forward, Looking Back 

October 13-17, 2008 / Montreal, Quebec, Canada 

The Association for Preservation Technology International's 40th 

Anniversary Conference will be October 13-17, 2008 at Hilton 

Montreal Bonaventure in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The theme 

of the conference, "Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Heritage 

Conservation," celebrates not only the membership profile of APT 

but the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of historic preservation approaches over the last four decades. It will examine several 

sub-themes: sustainable heritage conservation and conservation 

technology and philosophy. 

In addition to paper sessions and panel discussions, keynote 

addresses, field sessions, workshops, and a symposium will be 

offered. A host of special events to celebrate APT's 40-year 

contribution to the conservation field will also be featured. 

National Trust's National Preservation Conference 

October 21-25, 2008 / Adelphi, Maryland 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation will host its annual 

National Preservation Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, October 

21 - 25, 2008. This year's theme is Preservation in Progress. 

For information on early registration, visit http://www.nthpconference.org/information/. 

November 2008 

AAGHS 2008 Conference: Call For Papers 

November 7-10, 2008 / Montreal, Quebec, Canada 

The Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (AAHGS) 

announces the 2008 annual conference on the University of 

Maryland Campus, Marriott Inn and Conference Center in Adelphi 

Maryland, on November 7-10, 2008. 

For more information: Contact Charles A. Howard, Vice President for 

Genealogy Submission may be via email at cah_howard@msn.com 

or via postal mail to: Charles A. Howard, 21 Longfellow Street, NE, 

Washington, DC 20011-2441; 202/722-0408. 

April 2009 

SAH Annual Conference 

April 1-5, 2009 / Montreal, Pasadena, California 

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) will host its annual 

conference in Pasadena, California April 1-5, 2009. Conference 

organizers are currently accepting proposals for papers. The call for 

papers is open until August 15, 2008. For more information on the 

available topics, visit http://www.sah.org/index. 

Events 

Preservation-related 

Commemorations 

Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month / September 15-October 15 

American Indian Heritage Month / November 

African American Heritage Month / February 

Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month / May 

Historic Preservation Month / May 

For more information, visit http://www.apti.org/conferences/ 

conference-current.cfm. 
National Park Service 

1849 C Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20240 

Presort 

FIRST CLASS MAIL 

Postage & Fees Paid 

U.S. Department 

of the Interior 

AUGUST/SEPTEMBE R 200 8 

Heritage Matters 

News of the Nation's Diverse Cultural Heritage 

Mary A. Bomar / Director 

Janet Snyder Matthews Associate 

Director, Cultural Resources 

Antoinette J. Lee 

Assistant Associate Director, Historic 

Documentation Programs 

J. Paul Loether 

Chief, National Register of Historic 

Places & National Historic Landmark 

Survey Programs 

Brian D. Joyner 

Heritage Matters Editor 

About 

Heritage Matters 

Heritage Matters, sponsored by the 

Cultural Resources Programs of the 

National Park Service, is published twice 

a year, and is free of charge. Readers 

are invited to submit short articles and 

notices for inclusion. (Limit submissions 

to fewer than 600 words and include 

author's name and affiliation. 

Photographs or slides are welcome.) 

Please submit newsletter items in 

writing or electronically to: 

Brian D. Joyner, Editor, Heritage Matters 

DOI/National Park Service, 1849 C Street 

NW (2280), Washington, DC 20240 

phone: 202/354-2276 

e-mail: brian_joyner@nps.gov. 

www.nps.gov