Search

Start Over Creator Freeland, Edward D., 1901-1986

Edward D. Freeland interviewed by Darwin Lambert, transcribed by Chelsea Gutshall

Records an interview with Edward D. Freeland, Superintendent of Shenandoah National Park from 1942 to 1950. Mr. Freeland describes conditions at the park at the beginning of World War II. With the onset of the war, the federal government ended the Civilian Conservation Corps project, (CCC), the single largest source of labor for the National Park Service, as most CCC personnel went into the armed services. The CCC laborers were eventually replaced by men from the Civilian Public Service, (CPS), the national program through which conscientious objectors could perform their national service. Gas rationing and travel restrictions greatly reduced the number of visitors to the park during the war years. Discusses the controversy surrounding post-war racial integration of the park, the creation and expansion of Skyline Drive and the Appalachian trail, living conditions among the local mountain people prior to the establishment of the park and the activities of local moonshiners. Numerous individuals associated with Shenandoah National Park, the National Park Service and the Virginia Sky-Line Company are mentioned throughout the interview.

  1. James Madison University
  2. Shenandoah National Park oral histories

Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.

Limit your search