Historic Preservation

Historic preservation is the field in which historic resources like buildings (houses, storefronts), structures (bridges), landscapes (parks), cultural landscapes (farms) and historic sites (ghost towns) are studied and saved for future generations. In other words, historic preservation is the activity in which we save historic resources that are built by humans. Historic preservation involves community leaders, teachers, architects, historians, archeologists, museum curators and staffs, urban planners, realtors, developers, contractors, homeowners and others. In fact, anyone can participate in historic preservation.

Archeology includes both historic archeology (the study of the remains of a society or activity during times of written history) and prehistoric archeology (the study of a society or activity prior to or without written history). Historic preservation and archeology are similar fields of study and frequently interact with each other.