History

Camp Misty Mount and Camp Greentop are component landscapes of Catoctin Mountain Park. The two camps are located approximately 1.5 miles apart within the central plateau of Catoctin Mountain Park, part of Maryland's Blue Ridge; Catoctin Mountain and its neighboring South Mountain (west of the park) form a ridge that comprises the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. The study area for this Cultural Landscape Report encompasses 124.0 acres, including 72.0 acres in Camp Misty Mount and 52.0 acres in Camp Greentop. The National Park Service manages it as part of the National Capital Region.

By the time National Park Service sought to establish the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area (later Catoctin Mountain Park), the landscape of the future park was recovering from post-industrial and extractive industries. Such land uses included timbering, tanbarking, charcoaling, and iron production. Elsewhere in the area, locals used the land for subsistence farming. As these industries declined around the turn of the 20th century, tourism replaced them. Propelled by urban residents from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., in search of a retreat, the tourism industry at Catoctin Mountain picked up and became famous nationwide as a vacation destination.

But the impacts and windfalls of tourism were uneven: even as the travel industry precipitated new construction throughout western Maryland, it did not sustain all the existing mountain communities. Concurrent with the Great Depression, the Catoctin area also faced severe drought and wildfires. Government reports of the region noted the need for economic intervention in what the federal government deemed an "economically obsolete" landscape.

When President Franklin Roosevelt launched the "New Deal" in 1933, he created several initiatives that would shape Catoctin Mountain Park's development. Along with the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA), Roosevelt subsequently created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), which deemed areas as "submarginal" and purchased or condemned lands to for new recreational uses. So-called "Recreational Demonstration Areas" (RDA) provided economic relief for farm families; recaptured and rehabilitated unproductive agricultural land; conserved natural lands; and created recreation opportunities.

In January 1935, the National Park Service approved the proposal to create the Catoctin RDA. Beginning early in the planning process, RDA administrators proposed the construction of organized group camps at Catoctin Mountain. Modeled after similar camps at state parks and religious facilities, these group camps would be a defining feature of the Catoctin RDA, offering a rustic residential experience in the mountain context.

Initially, RDA planners intended to construct six different organized group camps within the RDA boundaries; only three were ever built. Camp 1-C, later known as Camp Misty Mount, was the first to be constructed and the first to open (in 1937). Camp 2-C, later known as Camp Greentop, opened to campers in 1938. Camp 3-C, known as Hi-Catoctin, was constructed in 1938, and opened in 1939; this camp became Camp David, the Presidential Retreat, beginning in 1942. Camps 1 and 2 were the study areas for this CLR.

As planning got underway for the RDA and its organized camps, the Maryland League for Crippled Children (the Maryland League) lobbied to use one of the mountain camps. The Maryland League initially used Camp Misty Mount, but its steep and rugged terrain was inappropriate for the League’s intended audience: children with physical disabilities who relied on crutches or braces. Thus, the League used Camp Misty Mount in the summer of 1937, but used its experience at that camp to shape the design of the new Camp Greentop, which it used beginning in the summer of 1938.

For both camps, designers used local materials to blend with the natural landscape. In the 1930s, the National Park Service developed a so-called Rustic Style for its facilities, informed by a reverence for the camp setting. When constructing the building, designers preserved existing features and oriented buildings to enjoy views of the landscape. Local materials included log and frame construction, native stone for piers and chimneys, "waney board" siding, and shake roofs.

The Maryland League and other groups continued to use the camps until 1942, when the military and other groups assumed the operation of the RDA. The U.S. Marines, charged with protecting the Presidential Retreat, primarily used Camp Misty Mount, while the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) used Camp Greentop. OSS trainees and officers lived in the cabin camps and used the existing core structures as common dining, recreation, and education areas. The OSS also constructed obstacle courses, firing ranges, ropes courses, and the infamous "House of Horrors," a training simulation designed to prepare trainees for the disorientation and close confrontation of combat.

