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[identification of item], [box #, folder#], Christine Hoepfner Collection on the Shenandoah National Park, 1911-2000, SC 0170, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Donated by Christine Hoepfner in 2002
In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in 2017-2018.
Christine Hoepfner began working for Shenandoah National Park as a historian and archaeologist in 1992. While out in the field one day she met an elderly man who told her for the first time about the removal of mountain families. At the time, Hoepfner was also working on a Ph.D. dissertation about the creation of Shenandoah National Park for the University of Pennsylvania. Later, she served as president of The Children of Shenandoah, a group of descendants of the families removed, formed in 1994 by Lisa Custalow to lobby for more complete and accurate historical displays and videos in Park visitor centers. Hoepfner moved away from the area in 2002.
This collection contains photocopies of of letters, reports, memos, land records and other documents from the National Archives and Shenandoah National Park archives concerning the formation and early administration of Shenandoah National Park. The condemnation of private land and removal of approximately 500 families from the Park in the 1930s, the attempts of those families to deal with the government, and the response of the public and of governmental agencies to the removal, form the focus of the collection. Also included are newspaper articles about the removal, and programs and newsletters documenting the later establishment of a group of descendents of the removed families, The Children of Shenandoah.
Series 1, Letters/Correspondence, 1925-1999, consists of 9 folders, which contain letters and correspondence between government officials/members of the Department of the Interior and residents of the area of the proposed Shenandoah National Park and other private citizens. Also contains job applications and work requests for the Department of the Interior, along with letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, messages from John D. Rockefeller Jr. and various reports and legal documents pertaining to permits, land ownership and resettlement efforts.
Series 2, Publications, 1911-1990, consists of 4 folders which contain press releases and letters concerning news stories from the Department of the Interior, various newspaper articles, and dissertations and publications.
Series 3, Children of Shenandoah, 1981-2000, consists of 1 folder containing letters, program announcements, and other items pertinent to the establishment and work of the group, Children of Shenandoah.
The collection is arranged topically into three series:
Correspondence between residents within the proposed boundaries of Shenandoah National Park and officials of the Department of the Interior. Arranged alphabetically by name of resident.
Correspondence between residents within the proposed boundaries of Shenandoah National Park and officials of the Department of the Interior. Arranged alphabetically by name of resident.
Correspondence between private citizens and various governmental agencies concerning artifacts for a museum. Includes a 1925 "Donor's Certificate." Arranged chronologically.
Memos and letters mostly among state and federal officials on administrative aspects of Shenandoah National Park, but also includes letters on funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Memos and letters mostly among state and federal officials on administrative aspects of Shenandoah National Park, but also includes letters on funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Job applications and work requests to the Department of the Interior.
Letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt concerning removal of mountain people.
Contains letters, reports, and legal documents concerning ownership of land, permits, and resettlement efforts.
Contains ownership plats for some tracts within the Park including Cave Cemetery, and lists of map sources.
Press releases and letters concerning news stories from the Department of the Interior.
Includes excerpts from or citations to six dissertations.
Letters, program announcements, and other items pertinent to the establishment and work of the group, Children of Shenandoah.