Student Team: Priyanka Amin-Patel, Shailee Bhagat, Ke-An Chiang, Dara Epison, Chen Hong, Anna Veilleux, Yuzheng(Rachel) Wu, Weizi Yu, Hechen Yuan
In the Fall 2024 semester, graduate students in the Historic Preservation department at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a preservation studio at Whitesbog Historic Village. The project was guided by studio advisor Julie Donofrio in collaboration with the Whitesbog Preservation Trust. The primary aim of the studio was to design strategies to identify and preserve the significant aspects of the site through conservation, interpretation, and planning. The products of the studio, summarized in this plan, are intended to support the Whitesbog Preservation Trust in creating a sustainable future, ensuring that the site remains a vibrant working cultural landscape for generations to come.
Nestled in the heart of the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, Whitesbog serves as an enduring remnant of the region’s prominent cranberry and blueberry industries. Founded in 1857, Whitesbog quickly grew into a locus of agricultural innovation, most notably for the pioneering work of Elizabeth White in cultivating the first commercially viable blueberry. Today, the Whitesbog Historic Village and its associated blueberry fields and cranberry bogs are part of the living history of fruit production in the region. Key features of the site include Elizabeth White’s home and her blueberry testing fields, as well as the houses of the workers who fueled harvesting operations. The village also continues to function as an active working landscape; visitors to the site can seasonally explore the process of a cranberry harvest through the historic bogs still in use today. Whitesbog is beloved by the local community of Burlington County, who enjoy scenic trails, annual festivals, guided tours, or educational field trips that the site has to offer. These educational initiatives are further strengthened by the site’s ongoing relationships with local universities, solidifying Whitesbog’s role not only as a recreational and social gathering point but also as an educational hub focused on the region’s agricultural history and present-
day farming practices.
Following a series of site visits, the project team recognized intriguing opportunities for future planning at Whitesbog. The potential to deepen community engagement, diversify interpretive efforts, build strategic partnerships, and create a more flexible and enriching visitor experience are all explored in the following plan. The studio team has proposed a preservation plan for the Whitesbog Preservation Trust that seeks to create
a sustainable future by enhancing the recognized historic, ecological, socio-economic, and scientific-educational values of the site. Whitesbog is a place that sustains emotional connections, serves as a community hub, fosters an intergenerational learning environment, and stands as a model of resilient landscape adaptation.
The plan is structured around four phases:
• An initial assessment and community engagement phase within the next one to two years;
• Restoration and capacity-building in three to ten years;
• Implementation of resilient landscape strategies and deeper community integration after ten years and into the future;
• Ongoing focus on sustainable stewardship and climate resilience.
Ultimately, all the work documented in this plan is underscored by Whitesbog’s role as a working landscape, community hub, and historic landmark. The site’s staff and volunteer workforce has done an exceptional job of creating an immersive and educational experience for its visitors. By implementing this preservation plan, Whitesbog can transform its weaknesses into opportunities, ensuring its continued growth and preservation as a beloved site for future generations.
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