The military vacated the camps after the war, and summer camp operations resumed in 1947. However, the park's condition had deteriorated considerably by this time and needed investment and repair. In 1956, the new "Mission 66" program allotted $1,168,900 to road and trail, utility, and building projects. Over the next decade, the park used Mission 66 funding parkwide to renew buildings, resurface roads, upgrade utilities, rehabilitate and build trails, develop new picnic areas and campgrounds, install interpretive signage, and create a visitor center and new park headquarters, among other projects.

Further investment came in 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration created the Job Corps. In early 1965, the Johnson Administration established the nation's first Jobs Corps center at Catoctin Mountain Park, transforming the former CCC camp at Round Meadow into a Job Corps Conservation Center (JCCC). Job Corps enrollees undertook several small tasks within the cabin camps before the Nixon Administration terminated the program in 1969.

The Job Corps was soon replaced with another youth-oriented federal program, the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). This program was a co-ed, environmental work-study initiative initially administered by the Department of Interior (DOI) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The YCC constructed buildings in both cabin camps, maintained roads and trails, and undertook other smaller tasks.

In recent decades, both camps have received occasional alterations and improvements—often to address evolving accessibility needs. Both camps remain in use, retaining their original landscape design and associated land uses. Most buildings and structures have undergone rehabilitation or preservation treatments.

Analysis + Evaluation

Camp Misty Mount

Natural systems and features: Natural systems and features refers to the natural aspects that have influenced the development and physical form of a landscape. The rugged natural features of Camp Misty Mount contribute to the character of the cabin camps as cultural landscapes. RDA designers carefully sited the building of Camp Misty Mount along natural features, such as Blue Blazes Creek. They also integrated large, naturally-occurring, and intentionally-placed boulders throughout the study area, taking care not to damage such features during construction. The existing condition of Camp Misty Mount reflects this historic reverence for natural systems and features. As a result, the cabin camp retains integrity with respect to this landscape characteristic.

Land use: Land use refers to the principal activities conducted upon the landscape and how these uses organized, shaped, and formed the land. Camp Misty Mount’s recreational use has not changed significantly since the camp’s period of significance. Misty Mount retains the general use and feeling associated with its use as an organized, seasonal cabin camp. However, Camp Misty Mount is no longer in use by groups; its cabins are rented on an individual basis only (apart from the dining hall, which is rented by groups). This modified recreational use is noncontributing but is compatible with the camp’s historic recreational use and public access. As a result, the site retains integrity of land use.

Topography: Topography refers to the three-dimensional configuration of the landscape surface, characterized by features such as slope, articulation, orientation, and elevation. The topography of Camp Misty Mount is consistent with its naturalistic, rustic design, and remains little changed from when it was established in 1937. In recent decades, the steep topography of Camp Misty Mount has resulted in some moderate runoff and water damage along circulation features. This is in large part owing to improper maintenance of the camp’s historic roads, but has not resulted in significant changes to the larger topography of the camp’s landscape. The extant conditions are generally consistent with the historic topographical conditions of the camp at the end of its period of significance. Therefore, Misty Mount retains integrity of topography.

Spatial organization: A cultural landscape’s spatial organization refers to the three-dimensional organization of physical forms and visual associations in the landscape, including articulation of ground, vertical, and overhead planes that define and create spaces. The spatial organization of Misty Mount is consistent with its composition during its period of significance. The addition of the campfire area in Unit D, after the camp’s period of significance, does not detract from the significance of the camp’s spatial organization. The site, therefore, retains integrity of spatial organization.

Circulation: Circulation is defined by the spaces, features, and applied material finishes that constitute systems of movement in a landscape. Camp Misty Mount retains nearly all of the historic circulation features within its bounds. Additional circulation features postdate the camp’s period of significance but do not detract from the integrity of the landscape’s circulation. Many of the historic circulation features have been paved with asphalt or concrete, and/or widened. Changes in path and road surfacing, while non-historic, are in keeping with improvements to the camp for continued use over time. Some of these historic paths and roads have been damaged by additional vehicular use. This includes the widening of roads by visitors unloading at rental cabins and by construction vehicles backing up or turning around in areas not historically designed for this activity. As a result, the cabin camp retains integrity with respect to the location of its historic features, but attention should be paid to paving changes and to damage by non-historic vehicular usage.

