Information is evaluated to determine whether, within a rural area or region, a large historic district or separate properties should be considered for listing in the National Register. A comparison of past and present characteristics within a single property helps determine whether the property retains historic integrity and what the National Register boundaries should be. Finally, the classification system provides a format for documenting rural properties on National Register forms. It can be used to organize the description and statement of significance for a specific rural property on the registration form. It is also useful for organizing information about rural historic contexts and property types on the multiple property documentation form.
Land uses are the major human forces that shape and organize rural communities.
Human activities, such as farming, mining, ranching, recreation, social events, commerce, or industry, have left an imprint on the landscape. An examination of changing and continuing land uses may lead to a general understanding of how people have interacted with their environment and provide clues about the kinds of physical features and historic properties that should be present. Changing land uses may have resulted from improved technology, exhausted soils or mineral deposits, climatic changes, and new economic conditions, as well as previous successes or failures. Activities visible today may reflect traditional practices or be innovative, yet compatible, adaptations of historic ones. The organization of land on a large scale depends on the relationship among major physical components, predominant landforms, and natural features.