Historic Charleston, South Carolina: US/ICOMOS Internship

Cameron Hartnell
Sydney, Australia

completed a 2004 US/ICOMOS Internship with the

Historic Charleston Foundation
Charleston, South Carolina, USA

"As an intern in the field of Historic Preservation, working in the city was a very exciting opportunity.

While the city, its architecture, and structures have been studied closely over the years, much research remains to be done.

This gave me the space to choose what I felt was the best direction for my project."

Cameron Hartnell
2004 US/ICOMOS
Intern from Australia

Working with Katherine Saunders of the Historic Charleston Foundation, Cameron developed an internship that involved the initial steps in creating an electronic/digital plan of historic buildings in Charleston as the basis for a geographic information system (GIS) for the Historic District.  To this end, Cameron worked with the Charleston Office of Planning and Clemson University's new Program in Historic Preservation to assemble the data necessary for this project.

Urban planning maps from the City of Charleston were used as base maps, onto which succeeding digital layers of historical information was placed. Cameron quickly noticed that the original area of dry land in historic Charleston (which has since been expanded through land-filling around the coastal edges of the historic center) is evident in the historical patterns of construction.  The distinctive geologic underpinnings of historic structures is particularly relevant for developing disaster-readiness plans, as Charleston is subject to earthquakes.  In fact, one of the initial goals of the project was to use insurance data on damage from a mid-19th-century earthquake to assist the Historic Charleston Foundation with disaster planning efforts for the historic city.

 

Noting the high level of interest his internship gained among various agencies and organizations in Charleston, Cameron developed a plan for future additions to the GIS that will make the digital maps more useful.  The Historic Charleston  Foundation intends to use the GIS as a tool for developing an archaeological zoning plan for the city, and the Board of Architectural Review and historic advocacy organizations also hope to use the Charleston GIS to assist in their efforts.

This internship was sponsored by the Historic Charleston Foundation
with assistance Clemson University's Program in Historic Preservation
and additional support from private donors.

Top: Cameron Hartnell assembles printouts of data layers for review.
Bottom: Historic bird's-eye view of the Charleston peninsula. 

The US/ICOMOS International Intern Exchange Program is funded by a variety sources.  Each of the host organizations in the U.S. contribute funds that cover a substantial portion of the costs for interns from overseas.  Grants from private foundations and individual donors support the internships for U.S. preservationists traveling overseas, with additional support from some of the overseas host organizations.  The 2004 overseas internships were supported by the Dorothy-Ann Foundation, Marpat Foundation, Keepers Fund for Historic Preservation, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Trust for Mutual Understanding, and contributions from numerous individuals.