Views and vistas: A view is the expansive and/or panoramic prospect of a broad range of vision that may be naturally occurring or deliberately contrived; a vista is a controlled aspect of a discrete, linear range of vision, which is deliberately contrived. The design and management of Camp Misty Mount continues to take advantage of views to and from natural and cultural features within the landscape, as created by RDA designers. This includes carefully framed views along camp circulation features, as well as screened views into and out of each camp. Landscape features such as the various rock outcroppings at Camp Misty Mount continue to be the subject of internal views. The cultural landscape retains integrity of views and vistas as of 2021.

Vegetation: Vegetation features are characterized by trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers and herbaceous plants that are commonly associated with eastern deciduous forests and oak-tulip forest communities. The forest health at Camp Misty Mount is fair to good. Native species dominate the canopy and understory. The primary threats to ecosystem health are invasive plants, deer browse, and limited advance regeneration of native tree species. Invasive plants are present and abundant in areas where human disturbance is greatest or canopy trees have senesced. Camp Misty Mount also retains many of its designed plantings, including trees in rock outcroppings, trees in planted traffic islands or parking lot medians, trees that screen camp edges, and trees that are located along circulation features and their junctures. These features are threatened by the hazard tree program and ongoing construction—most notably, large-scale clearance for the construction of new utility corridors. Despite this ongoing work, Camp Misty Mount features mature hardwood forests that contribute to the designed character of the cabin camp. These mature trees flank the routes of historic circulation systems, are located at the junctions of pathways, and provide aesthetic value to the camp scene. Specifically planted and designed features such as traffic islands and ornamental plantings date to the camp’s period of significance. As of 2021, the cabin camp retains integrity of vegetation.

Buildings and structures: Building features refer to the elements primarily built for sheltering any form of human activities; structures refer to the functional elements constructed for other purposes than sheltering human activity. Misty Mount retains buildings and structures dating to the initial camp construction under the WPA, buildings and structures modified during World War II, and those built as part of the Mission 66 and Job Corps programs. Historic buildings and structures repurposed or added after the camp’s period of significance are limited. As a result, Camp Misty Mount retains integrity with respect to buildings and structures.

Cluster arrangement: Cluster arrangement is the location and patterns of buildings, structures, and associated spaces in the landscape. The cluster arrangements of Camp Misty Mount are consistent with the end of the camp’s historic period. Minor changes, including the addition of new buildings and structures, do not detract from the legibility of the historic cluster arrangement in each camp. Therefore, the cabin camp retains integrity with respect to this landscape characteristic.

Constructed water features: Constructed water features are the built features and elements that utilize water for aesthetic or utilitarian functions in the landscape. The swimming pool at Camp Misty Mount has been changed several times since it was first built. However, changes to the swimming pool to accommodate repairs, suit modern camper needs, or satisfy updated building codes or accessibility issues do not detract from its legibility as a recreational water feature within the camp landscape. This CLR considers the swimming pool a contributing feature, as it is in the same location as its predecessor and accomplishes the same purpose as the cabin camp’s original constructed water feature. The pool’s current design and materiality differ substantially from the historic design, but its function is consistent with historic conditions during the camp’s period of significance.

Small-scale features: Small-scale features are the elements that provide detail and diversity, combined with function and aesthetics, to a landscape. The small-scale features within Camp Misty Mount include a complex combination of contributing and non-contributing features. The camp contains features dating to its historic period, including WPA-era drinking fountain bases, flagpoles, and valve boxes. Many of the small-scale features, including lighting, drinking fountains, and signage, have been regularly replaced throughout the cabin camp's history, largely in-kind or in the same locations. Additional small-scale features are non-contributing but are in keeping with the rustic atmosphere of the cabin camp. As a result, the cabin camp retains integrity with respect to small-scale features.

