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North Family, Mount Lebanon Shaker Village
New Lebanon, New York
Shaker | Museum, World Monuments Fund, U.S. National Park Service
This project meets the provisions of Sections 106 and 110b of the National Historic Preservation Act, requiring federal agencies to produce documentation to HALS standards on sites that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places to mitigate the adverse effects of federal actions such as demolition or substantial alteration.
The work was conducted by David Driapsa as historian, landscape architect and field director for the Washington D.C. NPS HALS office. The documentation produced is included in the HABS/HAER/HALS collections at the Library of Congress.
David worked closely with the Shaker Museum, World Monuments Fund, National Park Service, stakeholders, and the public to facilitate meetings and forums which solicited input that reflects this history. The document includes a written historical narrative, measured and interpretive drawings, large format photography, and a 3-D model posted for viewing on Google Earth.
The North family is a 30-acre group of historic structures and the cultural landscape in New Lebanon, New York, conveying the industrial, farming history and rural lifeways of this utopian religious community from late-seventeenth century to mid-ninetheenth centuriy. Owned and managed by the Shaker Museum, the property includes significant historic features and the world’s largest collection of Shaker memorabilia.
This Historic American Landscape Survey is guiding preservation, conservation and interpretation; and provides a basis for public consensus-building, fundraising efforts, exhibits, and land acquisition.