The scope of the Bartram Heritage Program considered in this report goes beyond the possible establishment of a National Scenic Trail and incorporates a wide range of other heritage-related ideas. Bartram related trails of any kind are considered an important part of the overall Bartram Heritage, but other means of recognizing William Bartram’s many contributions to America’s natural and cultural history are felt to be equally important to the overall Heritage effort.
By participating in nine Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (now Heritage, Conservation and Recreation Service, hereafter referred to as BOR and HCRS, respectively) public information meetings and by hosting one public workshop in each of the eight southeastern states included in this study, the Bartram Trail Conference has attempted to ascertain and record many of the recreational and educational needs of citizens of the Southeast and determine opportunities for meeting these needs. It has also consulted with interested citizens, historians and Bartram scholars from around the country to determine appropriate means of recognizing William Bartram and his contributions to America’s heritage.
The concept plan that follows is reflective of the many constructive suggestions received during the course of the Bartram Heritage Study.
R.M.P.
Defined as a set of interrelated ideas and actions to accomplish predetermined goals and objectives, the William Bartram Heritage Concept Plan set forth in this section is a long-range proposal for heritage recognition and development in the area through which William Bartram traveled more than 200 years ago. The study area covered includes the eight modern-day states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. Specific planning details are focused within a fifty-mile corridor centered along the travel route taken by William Bartram from 1773 to 1777. Some heritage objectives are intangible and go beyond geographical boundaries. Although these cannot be mapped, they are as important to the Bartram Heritage effort as the marking of trails and the preservation of historical sites.
The plan has been developed with assistance and advice from the Federal/State Bartram National Scenic Trail Study Task Force, the citizens of the eight states, and other interested parties in accordance with the following predetermined goals established in the contract between the Bartram Trail Conference and the Federal government.
The goals of the study and hence the goals of the Heritage Plan are as follows:
1. to identify and describe the significant contributions of William Bartram to our American Heritage and, more specifically, that Heritage associated with the Southeastern United States;
2. to develop a proposal for an American Heritage Project which would recognize and memorialize Bartram’s work;
3. to use Bartram’s work in the Southeastern United States as a focal point in identifying and describing other natural, historical or cultural areas and features important to our heritage that would expand and complement an American Heritage Project.
While the regional and national organization of the Bartram Heritage movement is a relatively recent phenomenon, individual Bartram Heritage efforts have been under way since the end of the nineteenth century. The first organization formed to commemorate the Bartram name was the John Bartram Association, a group of John Bartram descendents who, in 1893, gathered together in Philadelphia to save the Bartram house and garden from decay and destruction. Next, in 1914, a Bartram Natural History Society was founded in Montgomery, Alabama, to help disseminate information about William Bartram and his travels in the Southeast.
The William Bartram Heritage Study conducted by the Bartram Trail Conference in a ten-month period (October, 1977 - July, 1978) has led to the following conclusions:
1. Because of his pioneering role in the study of natural history, his international influence in the field of literature, his extensive explorations of the southeastern part of the North American continent, and his many other contributions to America’s heritage, William Bartram is worthy of national recognition.
2. William Bartram’s expedition of 1773-1777, while of considerable national (and international) significance, is of major regional significance to the Southeast and should be so noted.
3. The Bartram Heritage effort proposed in this report is fully compatible with (and complementary to) the “National Heritage Program” currently being developed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
4. William Bartram’s many accomplishments are an important and noteworthy part of America’s heritage and should be brought to the attention of a wider segment of the American public by whatever means deemed effective and appropriate. Methods for doing so are described elsewhere in the concept plan.
5. The identification, registration and preservation of natural and cultural resources associated with William Bartram are important activities, and appropriate ways in which to commemorate Bartram’s accomplishments and honor America’s heritage.
6. Bartram memorializing methods can serve present and future recreational and educational needs that go beyond the specific Bartram interest.
7. Many of Bartram’s activities, scientific observations, and cultural accomplishments require interpretation which can best be accomplished through the establishment of Bartram Heritage Centers and the recognition of Bartram Heritage Collections.
8. Bartram’s many important contributions to the field of horticulture can be commemorated through the establishment of Bartram Heritage Gardens.
