Public input informs John Brown Farm management plan

NORTH ELBA | Input from visitors to John Brown Farm is helping inform the state's Unit Management Plan (UMP) for the historic 213-acre property in North Elba. A survey began last February when the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) began taking inventory of the property, its historic structures and how people interact with the historic site. OPRHP is working with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) to collect input for the UMP, the first master plan developed for the John Brown Farm. It is one of just five areas zoned Historic on Adirondack Park state lands. According to state Parks staff, the top three activities respondents participate in at the site are: "Exploring the site, its history, and exhibits; paying respects at the Brown Memorial and gravesite; and enjoying nature and the grounds." When asked, "How likely are you to recommend the John Brown Farm State Historic Site to friends or family?" more than 90 percent of survey were likely or extremely likely to do so. Visitors to the historic site came from across the U.S. with survey responses from 25 different states, according to a State Parks news release. Ongoing UMP review has inventoried, evaluated and documented the site's historic, cultural, natural and administrative resources. The State Parks team conducted trails' condition assessment and brought in an architectural firm to explore "no build/build alternatives ... with the goal to improve visitor and staff services and make significant accessibility and ADA accommodations." In survey responses, the top amenity improvements named were 1) no changes needed; 2) a gift shop/bookstore/cafe addition; and 3) improved restroom facilities. The top three topics that drew interest were 1) Black history and culture in the Adirondacks; 2) information about slavery, resistance, abolition and emancipation; and 3) John Brown's connection to contemporary Civil Rights issues. According to the Parks survey report, "63 percent of all respondents were from New York State. Out-of-state (U.S. domestic) visitors comprised 29 percent of the total respondent group, and international visitors comprised 3 percent." Abolitionist John Brown's life offers insight into the Abolitionist movement that lead to the Civil War. Known primarily for the raid he coordinated on the United States Armory at Harpers Ferry in 1859, Brown had moved to North Elba ten years before. In 1849 he established a family farm alongside the Timbuctoo settlement, a community designed to assist farmers of African descent deeded land by Gerrit Smith. The John Brown Farm became a state historic site in 1896 and was named a National Historic Landmark after review began in 1972. It is John Brown's final resting place, his gravesite shared with his sons and fellow Harpers Ferry raiders beside the family farmhouse and the giant granite boulder carved with his name and the year he was hanged. The Brown family homestead, barn, a pond and surrounding acres of Adirondack forest and meadows are measured with trails. The property is used for indoor and outdoor art and interpretive exhibits, music and book festivals, along with annual gatherings to remember John Brown's contribution to American history. Use is coordinated by the friends' group John Brown Lives! State agencies and John Brown Lives! are working with all survey responses to complete a draft Unit Management Plan by early fall this year. There will be an opportunity for the public to review and comment on the draft upon its release.

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Public input informs John Brown Farm management plan

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