Pullman NM needed a synthesis of academic writing about Pullman and a catalog of related cultural and historical resources related to the monument’s purpose statement, which includes three charges: 1. To preserve the historic resources...
morePullman NM needed a synthesis of academic writing about Pullman and a catalog of related cultural and historical resources related to the monument’s purpose statement, which includes three charges:
1. To preserve the historic resources of Pullman.
2. To interpret the industrial history and labor struggles and achievements associated with the Pullman Company, including the rise of and the role of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
3. To interpret the history of urban planning and design.
This report begins with a chronological introduction to the major significant events related to Pullman, including the interconnected stories of George M. Pullman, the Pullman Palace Car Company, and the community and town of Pullman in Chicago, Illinois. The second chapter places Pullman into a national context, situating George M. Pullman (and his family) and the Pullman company into contexts of Chicago as a geographic and transportation hub and one of America’s premier industrial urban centers, as well as defining the key role that Chicago had played in the evolution of labor relations in the United States. The third chapter details the Pullman Palace Car company’s production, operation systems, and technological innovations over time, concluding with a review of competing firms offering luxury transportation in the United States. The fourth examines the town of Pullman, Illinois, as a planned community and paternalistic company town. This review situates Pullman within this history of model towns and the history of urban planning, including discussions of precedent and antecedent examples. Chapters five and six provide detailed discussion of the town’s and factory’s design and construction, including many of the key designers and managers, and then reviewing the existing conditions of architecture in the community. Chapter seven then examines the trend of mobility within Pullman, examining historical patterns of race, gender, and class as they were lived in the Pullman community. The report concludes with recommendations for additional studies and the development of future research tools.
MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
This report is a Historic Resource Study (HRS) for Pullman National Monument. It is the third and final
report in a series of studies for Pullman NM, including a White Paper (1) and an Archaeological Overview
and Assessment.(2)
Michigan Technological University and the National Park Service initiated this work in November 2016 as part of the project entitled “Cooperative Agreement for Work with Pullman National Monument” (Michigan Technological University Proposal #1609078, Task Agreement #P17AC00005). The overall agreement was established within the Cooperative and Joint Venture Agreement of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (NPS #P12AC31164, MTU Master Cooperative Agreement #P12AC31164).
This Historic Resource Study is a Baseline Research Report for Pullman National Monument. This HRS summarizes the historical writings about Pullman, provides context for the significant themes identified in its founding document, collates collections of primary documents and historical resources that are important sources of information on those themes, and recommends questions that will require additional study. These cultural resources include primary historical materials in archives and oral history collections, as well as architectural, archaeological, museum collections, or landscape resources.
While this report includes new historical narrative based in original archival research, other sections present synthetic reviews of existing publications. National Park Service staff will use this document and included resources as they make management decisions and design interpretive programming. In addition to this report and its appendices—which are only published digitally—the research team deposited its entire library with the monument staff, including nearly 2,000 references and thousands of pages of digitally-imaged archival documents. Among the various Baseline Research Reports, National Park Service staff can vary the definition and scope of an HRS in order to meet management needs within a particular park. The HRS should also identify needs for additional special history studies, cultural landscape reports, or other detailed studies needed in order to address themes, resource types, or additional subject matter. Finally, HRS documents may also make recommendations for resource management and interpretation. (3)
1 Timothy James Scarlett, "White Paper: Designing Best Practice for Industrial Archaeology and Industrial Heritage at Pullman National Monument," (Houghton, MI: Industrial Heritage and Archaeology, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 2017).
2 Timothy J. Scarlett and Steven A. Walton, "Archaeological Overview & Assessment: Pullman National Historical Monument, Town of Pullman, Chicago, Illinois," (Lincoln, Nebraska: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2017).
3 U.S. Department of the Interior, "Nps-28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline," (Washington, DC: National Park Service, 1998), 25-26.