1984-065-RES WHEREAS, the City of Paris, has heretofore agreed upon the need for an historical survey of the City of

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44716 Federal Registor / " ' 48. No. 190 I Thursday, September 29 -_._----~~-_._~_._-_._- 5. Creating mechanisms for identifying and resolving connicts about historic preservation issues. The development of historic contexts, for example. should be based on the professional input of all disciplines involved in preservation and not be. limited to a single discipline. For prehistoric archeology, for example, data from fields such as geology, geomorphology and geography may also be needed. The individuals and organizations to be invofved will depend, in part, on those present or interested in the plunning area. Documents Resulting from the Planning Process In most cases, the planning process produces documents thai explain how th{~ process works und lhut discuss the historic contexts and related goals and priorities. vVhile the process can operate ill the absence of these documents, planning documents are important because they are the most effective means of communicating the process and its recommendations to others. Planning documents also record decisions about historic properties. As various parts of the planning process are reviewed and revised to n~nect current information, related documents must also be updated. Planning documents should be created in a form that can be easily revised. It is also recommended that the format. language and organization of any documents or other materials (visulll aids, etc.) containing preservation planning informalhn meet the needs of prospective users. Developing Historic Contexts General Approach Available informati.m about historic properties must be divided into manageable units before it can be useful for planning purposes, Major decisions about identifying, evaluating, registering and trealing historic properties are most reliably made in the contt-xt of other related properties. A historic context is an organizational forma! thut groups information about related historic properties. based on a theme, geographic limits and chronological period. A single historic context describes one or more aspects of the historic development of an area. considering history, architecture, Hrcheology. engineering and culture: and identifies the significant-patterns that individual historic properties represenl, for example, Coal Mining in Northeastern Pennsylvania between 1800 and 1930. A set of historic contexts 13 / Notices -----,.-----., .,-- ------~.. is a comprehensive summary of 1111 ilspects of the history of the area. The historic context is the cornerstone of the planning process. The g01l1 of preservation plunning is to identify, evaluate, register and treat the full range of properties representing each historic context, rather than only one or two Iypes of properties. Identification Activities are organized to ensure that research and survey activities include properties representing all aspects of the historic context. Evaluation llses the historic context 8S the framework within which to apply the criteria for evalution to specific properties or property types. Decisions about treatment of properties are made with the goal of treating the range of properties in the context. The use of historic contexts in organizing mnjor pre.'H'rvulioll ilctivi'ie~ enflllrc~ that those activities result in the preservation of the wide variety of properties that represent our history, rather than only a small. biased sample of properties. Historic contexls. as theoretical constructs, are linked to actual historic properties through the concept of property type. Property types permit the development of plans for identification. evaluation find treatment even in the absence of complete knowledge of individual properties. Like the historic conlext. property types Me artifical constructs which may be revised as necessary. Historic contexts cun be developed at a variety of scales appropriate for local. State Hnd regional planning. Given the probaoility of historic contexts overlapping in an area, it is important to coordinate the development and use of contexts at all levels. Generally. the State Histonc Preservation Office possesses the most complete body of information about historic properties and. in practice, is in the best position to perform this function. The development of historic contexts generally results in documents that describe the prehistoric processes or paltnTls that define'the context. Each of the contexts selected should be developed to the point of identifying important property types to be useful in later preservation decision-making. The amount of detail included in these summaries will vary depending on the level (local. state, regional. or national) at which the contexts are dp.veloped and on their intended uses. For most planning purposes, a synopsis of the written description of the historic context is sufficient. Creating a Historic Context Generally. historic contexts should not be constructed 50 broadly as to include liB property typc.'i under u single historic context or so narrowly ilS to contain only one property type per historic context. The following procedures should be followed in creating a historic con'text. 1. IdentJfy the concept. time period and gcographicollimits for the historic context Exi5ting information. concepts. theories, models and d(~tlcriptions should be lIsed HS the bu!>is for defining historic contexts. Biases in primuiy and secondary sources should be identified and accounted for when existing information is used in defining historic contexts. The identification and description of hi~t()ric context!> HhuuJd illcorpor:de contributions from all disciplines involved in historic preservation. The chronological p;;riod and geographical <Hea of each historic context !>hould be ddined nfter the conceptuul basig is established. However. there may be exceptions, especially in defining prehistoric contexts where drainage systems or physiographic regions often are outlined first. The geographical boundaries for historic contexts f1hould not be based upon contemporary political. project or other contemporary boundaries if those boundaries do not coincide with historical boundaries. For example. boundaries for prehistoric contexts will have little relationship to contemporary city. county or state boundaries. 2. Assemble the existing information about the historic context a. Collecting information: Several kinds of information are needed to construct 8 preservation plan. Information about the history of the area encompassed by t.he historic' context must be collected. including any information about historic properties that have already been identified. Existing surveyor inventory entries <:tre lIn important source of information about historic properties. Other sources mny include literature on prehistory. history, architecture and the environment: social and environmf:nlal impact assessments: county and Stale land use plans: architectural Hno folklife studies and oral histories: ethnoBfaphic research: Slate historic invcntoric.'l Hnd registers: technical reports prepl;ued for Section 106 or other assessments of historic properties; and and direct consultation with individuals and organized groups. In addition, organizations and groups that may have important roles in defining historic contexts and values