Expansion of the National Park Service in the 1930s:
Administrative History
Chapter Five: New Initiatives in the Fields of
History, Historic Preservation and Historical Park Development and Interpretation
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K. Adoption of Code of Procedure for Implementation
of Historic Sites Act
By September 1935 the National Park Service was
actively engaged in framing a code of procedure to serve as a guide in
directing the varied activities under the Historic Sites Act. The code
was designed to include basic regulations and policies that were to be
followed in carrying out the provisions of the act and governing its
enforcement. [73]
By this time Schneider had submitted his study entitled
"Report to the Secretary of the Interior on the Preservation of Historic
Sites and Buildings," and his research was used in formulating the
directives to put the Historic Sites Act into operation. The report
consisted of three parts:
I--A review of progress in historic preservation in
the United States at the federal, state, and local government levels as
well as that by private organizations.
II--Discussion of the legislative history and
administrative organization for the preservation of historic sites and
buildings in Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan,
Poland, Ireland, and Sweden.
III--Detailed analysis of the Historic Sites Act and
conclusions and recommendations for the administration of the national
historic preservation program.
It was this latter section that was used to draft the
code of procedure. [74]
In February 1936 the Branch of Historic Sites and Buildings, in
cooperation with the legal staff of the Department of the Interior,
finalized and issued the code of procedure. The three individuals who
were most responsible for the code's contents were
Chatelain, Merritt Barton of the department's legal staff, and Lee. The
regulations in the code included an account of each step to be taken
before bringing an area into the National Park System as a National
Historic Site, which was an entirely new type of area designation. The
procedure for designating such a site included six steps:
a. Study of the site by the National Park Service and
a determination of its national importance within the scope of the
Act.
b. Preparation by the National Park Service of a
memorandum for the Secretary's approval, including a map of the
recommended boundaries and descriptive material of the site to be
designated. The memorandum shall include recommendations as to the
official name of the site and the method of administering it if and when
accepted. The justification must show that the recommended site is of
national significance.
c. Approval by the Secretary of the memorandum and
preparation by the National Park Service for the approval of the
Secretary of appropriate contractual agreements with Federal departments
or agencies, state or local governments, or private owners, when
necessary to facilitate the administration of areas under the scope of
the Act.
d. Examination and acceptance of the necessary deeds
by the Secretary, if title to the area or any part of it is to be vested
in the Federal Government.
e. Approval by the Secretary of the contractual
agreements, where necessary, and preparation of the order for the
signature of the Secretary designating the area as a National Historic
Site.
f. Filing of the original and two duplicate originals
of certified copies of the signed departmental order with the Division
of the Federal Register, National Archives, upon which the area is then
to be considered a National Historic Site. [75]
Chapter Five continues with...
Appointment and Early Activities of the Advisory Board
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