Sarah Oltrogge, (515)
281-4011
Des
Moines, Iowa—In
1966, with passage of the National Historic Preservation act, individual states
soon began establishing statewide preservation programs as part of this new national
effort with the National Park Service. By 1971, less than 10 U.S. states were
still not participating—Iowa included.
Adrian Anderson,
a well-regarded archeologist in Iowa, today was posthumously awarded the Historical
Society’s Peterson/Harlan Award, presented to an individual, group or organization
that has made significant long-term or continuing contributions to Iowa history,
for his work to establish the State Historic Preservation Office in Iowa.
Anderson, who was the Assistant State Archaeologist with the University of Iowa’s
Office of the State Archaeologist at the time, would visit with William Peterson,
superintendent of the State Historical Society of Iowa about matters concerning
archaeological sites in Iowa and the National Historic Preservation Act. Peterson
knew of the program and had received materials to make Iowa a participating state,
but had not acted upon them.
Anderson went
to Governor Robert Ray’s office to voice his interest in becoming Iowa’s
State Liaison Officer. In 1971, Anderson earned this title and was given the directive
to implement provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act in Iowa.
Over the next
six years, Anderson built the program to its full extent. The office expanded
to 10, including a professional architectural historian, historian, archaeologist,
planner, National Register editor, preservation architect, and other program support
staff. Iowa’s place in national program developments became considerable
through Adrian Anderson’s dedicated participation in the National Conference
of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO). As the only trained archaeologist,
Anderson became an important reviewer of federal regulations as federal agencies
worked to meet their responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation
Act.
“These
were the formative years of Iowa’s state historic preservation program and
Adrian Anderson made it happen,” said Lowell Soike, deputy state historic
preservation officer. “The result we see today is a highly regarded and
professional state preservation office dedicated to broadly encouraging local
preservation efforts and careful attention to advising agencies and grant applicants
on how to best carry out preservation work.”-
Anderson,
who was living in Jewell at the time of his death in December, was nominated for
the award by Soike. Anderson’s widow, Barbara, accepted the award on his
behalf.
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