Archeological sites: Archeological sites are defined as the location of ruins, traces, or deposited artifacts in the landscape, and are evidenced by the presence of either surface or subsurface features. No archeological investigations were conducted as part of this cultural landscape report. Identified archeological sites from previous studies likely retain integrity to their respective eras, prior to the construction of the organized group camp. All previously identified archeological sites pre-date the camp’s period of significance and are non-contributing features to the cabin camp. They are managed as cultural resources by the park.

Camp Greentop

Natural systems and features: Natural systems and features refers to the natural aspects that have influenced the development and physical form of a landscape. The rugged natural features of Camp Greentop contribute to the character of the cultural landscape, including its playing field and rock outcroppings in the campfire circle area. RDA designers took care not to damage such features, and they sited the buildings of Greentop to take full advantage of them. The condition of the camp reflects this historic reverence for these natural systems and features. As a result, the cultural landscape retains integrity with respect to this landscape characteristic.

Land use: Land use refers to the principal activities conducted upon the landscape and how these uses organized, shaped, and formed the land. Greentop’s recreational use has not changed significantly since the camp’s period of significance. It still operates as a seasonal summer camp. It retains its purpose-built historic use as a camp for children with disabilities, and remains in general use as a group camp. As a result, the site retains integrity of land use.

Topography: Topography refers to the three-dimensional configuration of the landscape surface, characterized by features such as slope, articulation, orientation, and elevation. The topography of Greentop is consistent with its naturalistic, rustic design, and remains little changed from when it was established. The extant conditions are generally consistent with the historic topographical conditions at the end of the camp’s period of significance. Therefore, Camp Greentop retains integrity of topography.

Spatial organization: A cultural landscape’s spatial organization refers to the three-dimensional organization of physical forms and visual associations in the landscape, including articulation of ground, vertical, and overhead planes that define and create spaces. The spatial organization of Camp Greentop is consistent with its composition during its period of significance. The additions of the stable area and the campfire area after the camp’s period of significance do not detract from the significance of the cultural landscape’s spatial organization. The camp, therefore, retains integrity of spatial organization.

Circulation: Circulation is defined by the spaces, features, and applied material finishes that constitute systems of movement in a landscape. Camp Greentop retains nearly all of the historic circulation features within its bounds. Additional circulation features and changes to internal footpaths between cabins postdate the camp’s period of significance but do not detract from the integrity of the landscape’s circulation. Many of the historic circulation features have been paved with asphalt and/or widened. Changes in path and road surfacing, while nonhistoric, are in keeping with improvements to the camp for continued use over time. As a result, Camp Greentop retains integrity with respect to the location of its historic features, but attention should be paid to paving changes and to damage by nonhistoric vehicular usage.

Views and vistas: A view is the expansive and/or panoramic prospect of a broad range of vision that may be naturally occurring or deliberately contrived; a vista is a controlled aspect of a discrete, linear range of vision, which is deliberately contrived. The design and management of Camp Greentop continues to take advantage of views to and from natural and cultural features within the landscape, as designed by RDA designers. This includes carefully framed views along camp circulation features, as well as screened views into and out of each camp. Landscape features such as the playing field continue to be the subject of internal views. Ongoing utility work is expected to result in widespread clear-cutting of mature trees, significantly altering the historic design intent of these views and vistas. However, as of the completion of fieldwork in 2021, the cultural landscape still retains integrity of views and vistas.

Vegetation: Vegetation features are characterized by trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers and herbaceous plants that are commonly associated with eastern deciduous forests and oak-tulip forest communities. The forest health at Camp Greentop is fair to good. Native species dominate the canopy and understory. The primary threats to ecosystem health are invasive plants, deer browse, and limited avance regeneration of native tree species. Invasive plants are present and abundant in areas where human disturbance is greatest or canopy trees have senesced. Camp Greentop retains many of its designed plantings, whether historic or replaced inkind. These include trees that screen camp edges, and trees that are located along circulation features and their junctures. These features are threatened by the hazard tree program and ongoing construction—notably large-scale clearance for the construction of new utility corridors. Despite this ongoing work, Camp Greentop features mature hardwood forests that contribute to the designed character of the cultural landscape. These mature trees flank the routes of historic circulation systems, are located at the junctions of pathways, and provide aesthetic value to the camp scene. As of 2021, the cultural landscape retains integrity of vegetation.

