Exploring the Fundamental Resources and Values of the National Historic Site

Fundamental resources and values (FRVs) are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. Fundamental resources and values are closely related to a park’s legislative purpose and are more specific than significance statements.

Fundamental resources and values help focus planning and management efforts on what is truly significant about the park. One of the most important responsibilities of NPS managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are essential (fundamental) to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. If fundamental resources and values are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The following fundamental resources and values have been identified for Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site:

House of Booker T. Washington (The Oaks)

Booker T. Washington’s home, The Oaks, was designed and constructed in 1899 by Tuskegee Institute’s faculty and students. Booker T. Washington used personal funds to purchase two acres of land for construction of the 15-room Queen Anne Revival-style house and surrounding grounds. The students also made the bricks and the home’s furniture themselves as training and a means for earning money. The state-of-the-art steam heating, plumbing, and electricity, unique in the area, were intended to prove to the world what could be accomplished by African Americans.

The Oaks figures prominently in Booker T. Washington’s life and it embodies the personality of Washington, his Victorian tastes, and his aspirations to middle-class culture. The study was his sanctuary, where he could work on his articles and speeches and attend to the tasks involved in running Tuskegee Institute. It was here that he spent the last quarter of his life, building a legacy and gaining acceptance for African Americans.

Booker T. Washington Collection

The Booker T. Washington Collection consists of furnishings in The Oaks, documents and books, personal artifacts, mementos, articles of clothing, portraits, and photographs. These objects and manuscripts provide testimony to Washington’s home life and his professional experiences and contributions.

George Washington Carver Museum Building

The building in which the George Washington Carver Museum is housed is a single-story, brick masonry structure constructed in 1915 as the Tuskegee Institute’s campus laundry. In 1938, Dr. George Washington Carver established his laboratory, exhibit collection, and workshop in the building, but spent only intermittent periods of time there. The building was officially dedicated as a museum to Carver by Henry Ford in 1941. The interior was damaged by fire in 1947, which destroyed much of the original interior fabric, which has since been renovated as a museum. The George Washington Carver Museum building is a contributing resource of the Tuskegee Institute’s Historic Campus District and is significant for its association with George Washington Carver.

George Washington Carver Collection

The George Washington Carver Collection consists of material directly associated with Carver whereby nearly all of the items were collected, used, made, or worn by him. In addition, the collection contains wellknown commercial peanut products developed as a direct result of Carver’s research, several of his paintings and drawings, examples of needlework, a mineral collection, a collection of mounted birds, byproducts from peanuts and sweet potatoes, a collection of preserved vegetables and fruits (grown and preserved by him), and a number of personal possessions.

The laboratory/workshop portion of the collection is also on exhibit and contains a collection of dyes obtainable from native plants, pieces of laboratory equipment and furniture, and assorted instruments used for conducting experiments. During the initial establishment of the museum workshop and laboratory, at least four of Carver’s laboratory benches were moved to the museum. Approximately 50 pieces of equipment are in the immediate vicinity of the laboratory and consist of grinders and presses. All of the items in the Carver collection are historically significant for their research interpretation and documentary potential.

Tuskegee Institute Collection

Tuskegee Institute’s collection of objects and artifacts consists of items pertinent to the general understanding of the development of Tuskegee University as an educational institution. This collection consists of furniture, books, documents, memorabilia, personal clothing, oral histories, and photographs. The collection items that the National Park Service owns and displays in the Carver Museum and The Oaks directly relate to Booker T. Washington and/or George Washington Carver. These artifacts are used to demonstrate what these men created while in Tuskegee and are focused on the story that the park tells at its sites.

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