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ORANGE COUNTY LOCAL LANDMARK APPLICATION
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<br />Environmental Significance
<br />(Excerpted from the National Park Service (NPS) classification of eleven (11) landscape characteristics as detailed in
<br />National Register Bulletin No. 30: Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Rural Historic Landscapes)
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<br />A classification system of eleven characteristics has been developed for reading a rural landscape and for understanding
<br />the natural and cultural forces that have shaped it. The first four characteristics are processes that have been
<br />instrumental in shaping the land, such'as the response of farmers to fertile soils. The remaining seven are physical
<br />components that are evident on the land, such as barns or orchards. Many, but not all, rural properties contain all eleven
<br />characteristics. As information about existing characteristics is related to the historic contexts for a geographical area,
<br />assessments of significance, integrity, and boundaries can be made for specific properties.
<br />Processes:
<br />1. Land Uses and Activities: Land uses are the major human forces that shape and organize rural communities.
<br />2. Patterns of Spatial Organization: The organization of land on a large scale depends on the relationship among major
<br />physical components, predominant landforms, and natural features.
<br />3. Response to the Natural Environment: Major natural features, such as mountains, prairies, rivers, lakes, forests, and
<br />grasslands, influenced both the location and organization of rural communities.
<br />4. Cultural Traditions: Cultural traditions affect the ways that land is used, occupied, and shaped. Religious beliefs,
<br />social customs, ethnic identity, and trades and skills may be evident today in both physical features and uses of the land.
<br />Physical Components:
<br />5. Circulation Networks: Circulation networks are systems for transporting people, goods, and raw materials from one
<br />point to another. They range in scale from livestock trails and footpaths, to roads, canals, major highways, and even
<br />airstrips.
<br />6. Boundary Demarcations: Boundary demarcations delineate areas of ownership and land use, such as an entire
<br />farmstead or open range. They also separate smaller areas having special functions, such as a fenced field or enclosed
<br />corral.
<br />7. Vegetation Related to Land Use: Various types of vegetation bear a direct relationship to long- established patterns of
<br />land use. Vegetation includes not only crops, trees, or shrubs planted for agricultural and ornamental purposes, but also
<br />trees that have grown up incidentally along fence lines, beside roads, or in abandoned fields.
<br />8. Buildings, Structures, and Objects: Various types of buildings, structures, and objects serve human needs related to
<br />the occupation and use of the land.
<br />S. Clusters: Groupings of buildings, fences, and other features, as seen in a farmstead, ranch, or mining complex, result
<br />from function, social tradition, climate, or other influences, cultural or natural.
<br />10. Archeological Sites: The sites of prehistoric or historic activities or occupation, may be marked by foundations, ruins,
<br />changes in vegetation, and surface remains.
<br />11. Small -scale elements: Small -scale elements, such as a foot bridge or road sign, add to the historic setting of a rural
<br />landscape. These features may be characteristic of a region and occur repeatedly throughout an area, such as limestone
<br />fence posts in Kansas or cattle gates in the Buffalo River Valley of Arkansas. While most small -scale elements are long -
<br />lasting, some, such as bales of hay, are temporal or seasonal.
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