2021 Buchanan Award Recipient

The Paul E. Buchanan Award honors outstanding vernacular architecture and cultural landscape projects within a wide range of formats, other than published books or articles. The recipient of the 2021 Buchanan Award is “Dudley Farm-National Historic Landmark Nomination" by Evelyn D. Causey, PhD. This exemplary work embodies the highest standards of meticulous documentation and rigorous analysis that this award was created to honor each year.

Located in North Central Florida, the 240-acre Dudley Farm was owned and operated by three generations of the Dudley family. Now a historic state park, it is a remarkably intact rural landscape with its farmland, buildings, simple structures, archeological sites, and agricultural tools. Weaving together the farm complex and landscape features with multiple historical contexts, the nomination makes a clear and compelling case for landmark significance during the years from 1881 to 1945. Particularly notable is the inclusion of challenging and timely social themes such as labor relations, racism, and gender roles. 

The author Evelyn Causey was assisted by Murray Laurie, who also contributed to the nomination. In addition, the staff and volunteers at the Dudley Farm Historic State Park, especially Sandra Cashes, shared previous research about the farm. During finalization of the nomination, Evelyn worked with Barbara Wyatt, LuAnn Jones, Cynthia Walton, Ellen Rankin, and Patty Henry at the National Park Service and with the National Historic Landmarks Committee, who provided valuable comments. In fact, a National Park Service reviewer noted that this nomination of an owner-operated farm makes an original contribution to the understanding of agriculture’s evolution in the post-Civil War South…and provides an excellent model for future nominations. 

As a member of the Buchanan Award committee remarked, this nomination “planted the flag farther up the mountain.”

Buchanan Award Committee (2021): Marianne Hurley (chair), Catherine Lavoie, and Philip Herrington