9a. The creation of a continuous Bartram Trail would be impractical, but a segmented trail would be both practical and well-suited to a Bartram Heritage Program.
9b. There is a need for a broad interpretation of the Bartram Trail idea, recognizing that Bartram used several modes of travel and taking into account various recreational and educational needs. (There is wide support for the creation of many kinds of trails bearing the Bartram name, these include: hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, canoeing and others.)
9c. An entirely accurate historical routing of the Bartram Trail is neither practical nor always desirable. Recreating a Bartram-like experience may be preferable to scrupulously following his eighteenth century route.
10. Ownership of property by the Federal, state or local government or the Bartram Trail Conference need not be a prerequisite for the establishment of Bartram Heritage Trails, Centers, Gardens, and other memorials.
11. Parts of the Bartram Heritage Program, especially the establishment of national trails and memorials, can best be accomplished by the Federal government.
12. Parts of the Bartram Heritage Program, especially the establishment of state trails, memorials and Heritage Centers, can best be accomplished by political groups other than the Federal government (i.e., state, county/parish, city, and other political subdivisions).
13. Parts of the Bartram Heritage Program, especially the distribution of information, the planning of educational programs, and the coordination of other Bartram activities, can best be accomplished by private (nongovernmental) entities.
The Bartram Trail Conference is resolved to pursue the following:
1. expand the definition of its objectives to include Heritage subjects and will serve as a focal point for national, regional, state, and local Bartram Heritage efforts;
2. establish criteria for and administer the registration of Bartram Heritage sites and collections;
3. locate and arrange for the protection and interpretation of Bartram Heritage sites and collections;
4. coordinate heritage efforts developed and managed by others to complement each other and avoid undesirable duplication;
5. monitor heritage projects not under its own administration to ensure the retention of all heritage characteristics;
6. enter Heritage projects as a partner with other interests when no other way presents itself;
7. acquire, develop and maintain heritage projects when no other entity can be found;
8. cooperate with other groups in efforts that are compatible with the Bartram Heritage on local, regional, national and worldwide levels;
9. generate new ideas to recognize and memorialize the Bartram Heritage;
10. promote the further study of William Bartram and all Bartram Heritage resources;
11. seek to persuade other groups, private individuals, the business community, and all levels of government to undertake Bartram Heritage projects;
12. solicit financial resources, from all sources possible, to further heritage projects;
13. encourage and provide for the public dissemination of accurate information about William Bartram to increase public awareness of the Bartram Heritage;
14. continue its concept planning efforts with updates and expansions to keep them current with developing circumstances. It will prepare an Action/ Implementation plan with cost estimates and step‑by‑step outline for Bartram Heritage efforts as appropriate. The plan will include specific actions for governmental and private groups, funding sources, and a time frame for the actions designated.
As a companion thrust to the resolutions that the Bartram Trail Conference has adopted -for its own direction, the Conference makes the following recommendations to guide other groups and other efforts.
1. Federal, state, county/parish and local governments should consider ways to recognize William Bartram in appropriate areas under their jurisdictions.
2. Natural, cultural and historical Bartram Heritage resources under government control should be identified, dedicated, and administered by the governmental agencies involved as part of the Bartram Heritage.
3. Government agencies or private organizations which administer a site or collection identified as part of the Bartram Heritage should provide appropriate interpretation of that site or collection for the public.
4. Governmental planning agencies should include recognition of the William Bartram Heritage in all future plans. For example, State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans (SCORPs), Coastal Zone Management Plans, Economic Development Plans and other long-range plans should include Bartram Heritage Projects. Funding for Bartram-related projects might be obtained from private sources, state governments, or the federal government through several public laws including:
5. Existing plans at all levels of government currently being implemented should be modified to include Bartram j’ feritage projects.
6. Specific projects currently under way which pertain to the Bartram Heritage should be continued with all possible speed. (These include: the Bartram National Scenic Trail feasibility study now being conducted by the National Park Service and a Study Task Force, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dedications of William Bartram Trail corridors, the U.S. Forest Service’s consideration of creating additional National Recreation Trails in Bartram’s honor, state Bartram Trail building projects, and garden dub efforts to establish Bartram Heritage Gardens and memorial gardens.) The Bartram Trail Conference intends to encourage and coordinate these on-going activities.
