History Associates Contracted by the National Park Service to Conduct Historic Resource Study for George Washington Carver National Monument

    ROCKVILLE, MD, January 06, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- History Associated Incorporated has been hired by the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a historic resource study for the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri. Once completed, the study will be used to enhance the creation of future exhibits, tours, and other interpretive programs. It will be a valuable resource for park managers, interpretive planners, cultural resource specialists, as well as the interested public. History Associates will also assess the historic district encompassing the park to determine if additional properties beyond the Park are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The project team, including Dr. Jason H. Gart and W. David Wiseman, Jr., will research an extensive list of primary and secondary sources for the study, supplementing material in the park's museum collection with internal NPS historical studies, as well as key collections at the Library of Congress, Tuskegee University, the National Archives, the Missouri State Historical Society, and others.

The park preserves the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver, a renowned scientist, educator, and humanitarian. The study will provide a benchmark narrative about Carver's life, from his boyhood on the Moses Carver farm, to his formal education in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa, to his transition to a career in teaching and scientific research. The study will illustrate how his life was shaped by regional history - describing what life was like in southwest Missouri during the mid- to late nineteenth century, the educational opportunities that existed for African Americans, and race relations during this period.

History Associates was selected based on a number of factors, including a deep knowledge of records and historical works pertaining to the era in which Carver lived: U.S. antebellum, Civil War, and post-Civil War era history. Additionally, the firm is conversant with the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria and has prepared historic context statements and high-quality historic resource studies.

The project is slated for completion in 2013.

History Associates Incorporated prepared and distributed this announcement and is solely responsible for its content.

About History Associates
For thirty years the historians and archivists at History Associates have demonstrated that history is valuable in the market as well as the marketplace of ideas. They provide professional historical research, corporate histories, exhibit content, interpretive planning, archival services and records management to clients throughout the United States and around the world. History Associates strives to be The Best Company in History , serving corporate, government, legal, and nonprofit clients from its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, with an office in Brea, California. For more information, call (301) 279-9697 or visit www.historyassociates.com.

# # #