[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 214 (Friday, November 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60456-60457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28973]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Ocmulgee Old Fields Historic District; Determination of 
Eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places

ACTION: Request for comments.

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    On August 14, 1997, the National Register of Historic Places 
determined that the Ocmulgee Old Fields Historic District, near Macon, 
in Bibb County, Georgia, was eligible for listing in the National 
Register of Historic Places. The district was determined to meet 
National Register Criterion A (associated with important events) in the 
area of Ethnic Heritage: Native American, because of the cultural and 
historical significance of this area to the Muscogean peoples who were 
forced to abandon it in the early 19th century and who still revere it 
as their ancestral homeland. The district also was determined to meet 
National Register Criterion D (likely to yield important information), 
because it has provided and can be expected to continue to provide 
important information on the long history of the Macon Plateau and the 
Ocmulgee River valley. The finding of eligibility was based on a 
request from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and included 
a review of extensive documentation submitted by the Advisory Council, 
the Federal Highway Administration, the Georgia Department of Natural 
Resources, representatives of a number of Muscogean Indian tribes, and 
other interested parties. A copy of the determination of eligibility is 
available from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park 
Service, 1849 C Street, NW, Room NC400, Washington, DC 20240.
    To establish precise boundaries for the eligible district, the 
Keeper requested additional documentation. On July 23, 1999, the 
National Register completed the determination of eligibility for this 
property based on additional material provided by the Federal Highway 
Administration, Indian tribal representatives, and others. Boundaries 
were established based on the extent of the historically significant 
area that still retains the imprint of traditional Muscogean culture, 
excluding those areas which have lost their ability to testify to their 
cultural or archeological significance because of non-historic 
residential, commercial, or industrial development. A copy of the 
determination and a map showing the boundaries are also available from 
the National Register of Historic Places.
    Since the determination of eligibility was made, the Keeper of the 
National Register has received written comments from a property owner 
within the boundary of the determined eligible area and from other 
interested parties questioning the boundaries established for the 
district. In order to accommodate those who wish to provide new 
information to define the scope of the area that meets the National 
Register Criteria for Evaluation, the National Park Service is 
providing a 60-day comment period on this issue. The National Register 
Criteria for Evaluation are set forth below.
    Anyone wishing to submit additional information bearing on the 
scope of the area of the Ocmulgee Old Fields Historic District that 
meets the National Register Criteria for Evaluation should do so within 
60 days of the date of this notice. A written statement on the 
determination of eligibility will be issued by the National Park 
Service within 30 days of the close of the comment period.
    The determination of eligibility remains in effect pending review 
of responses submitted during the comment period. In order to revise 
the boundary the National Park Service must receive authoritative 
information, which, evaluated in conjunction with documentation already 
on file, results in a finding that the boundary for the determined 
eligible district does not

[[Page 60457]]

accurately delineate the scope of the district in accordance with 
established National Register standards.
    Comments should be addressed to the National Register of Historic 
Places, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, Room NC400, 
Washington, DC 20240.
Carol D. Shull,
 Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, National Register, 
History and Education.

National Register Criteria for Evaluation

    The National Register criteria define, for the nation as a whole, 
the scope and nature of historic and archeological properties that are 
considered for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
    The quality of significance in American history, architecture, 
archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, 
buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, 
design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association and:
    A. That are associated with events that have made a significant 
contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
    B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our 
past; or
    C. 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 may lack individual 
distinction; or
    D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information 
important to prehistory or history.
    Ordinarily, cemeteries, birthplaces, or graves of historical 
figures, properties owned by religious institutions or used for 
religious purposes, structures that have been moved from their original 
locations, reconstructed historic buildings, properties primarily 
commemorative in nature, and properties that have achieved significance 
within the past 50 years shall not be considered eligible for the 
National Register. However, such properties will qualify if they are 
integral parts of districts that do meet the criteria or if they fall 
within the following categories:
    (a) A religious property deriving primary significance from 
architectural or artistic distinction or historical importance; or
    (b) A building or structure removed from its original location but 
which is significant primarily for architectural value, or which is the 
surviving structure most importantly associated with a historic person 
or event; or
    (c) A birthplace or grave of a historical figure of outstanding 
importance if there is no appropriate site or building directly 
associated with his productive life; or
    (d) A cemetery which derives its primary significance from graves 
of persons of transcendent importance, from age, from distinctive 
design features, or from association with historic events; or
    (e) A reconstructed building when accurately executed in a suitable 
environment and presented in a dignified manner as part of a 
restoration master plan, and when no other building or structure with 
the same association has survived; or
    (f) A property primarily commemorative in intent if design, age, 
tradition, or symbolic value has invested it with its own exceptional 
significance; or
    (g) A property achieving significance within the past 50 years if 
it is of exceptional importance.

[FR Doc. 99-28973 Filed 11-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P