7. Future projects which could result in the establishment of Bartram-related trails should be undertaken whenever possible. (These would include: the dedication of additional Bartram National Recreation Trails by the Secretary of the Interior upon application by the Federal agency, State, or political subdivision, or private organization having jurisdiction over the lands involved, or by the Secretary of Agriculture when the land in question is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They might also include the inclusion of Bartram trail segments in state trail systems through legislative action in the respective states.)
The Bartram Heritage Concept Plan consists of suggested actions to accomplish the three predetermined goals specified in the Heritage Study contract and to forward the over-all goals of the Bartram Trail Conference as outlined in the conclusions, resolutions and recommendations listed above.
The first goal of describing William Bartram’s contributions to the American Heritage is covered in greater detail in the first two sections of this report. The second goal of plan development for the recognition and memorialization of Bartram lies at the heart of the concept plan. It is discussed in the Foreword to this report and examined in detail here. The third goal of inventorying natural and cultural /historical areas along the trail route, is discussed here, and in Section IV of this report.
The Bartram Heritage Report (especially Sections I and II) is specifically intended to identify, record and assess facts about the life of America’s first native-born naturalist /artist. By identifying Bartram’s accomplishments, the -eport is recognizing Bartram and helping to fulfill two of the goals noted above. Identification of accomplishments can be achieved through historical research, but recognition is a bit more complex, for it relies on public receptiveness.
William Bartram’s first recognition was that which he received in his own lifetime. The publication of his account of his southern trip, Bartram’s Travels, published in Philadelphia in 1791, created wide acclaim for the modest Quaker. The extent of his international reputation is evidenced by the publication of the book in London in 1792, in Dublin in 1773 and its appearance in seven other foreign editions and six foreign languages within a decade. The many references in the Bibliography accompanying this report reveal the impact the Bartrams’ observations have made to succeeding generations of scientists, literary figures, and historians.
Despite his many accomplishments and more than 200 years of recognition as a naturalist, however, William Bartram is not well known to the American public, and even more recognition is appropriate and deserved.
Much can be done to acquaint Americans with William Bartram and his accomplishments. Books and pamphlets, radio and television, illustrated lectures, films, tapes, and other innovative modes of communication can and should be employed to familiarize Americans with a man to whom they are indebted for so much.
While such intangible forms of recognition cannot be readily illustrated in this report, they are an integral part of the concept plan. Without a public awareness of Bartram, few of the more tangible forms of recognition can be successful. Lectures, television shows, newspaper and magazine articles, and book chapters on William Bartram over the last twenty years have helped to heighten his public profile. Special public ceremonies, including dedications of Bartram-related sites throughout the Southeast and Louisiana’s annual state celebration of Bartram’s birthday have done the same.
Such identification and recognition needs to be continued with a special effort made to systematically inform special interest groups (i.e., hikers, bicyclers, horseback riders, canoeists, bird watchers, gardeners, campers, amateur naturalists, etc.) of the potential a Bartram Heritage Program holds for them. This effort will be coordinated by the Bartram Trail Conference (see “Who Takes Action”) under its expanded, heritage-oriented structure.
Memorializing
The goal of memorializing William Bartram can be a bit more tangible than that of recognizing his accomplishments. It is a goal that calls for action in the many areas of Bartram’s interests including: (1) Natural History (botany, ornithology, geology, malacology, ichthyology, herpetology, and the many other fields in which Bartram played an important pioneering role); (2) art; (3) literature; and (4) social history.
In academic communities in the Southeast and elsewhere, awards of merit, scholarships, or professional chairs bearing the Bartram name, could be established in any of these disciplines.The University of Florida at Gainesville has already memorialized William Bartram by naming one of their buildings in his honor. In Jacksonville, Florida, the “Bartram School” has been named after the Philadelphia naturalist and his father. Other such honorary titling will be encouraged by the Bartram Trail Conference.
