Condition Report for Fort Hill Rural Historic District

This Condition Report for the Fort Hill Rural Historic District of Cape Cod National Seashore reviews previous documentation of the cultural landscape and provides an updated evaluation of the condition of the property as well as updated guidance for both day-to-day and long-term landscape management and interpretation. This report consists of a historical overview, an inventory of existing conditions, and a review of the significance of landscape characteristics and features. Based on this information, the report revisits previous treatment recommendations for the site and examines current issues and alternative solutions. With input from property stewards, the report provides updated treatment recommendations consistent with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (1992). Located in Eastham east of Route 6, the Fort Hill Rural Historic District provides expansive views of the Nauset Marsh and Atlantic Ocean. The 100-acre property includes Fort Hill rising 50 feet in elevation, Skiff Hill to the north rising 48 feet in elevation, Fort Hill Trail and Red Maple Swamp Trail. Notable features include the long stone walls, stone boundary markers, a sharpening rock used by Native Americans, and numerous archeological sites. The area was once two large farmsteads, which were owned by the Knowles family and their relatives by marriage, the Penniman family, from the 1740s through the 1940s. Much of the land was farmed up until the 1950s and acquired by the National Park Service in 1963. The Fort Hill area contains three National Register listings and one National Landmark designation. The Captain Edward Penniman house and barn were listed in the National Register in 1976. A portion of the Fort Hill area was included in the Nauset Archeological District in 1991 and designated as part of a National Landmark in 1992. A 100-acre area was listed as the Fort Hill Rural Historic District in 2001. The 100-acre area of the Fort Hill Rural Historic District roughly corresponds with the boundaries of the former Knowles and Penniman properties, extending to the edge of the marsh on the south and east boundaries, to Hemenway Road to the north, and the park boundary to the west. The district is significant in the areas of architecture, agriculture and community development during the period of 1786 to 1943. The district is located within Cape Cod National Seashore but also contains two privately-owned historic properties. The district contains four contributing buildings (three homes and a barn), one contributing archeological site, seven contributing structures (stone walls and foundations), and six contributing objects (property markers, landscape features, and the Native American sharpening stone). Non-contributing resources in the district are primarily associated with Park Service visitor facilities, which date to the 1960s. Maintenance of the open landscape has been an ongoing challenge for the Park Service. In 1995 the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation documented the site as part of the Cultural Landscape Report for Fort Hill. The report contains guidance to inform the park's General Management Plan and for the protection and long-term maintenance of the Fort Hill landscape. Specific recommendations relate to parking, removal of vegetation, additional plantings, and maintaining the open landscape. In 1998 the park prepared the Site Plan and Environmental Assessment for Fort Hill as well as the Cape Cod National Seashore Prescribed Burn Plan, Fort Hill 1999-2004. Both documents provide greater specificity for prescribed burn and mowing areas. Several years have elapsed since the park began implementing the recommendations from these reports. This Condition Report will evaluate the effectiveness of these recommendations and the existing historic character of the Fort Hill Rural Historic District.