History 445: California History Fall, 2024
Professor Wiese
California Historical Landmarks Project
Check in due Friday, November 1 (complete 3 of the 6 parts)
Final project due Monday, December 2 (complete all 6 parts)
This project is worth 40 percent of your grade
The Project:
California is home to 1,114 State Historical Landmarks, in addition to a host of other recognized Historical Resources – including Points of Historical Interest, State Historical Parks, and National Landmarks. According the California State Office of Historical PreservationLinks to an external site.:
“California Historical Landmarks are sites, buildings, features, or events that are of statewide significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, experimental, or other value.” (State Office of Historical Preservation, California Historical Landmarks, https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/Links to an external site.)
These Landmarks are seen or visited annually by thousands of people. As places whose significance is recognized by the State, they form important reference points for public understanding of California’s history and the people who made it. Like historic sites of all kinds, they can be powerful places for learning because they “offer connections across time, encouraging empathy for the people who shaped our past.” (National Park Service, Teaching with Historic PlacesLinks to an external site.)
For all these reasons, California Historical Landmarks [CHL’s] invite closer analysis. For instance, we should note that the selection and significance attributed to these sites (that is, their interpretation) reflects the time periods in which they were established and the biases/priorities of the people who advocated for their importance. The Historical Landmarks program itself has evolved – from an informal process dominated by local heritage groups in the early 20th century to a formal practice managed by professionals (preservationists, architects, archeologists, and historians), governed by a State AgencyLinks to an external site. and a Public CommissionLinks to an external site.. These changes, too, have shaped how California’s Historical Landmarks are selected and interpreted. More recently, social justice movements have called for a rethinking of the state’s history and the public landscapes that commemorate it.
Your assignment this semester is to evaluate the California Historical Landmarks program through a close analysis of ONE California Historical Landmark and other materials.
Your assignment has the following parts.
1) Select ONE California Historical Landmark for research and analysis. See the List of California Historical Landmarks by CountyLinks to an external site. on the State Office of Historical Preservation website. NOTE: You may choose a Landmark from anywhere in California, but you must be able to visit it this semester.
Answer the following questions (1 paragraph):
– Why did you select this Landmark? What aspects make it most compelling to you?
2) Analyze the site description and statement of significance that accompanies your CHL. (For site descriptions, see the list of California Historical Landmarks by CountyLinks to an external site.)
For your reference, please start this section with the CHL Statement of Significance.
Answer the following questions (2 paragraphs):
– According to this statement, why is this place historically significant? What features are most important in this evaluation? Whose history is represented? How/why? Whose may be overlooked or marginalized?
– Consider your Landmark and its stated significance in the context of other CHL’s established in the same county around the same time. How is it similar or different?
3) Visit your California Historical Landmark
Address the following questions (2 paragraphs):
– Describe your landmark, its general location and setting. How evident is its Historical Landmark status? Does it include a sign or plaque with its original statement of significance? Does it include other signage or interpretation? What aspects of this place and the people associated with it does the site’s interpretation emphasize? Describe and evaluate these materials.
– How effective is this Landmark at conveying a sense of the State’s history and heritage (including changes in interpretation over time)? Explain.
4) Evaluate your California Historical Landmark in the context of our course materials and other historical sources.
Answer the following questions (2 paragraphs):
– Compare and contrast the site description and statement of significance of your Landmark with interpretations of California’s past contained in our course materials and other historical sources.
Use at least two course materials and one outside (reliable/scholarly) source to support your evaluation. Cite these sources.
– Based on the available evidence, how well does your Landmark meet the “Criteria for Designation”Links to an external site. established by the State in 1962? To what extent do you agree/disagree with the formal statement of this site’s historical importance? Explain.
NOTE: The first 770 CHL’s were designated before the creation of a formal process or criteria. See the History of the Landmarks ProgramLinks to an external site. for more information.
5) Watch and evaluate a recent meeting of the California Historical Resources Commission. Select one of the following dates: January 20, 2022; January 21, 2022, April 29, 2022; April 21, 2023. Click HERE for accessLinks to an external site. to Meeting Recordings.
Address the following questions (2 paragraphs):
– How does the State of California select historical resources today? How does the process affect the resources that are nominated and approved? Based on the hearing and supporting materials, who seems to play the most important role in shaping additions to the list of California Historical Resources? Explain the process and consider how that may shape what is recognized as “historically significant.”
– What is the State doing to re-evaluate and update its recognition of California’s diverse heritage? Give examples from your hearing or other materials on the State Historical Resources website. Whose history do these new historical resources tell? In your opinion, how well is California meeting the goal outlined by the Commission Chair at the April, 2023, meeting: to operate with the “Intention and practice of telling everyone’s stories?”
In addition, I recommend reading the Historical Nomination form (“continuation sheet”) for the California Historical Landmarks Associated with the Ohlone-Portolá Heritage TrailLinks to an external site. (discussed at the April, 2023 meeting).
6) Update/Re-Write the Statement of Significance for your California Historical Landmark.
Answer the following questions/instructions (2 paragraphs):
– Using track changes or strike out/changes format, write a new statement of significance that you believe should accompany your California Historical Landmark in 2024. (200-300 words)
– Write a paragraph explaining your choices.
Note: if you believe that your selected CHL should be removed from the list of California Historical Landmarks, please write a new site description for the sign that explains this change to the public. AND include a paragraph explaining your decision to me.