National recognition and memorialization could be affected by the issue of a William Bartram postage stamp, coin, or bank note.
Local, state, regional, national or international symposia about Bartram on any of his fields of interest could further memorialize his accomplishments.
Local educational and recreational needs of the present and future can be met by the creation of any or all of the following Bartram-related memorials:
Trails: established routes of travel usually marked in some way and improved, at least to a minimum degree for reasons of safety. Contained in this category are hiking trails, canoe and other water trails, horse trails, bicycle trails, marked nature trails and other connecting roads. All should have some relevance to William Bartram.
Heritage Centers: Facilities to inform, interpret and display natural, cultural and historic resources. Nature centers, conservation, environmental and ecological centers, museums, cultural centers, folklore and craft centers would all be considered under this category. These centers should stress interpretation of subjects with which Bartram was personally involved.
Heritage Site Designations: Bartram-related Heritage resources including historic sites, natural areas, and others which were seen by William Bartram, or existed at the time of his 1773-1777 trip. (See Primary and Secondary Heritage Resource inventories in this report.) Subsequent refinements may expand these inventories.
Heritage City Designations: Cities of significance to William Bartram during his 1773-1777 southeastern trip. While specific Bartram-related sites may not be known in every city visited by Bartram, several cities are considered so important to Bartram’s travels that their historic districts should be recognized as general Bartram Heritage Resources. Charleston, South Carolina and St. Augustine, Florida have many buildings still standing which were in existence at the time of Bartram’s visit. Others do not have extant buildings from the period, but might be considered for Heritage designation based on other criteria still to be developed. These include: Savannah, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; Pensacola, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; Pearlington/Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Heritage Collection Designations: Historic or scientific collections containing items owned, used or collected by William Bartram or closely associated with the Bartram Heritage. These collections, though limited in number, are of prime importance to the William Bartram Heritage. They include libraries, herbaria, and Historical Societies in Great Britain and America.
Gardens: Cultivated plots that are managed for some specific objective. These include: pleasure gardens (planted for beauty), botanical gardens (used for scientific study), herb gardens, and arboreta. They should serve to identify and interpret William Bartram’s many important contributions to botany and horticulture.
A variety of Bartram memorials have already been established in the eight-state region currently under study.
Two National Recreation Trails have been designated in Bartram’s name: one is three miles in Tuskegee National Forest, Alabama, and another, 28 miles in Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia. Other National Recreation Trails commemorating Bartram’s travels are being considered by the U.S. Forest Service in Sumter National Forest, South Carolina, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, and Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has recently dedicated a 130 mile corridor of land along the Clark Hill Reservoir, Georgia to William Bartram and with the help of the Georgia Bartram Trail Society, hopes to build up to 500 miles of trail there. Another corridor is being considered by the Corps of Engineers for similar designation along the St. Johns River in Florida. This area would include hiking and canoe trails built and maintained with assistance of the Bartram Trail Society of Florida, the Boy Scouts of America, and other local volunteer groups. A Bartram Scenic Waterway is soon to be dedicated by the Corps on the Tugaloo River arm of Lake Hartwell between Georgia and South Carolina. The development of this section of water “trail” may be augmented by the inclusion of Bartram-related interpretive facilities along the route and within a proposed visitors center.
In addition to these National trails and corridor designations, local trails bearing the Bartram name have been built and marked in Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama. Two Bartram Memorial bicycle and hiking trails have been marked in southern Alabama (30 miles along the Old Federal Road in Butler County, and 25 miles in Baldwin County). Another has been proposed in Mississippi. A twenty-mile Bartram Memorial Canoe Trail on the Tensaw River has been officially recognized by the state of Alabama in Baldwin County. The U.S. Coast Guard has assisted the state in developing plans for a Bartram waterway along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Historic plaques and markers discussing William Bartram’s travels through the Southeast can be found at various sites along his 2,400-mile route.
Bartram memorial gardens and/or arboreta have been built at Fort Toulouse, Alabama and Trenton, Florida, and dedicated in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Glouster, Mississippi. Other memorial gardens, including ones in Pensacola, Florida, and Stockton, Alabama, are in the planning and/or construction stages.
