Heritage Across Time and Space: A Transatlantic Conversation between Catoctin Furnace and Ironbridge Gorge

Summary

It seems obvious to say that an industrial heritage site should have strong ties to all of its communities, past and present alike, but how can each best be represented and included in all aspects of site planning and interpretation? The village of Catoctin Furnace enjoys a strong level of community support; current residents actively participate in a wide variety of archaeological and living history events. The planned museum, however, with its added emphasis on past worker communities, mandates a review of community heritage best practices. In this paper, we will analyze the United Kingdom’s Ironbridge Gorge, a World Heritage Site that is a groundbreaking example of intertwined community and industrial heritage. How have different community heritages impacted planning and changing interpretations at Ironbridge Gorge, and what lessons from its challenges and successes can be extrapolated to Catoctin Furnace and to community, industrial, and labor heritage sites writ large? 

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): 909