Browsing by Author "Olsen, Allison"
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Item Cultural Resource Survey and Evaluation Report: Milton, Delaware(2009) Sheppard, Rebecca J.; Shaw, Stephanie; Walker, Victoria; Toney, Kimberly; Cole, Anna Blinn; Lodal, Gena; Selway, Rachel; Olsen, Allison; Schmidt, LauraThis report is a survey and physical evaluation of historic properties outside of the National Register of Historic Places Milton Historic District in the Town of Milton, Sussex County, Delaware (S-1110). The purpose of this report is four-fold: 1) to report the initial documentation of the historic properties in the form of a cultural resource survey; 2) to identify the properties potentially eligible for inclusion in an expansion of the existing National Register district; 3) to identify properties that should be protected for the good of the town by a local historic zoning ordinance; 4) and to expand the historic background of the survey area into the late twentieth century and to recognize the roles played by people of color. The Town of Milton hired the Center for Historic Architecture and Design (CHAD), University of Delaware, to conduct this survey in two phases, from September 2007 through January 2009. Funding for the work was provided by the town, a matching funds CLG grant from the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, and matching funds from CHAD.Item A place for female consumerism: the McGovern Sisters’ Dry Goods Store, 1909-1944(University of Delaware, 2011) Olsen, Allison;This thesis looks at women's consumerism in a rural western town between 1909 and 1944 through the lens of the McGovern Sisters' Dry Goods Store in Virginia City, Montana. To fully understand the store and its significance to the women of Madison County, the McGovern Sisters' Dry Goods Store building and the objects within, the cultural landscape of Virginia City, historic maps and photographs, the McGovern store records, and census records are analyzed. At a time when mass consumerism was changing customer expectations, and increasing business competition, the McGovern sisters found ways to keep their business in operation. The sisters did this by combining traditional business practices, including bartering and long-term credit, with modern ones developed by department store and mail-order companies. The sisters were savvy business owners, able to find ways to reach and serve their customers, and to stay in operation despite a rapidly declining economy. The McGovern sisters and their customers needed to operate within a masculine environment, etching out their own role and space within the town, with the McGovern Sisters' Dry Goods store being one of the only female centered spaces in town. The building was adapted by the sisters to create two spaces: a public commercial space that was that was accessible and attractive to women, and their own private residential space that displayed middle-class respectability and values. This thesis shows that interpreting women's history should have a larger presence at museums and historic sites in the inter-mountain west, and the McGovern Sisters' Dry Goods Store is an ideal space in which to interpret women's western history.Item Reconstructing Delaware’s Free Black Communities, 1800-1870(2010-09-27) Sheppard, Rebecca J.; Toney, Kimberly; Koch, Rebecca; Greene, Keonna; Olsen, Allison; Selway, Rachel; Downes, Rebecca; Bunce, Emily; Laurel, Sarah; Protokowicz, Elizabeth; Triandos, Ted; Fangman, Ann; Joshi, MiliThe current study, conducted by CHAD and funded by the National Park Service through the URCD, initially began with two straight-forward research objectives: 1) to uncover the role of free black communities in the Underground Railroad in Delaware, and 2) to identify the use of water routes to escape from or through the state. As the project evolved, several more goals were added, reflecting some of the issues and complications encountered during the research. These objectives focused primarily on the research methodologies developed in conjunction with the initial goals: 3) to create a methodology for the study of free black communities in Delaware; 4) to develop a strategy for mapping the known data about free black communities and UGRR routes through Delaware; and 5) to identify a list of further research needs. This report is broken into several sections that reflect these objectives. First, the introduction includes a detailed explanation of the methodology developed to study free black communities, as well as identification of some of the common problems with the process and the biasesof the records available. Second, the section on free black communities provides both an overview for the patterns seen across the state and a series of case studies that explore the particular circumstances of five different communities. Each of the case studies addresses the particular issues related to the methodology and sources for that location. The results of the mapping research are incorporated into the overview discussion of free black communities and into a separate section discussing potential routes for freedom-seekers.A final section addresses areas of future research needs.