Criteria for the establishment of Bartram Heritage Collections are currently being established by the Bartram Trail Conference. Several collections are considered likely recipients for this designation.
Bartram Heritage Centers may be built (or rededicated from existing educational centers) as the Bartram Heritage Program becomes more fully established.
The development of a Bartram Heritage Trail revolves around: (1) a sense of William Bartram, the man; (2) a sense of the places he visited; (3) a sense of the historical times in which he lived. As only the physical places remain today, they must be sensitively developed to evoke the feelings of the other two categories: “the man” and “the times.” In many cases, the literal tracing of Bartram’s footsteps is not the most appropriate way to commemorate his travels. Where the environment of the actual trail has been irrevocably altered, for example, the development of the trail in its historical location would fail to properly evoke the spirit of Bartram, his times, or even the land as he knew it. This should be avoided.
A possible reconciliation between the “historical purist” and recreationalists who would abandon all attempts at historical accuracy would be an identification of the historical trace with graphics and its use as a point of departure for various loop trails into places of more authentic ambience. The tour loops which could accommodate different modes of travel-pedestrian, bicycle, canoe, equestrian, etc. —could be connected by scenic roads or waterways and would be strung along the historical route like pearls on a necklace. Such a conceptual framework would allow great flexibility in meeting varying demands for access, over-night accommodation, recreation and different modes of travel, etc. Each loop could offer its own advantages, retain its unique character, and still adhere to the Bartram Heritage theme. Because Bartram is best known for his pioneering record of the Southeast as an unspoiled natural area, it would certainly be appropriate for at least some of the trail (or trails) commemorating his journey to be located in wild areas similar to those which he himself experienced. This would avoid having the bulk of the botanical and zoological interest of the trail dominated by ragweed and house sparrows, as it might well be if all of the trail adhered to an historically and geographically accurate route.
Where the historic trail route transects areas of urbanization, it should be used as a structuring device for creating future open space. In this way, the Bartram Trail can make a contemporary contribution by reinstating Bartram’s nature in the city. Such action will of necessity require the cooperation of city planning agencies in developing and implementing various land use controls, such as transfer development rights and scenic easements. Over time, these and other controls can serve to surround the historical trace with recreational open space.
Where the Bartram travel route junctions or coincides with other trails and other commemorative routes of travel (planned or already in existence), these junctions should be complementary rather than competitive. An example of potential overlap occurs in Tennessee where the route of nineteenth century naturalist /conservationist John Muir (1838-1914) corresponds generally with the area explored by William Bartram. By co-designating a Bartram-Muir Trail, the U.S. Forest Service and/or state of Tennessee could strengthen support for the trail and avoid needless duplication of trail construction. Another instance of potential trail overlap occurs in Florida between the Bartram and Florida Trails. In both of these cases, the existing or planned trails would definitely benefit from a co-designation with Bartram. Moreover, as the Bartram Trail is developed in the future, it will serve to link these two trail projects with the Appalachian Trail, and in so doing, create an interstate trail network for the Southeast.
An inventory of natural and cultural /historical sites along the Bartram travel route has identified some of the most important Bartram-related sites-the “pearls” of the metaphorical necklace mentioned above. In forming these lists, three categories were identified:
Primary Heritage Resources: those specific sites or areas in the Southeast which William Bartram visited, observed or experienced personally and which continue to exist today.
Secondary Heritage Resources: those areas, sites, buildings, or unspoiled places in the Southeast which existed at the time of Bartram’s trip and are representative of those experienced by Bartram and described in his journal or Travels.
Tertiary Heritage Resources: those sites, places and areas that are of natural, historical or cultural interest and are located within the 50-mile-wide study corridor of William Bartram’s southeastern travel route. The Tertiary Heritage Resources listed, though unrelated to Bartram or his trip, are felt to have national or regional significance and hold some potential for meeting recreational or educational needs of the present or future. Criteria for the National Register of Historic Places (administered by the Heritage, Conservation and Recreation Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior) have been used in determining the significance of the historic sites listed in the Tertiary Heritage category. (For a list of Tertiary Resources, see Supplement No. 3 in Section IV of this report.)