Buildings and structures: Building features refer to the elements primarily built for sheltering any form of human activities; structures refer to the functional elements constructed for other purposes than sheltering human activity. Apart from the temporary World War II buildings, Camp Greentop retains almost all buildings and structures dating to its period of significance (1938-1969). Most buildings and structures at the camp have undergone rehabilitations since the 1990s that largely have restored their historic conditions. Greentop retains buildings and structures dating to the initial camp construction under the CCC/WPA, buildings and structures modified during World War II, and those built as part of the Mission 66 and Job Corps programs. The replacement comfort stations were constructed after the camp’s period of significance, but serve the same use as the historic latrines. As a result, Camp Greentop retains integrity with respect to buildings and structures.

Cluster arrangement: Cluster arrangement is the location and pattern of buildings, structures, and associated spaces in the landscape. The cluster arrangement of Camp Greentop is consistent with the end of the camp’s historic period. Minor changes, including the addition of new buildings and structures, do not detract from the legibility of the historic cluster arrangement in each camp. Therefore, the cultural landscape retains integrity with respect to this landscape characteristic.

Constructed water features: Constructed water features are the built features and elements that utilize water for aesthetic or utilitarian functions in the landscape. This CLR considers the Greentop swimming pool a contributing feature to the cultural landscape, as it is in the same location as its predecessors and accomplishes the same purpose as the cabin camp’s original constructed water feature. Its current design and materiality differ substantially from the historic design, but its function—and, in the case of Camp Greentop specifically, the user group—is consistent with historic conditions during the camp’s period of significance.

Small-scale features: Small-scale features are the elements that provide detail and diversity, combined with function and aesthetics, to a landscape. The small-scale features within Camp Greentop include a complex combination of contributing and non-contributing features. The camp contains features dating to its historic period, including flagpoles, a clothesline, a dinner bell, and valve boxes. Many of the small-scale features, including lighting, drinking fountains, and signage, have been regularly replaced throughout the cultural landscape’s history, largely in-kind or in the same locations. Additional small-scale features are not contributing but are in keeping with rustic atmosphere of the cabin camp. As a result, Camp Greentop retains integrity with respect to small-scale features.

Archeological sites: Archeological sites are defined as the location of ruins, traces, or deposited artifacts in the landscape, and are evidenced by the presence of either surface or subsurface features. No archeological investigations were conducted as part of this cultural landscape report. Identified archeological sites from previous studies likely retain integrity to their respective eras, prior to the construction of the organized group camp. However, all identified archeological sites pre-date the camp’s period of significance and are non-contributing features to the cultural landscape. They are managed by the park as cultural resources.

Summary of Treatment Recommendations

Camp Misty Mount and Camp Greentop remain outstanding examples of organized group camps developed by the National Park Service and New Deal-era agencies. Each camp retains a high degree of integrity and easily conveys the ideas of rustic park landscape design and architecture. Both camps are located in picturesque, secluded portions of the park. Each camp is organized into units, centered around a camp core, in keeping with plans for organized groups camps developed by Albert Good and others in the National Park Service. The naturalistic style of the landscape obscures its careful design and historic management. Vegetation that is mature today was careful planted and curated to create a rich camper experience. This included the creation of a gradual forest buffer by managing mid-story species, the planting of flowering trees and shrubs along park roads and at entrances, and the placement of trees and shrubs immediately adjacent to cabins or at the intersections of roads. Such careful management looked holistically at the entire camp scene, as advocated for by plant pathologist and NPS consultant E.P. Meinecke.

