American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society

American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society

Formation	1895
Extinction	1979
Type	nonprofit, member-supported
Legal status	dissolved
Headquarters	New York, NY, USA
Website	www.nypap.org/content/american-scenic-and-historic-preservation-society

The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society was created in 1895 as New York’s first organized preservation lobby. The Society operated as a national organization to protect the natural scenery and the preservation of historic landmarks; to preserve landmarks and records of the past or present; to erect memorials and promote appreciation of the scenic beauty of America. ^[1]

There is no information about when the Society dissolved but there are no records of their activities after 1979.

Officers

• 1895 - 1904 Andrew Haswell Green
• 1905 - 1906 Walter Seth Logan
• 1907 - 1926 George Frederick Kunz^[2][3]
• 1934 - 1940 LeRoy Elwood Kimball^[4][5][6]
• 1941 - Alexander Hamilton^[7]
• 1942 - 1950 George McAneny^[8][9][10]
• 1951 - 1965 Alexander Hamilton^[11][12]

Projects

The Society's primary purpose was to protect historic and/or scenic sites. In many cases, it acted as custodian for these properties, purchasing them, providing maintenance, and keeping them open to the public. Examples^[13] include:

• Battle Island Park
• Fort Brewerton^[14]
• Hamilton Grange^[15]
• John Boyd Thacher Park
• John William Draper Memorial Park, Hastings-on-Hudson
• Letchworth Park
• Philipse Manor Hall
• Stony Point Battlefield Reservation
• Watkins Glen

Awards

The Society had responsibility for selecting the recipients of a number of Awards, the most prestigious being the Pugsley Medal, created by Cornelius Amory Pugsley in 1928. The award honors champions of parks and conservation. After the dissolution of the Society, the Pugsley Medal was awarded by the National Park Foundation. In recent years, the Award has been presented by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration.

References

1. "Scenic and Historic America: Bulletin of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society." ASHPS 2.1 (March 1930):3.
2. Annual Report of the ASHPS from the Hathi Trust
3. "For Washington Site Presented to Historic Society". New York Herald Tribune (p. 9). July 4, 1926.
4. "3 to get medals of scenic society". New York Times (section II, page 1, column 3). Oct 28, 1934.
5. "Moses to get prize from scenic societyy". New York Times (page 23, column 4). January 26, 1937.
6. "Dr. Kimball Announces Pugsley Medal Awards". New York Herald Tribune (p. 21). January 16, 1940.
7. "McAneny Heads Scenic Society". New York Times (p.9). October 20, 1942.
8. "McAneny Heads Scenic Society". New York Times (p.9). October 20, 1942.
9. "George M'Aneny at 80". New York Times (p. 14). December 24, 1949.
10. "Saved for Posterity: Historic Buildings at St. John's Saved from the Navy". New York Herald Tribune (p. 12). July 12, 1946.
11. "Udall gets medal for conservation". New York Times (p. 52, column 6). February 6, 1965.
12. "U.S. Grant 3d wins history unit medal". New York Times (p. 20). November 21, 1951.
13. NYPL Archives - Collection Overview
14. "Fort Brewerton will be restored by Historic Society". New York Times (p. 11). November 23, 1927.
15. "Hamilton Grange becomes memorial". New York Times (p. 12, column 1). November 18, 1924.