Cumberland Island, Georgia's southernmost barrier island, has been owned and managed by the National Park Service since 1972.
Many of the island's visitors come to see the island's undeveloped natural beauty as well as the historic cultural resources left behind by its former inhabitants, primarily the Carnegie family.
When the island became a national seashore in 1972, its residents signed agreements to continue living in the small number of houses located on the island.
Some of those contracts expired last year, and the houses reverted to the National Park Service.
Preservation advocates are concerned about the park service's financial ability to maintain those houses. Two houses are in the National Register for Historic Places.
Several significant National Register-listed historic buildings have already been lost to demolition from inadequate maintenance funds, including the Dungeness Pool House and the Plum Orchard Barn.
There is a solution.
By utilizing historic leases, the park service can allow nonprofit organizations to become stewards of the island's historic properties and use private funds to restore and maintain them.
Historic leases would take the burden of maintaining those buildings from the park service and allow it to focus on the island's other historic sites, including Plum Orchard, Georgia's largest historic house.
On July 11, the park service released its Former Reserved Properties Management Plan and Environmental Assessment, which details how seven properties on the island will be used by the park service.
However, there is no mention of how the projects will be funded or maintained.
The public comment period ends Aug. 12.
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation urges the National Park Service to continue its good stewardship of the island by utilizing historic leases for the historic buildings on the island, a tried-and-true method used by many government agencies and non-profit organizations.
About the author
Mark C. McDonald of Atlanta, president and CEO of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
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