In 2019, the Moyaone Association pursued National Register of Historic Places designation for the Moyaone Reserve. This page addresses frequently asked questions about the designation and status of the community’s application.
What is the National Register?
Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, the National Register is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Properties listed in the National Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects. To be considered eligible, a property must meet the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. This involves examining the property’s significance, age, and integrity.
What is the National Register criteria?
- Criterion A: Properties that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history;
- Criterion B: Properties that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past;
- Criterion C: Properties that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction; and
- Criterion D: Properties that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
Under which criteria does the Moyaone Reserve qualify?
- Conservation: TheMoyaoneReserve Historic District is significant at the national level under National Register Criterion A for the period 1945 to 1966 in the area of conservation for its role in the protection of the view shed from Mount Vernon, a National Historic Landmark. The Moyaone Reserve was instrumental in the passage of the nation’s first local law granting tax credits for the preservation of scenic open space.
- Community Planning and Development: The MoyaoneReserve Historic District is significant at the state level under Criterion A for the period 1945 to 1958 in the area of community planning and development for its distinctive land planning qualities, which demonstrate and affirm the Moyaone’scommitment to conservation and the integration of buildings and landscape.
- Architecture: TheMoyaoneReserve Historic District is significant at the local level under National Register Criterion C and Criterion Consideration G in the area of architecture for the period 1946 to 1976. The single-family houses designed by Charles Wagner and other architects working in the Moyaoneduring the postwar period represent a significant collection of Mid-century Modern residential architecture. Other domestic forms and styles introduced into the community during this period represent an important local manifestation of national trends in residential design.
How many homes are within the Moyaone Reserve historic district?
Within the district are 189 single-family houses, most dating to after 1945; around 50 undeveloped parcels, including a 29-acre tract of protected marshland owned by the Alice Ferguson Foundation; and the Wagner Community Center, which was built in two phases in 1957 and 1960. The proposed historic district is bound by National Colonial Farm and other federally-owned land within Piscataway Park; Hard Bargain Farm, the former weekend retreat of Alice Ferguson and Henry Ferguson, two of the founders of the Moyaone Reserve; several small, privately owned farms; and low- to mid-density residential development.
What is the status of the Moyaone Reserve’s National Register application?
The Moyaone National Register nomination application will be submitted to the National Park Service for consideration in March 2020.
What other entities of Piscataway Park are listed on the National Register?
Piscataway Park (PG: 83-12; CH-688) was listed in the National Register on August 3, 1979. The National Register boundary encompasses roughly 4,216 acres. In addition to the Moyaone Reserve Historic District, there two individually listed National Register properties within the boundary of Piscataway Park – Marshall Hall in Charles County (NR listing May 12, 1976) and Hard Bargain Farm in Prince George’s County (NR listing October 8, 2014). There is also one National Historic Landmark within Piscataway Park – the Accokeek Creek Site (NR listing October 15, 1966; NHL listing July 19, 1964).
Hard Bargain Farm (PG: 83-2) at 2001 Bryan Point Road was listed in the National Register on October 8, 2014. The 52.62-acre property encompasses 47 contributing resources. See Kate Ritson, EHT Traceries, “Hard Bargain Farm,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, January 2014. Today, Hard Bargain Farm is operated as an environmental and cultural education center by the Alice Ferguson Foundation.
What style of homes are reflected within the historic district?
The houses within the proposed Moyaone Reserve Historic District reflect a range of late twentieth-century residential forms and styles. Many demonstrate key tenets of Modernist design and embrace the architectural theory that buildings should be visually and environmentally compatible with their natural surroundings. The residential character of the Moyaone Reserve was highly influenced by architect Charles F. Wagner, Jr., who would design at least 18 houses in the community starting with his own home, which was begun in 1946 and expanded in 1947-51. The works of other modernist architects are reflected throughout the community as well between 1945 and 1976.
With a few exceptions, house lots within the Moyaone Reserve are five acres or greater, and development is restricted by covenants and scenic easements established to preserve the nationally significant viewshed of Mount Vernon, protect the local ecosystem, and safeguard the rustic character, historic identity, and environmental values of the Moyaone Reserve. A dense tree canopy, natural terrain, meandering roads, and scenic views characterize the internal setting of the historic district and reinforce the unspoiled, rural quality of the community.
The content on this page was developed by Robinson & Associates Architecture and Moyaone Reserve resident R. Bergman.