A Forest for the Trees: Remote sensing applications and historic production at Cunningham Falls State Park

Summary

This paper presents the results of surface analyses conducted at Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County, Maryland using Lidar-derived bare-earth models. During peak years (approximately 1859-1885) Catoctin Furnace employed over 300 woodcutters in 11,000 acres of company-owned land. Recent Lidar acquisitions for this area have allowed us to identify historic collier's pits in the hills and mountains surrounding modern Catoctin Furnace in Cunningham Fall State Park, opening direct investigation into the pattern of resource acquisition and forest management during incipient industrialization. Derived surface analyses such as least cost pathing, in conjunction with archival work and oral histories, elucidates the evolving relationship between skilled and unskilled workers and management of the furnace during the nineteenth century at Catoctin Furnace. This investigation of coal production has the potential to enhance the existing interpretation of Cunningham Falls State Park, particularly with regard to transportation corridors and forest dynamics.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016   •
• Heritage From the Ground Up: Using Technology to Study Enslaved and Free Workers in an Iron-making Community

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 640