The treatment philosophy for both cultural landscapes focuses on the retention of existing historic landscape features and the enhancement of the camp setting to achieve the rehabilitation of its historic character. This includes the addition of new plantings in the mid-story and canopy to diversify the forest age and offer resilience against climate change. Rather than restoring the landscape to a specific vegetation plan, as no such plan exists for either camp, treatment focuses on achieving the design philosophies for organized group camps as advocated for by early park designers. This includes the careful maintenance of clear viewsheds within camp unit by both removing and adding plantings in areas to enhance this desired effect. Camp units were designed to be inward-looking in order to foster great camper belonging and maximize the supervisory abilities of leaders in leader cabins and lodges. Similar experiential designs were carefully considered within the camp core and along camp circulation features. The treatment philosophy for both camps looks to enhance the historic quality of landscape features such as topography, meadows, rock outcroppings, and mature trees that factored into the placement of historic structures. It also enhances this character along circulation features, fostering views and vistas between camp units and the camp core. These essential physical camp features define the historic character of the cultural landscape and enhance and reveal its intangible qualities.

A character-defining element of both camps during the historic period was the limited use of vehicles. NPS designers believed that the central gravel road in each camp would be used by cars only in emergency or for general maintenance, so as to provide the highest possible seclusion for campers. At Camp Misty Mount, vehicle use has increased as the cabins are now rented on an individual basis (in other words, each cabin rental is likely associated with its own vehicle). (Visitors are allowed to load and unload at their cabins; however, overnight parking within the camp is not permitted, unless campers have accessibility issues.) Most damage caused by increased vehicular use is associated with daily general maintenance, as well as ongoing construction. The use of heavy equipment to service and improve camp infrastructure has taken a dramatic toll on the character of the landscape. This change in camp circulation philosophy is at odds with historic design guidelines. Treatment for Camp Misty Mount looks specifically at creating opportunities for vehicle turnaround, limiting vehicle trespass in designated circulation areas, and providing clear signage where vehicles can and cannot go. The intended effect of such a treatment is to rehabilitate existing damage to historic circulation features while also accommodating the camp’s modern use.

Treatment at Camp Greentop focuses on enhancing accessibility and accommodating additional campers. The League, for whom Camp Greentop was designed in 1938, continues to use the camp each summer. Its use of the camp is an important, character-defining element of the landscape and an essential element of the treatment philosophy. All interventions at Camp Greentop focus on retaining this historic user group and enhancing its relationship with the park.

Primary Treatment: Rehabilitation

At both Camp Misty Mount and Camp Greentop, rehabilitation is the recommended treatment for the cultural landscape because it provides the flexibility needed to preserve the resources and enhance the historic character of the camp, while accommodating current site conditions and meeting the objectives outlined in the treatment philosophy. Rehabilitation allows for the careful management of historic vegetation, including the replacement of mature tree species lost to hazard management, extreme weather events, and climate change. It also allows park managers to re-establish the historic character of vegetation according to the principles of Meinecke, Good, and other designers. Rehabilitation also allows for the adaptation of each organized group camp to accommodate modern needs. This includes updating utility systems, modifying paving, and adding new accessible features. Lastly, this approach could allow for the construction of new in-kind cabin units to accommodate user groups, such as the League, that need a higher camp capacity.

Landscape Management Zones

In an effort to streamline treatment recommendations for both Camp Misty Mount and Camp Greentop, the authors of this CLR propose five types of landscape management zones for the cabin camps:

• Zone 1: Buildings + Structures

• Zone 2: Circulation

• Zone 3: Buffer Areas

• Zone 4: Forest

• Zone 5: Special Vegetation

The zones are described and mapped for each camp, and the treatment recommendations are organized according to these zones. This approach to the treatment recommendations allows for more dynamic management of the cultural landscape at each cabin camp. In contrast with a feature-centric treatment regimen, these landscape management zones recognize that the treatment of individual features varies according to their placement, context, and function within the camp. This approach also integrates the treatment recommendations with the National Park Service’s GIS framework for cultural resource management. The boundaries of these zones were informed by historical research and field investigation. Each zone responds to different features and establishes different—but complementary—priorities within the cultural landscape. When managed together, the treatment zones achieve the desired landscape character, balancing historic conditions with existing needs.