CURRICULUM VITAE
JOHN HAROLD SPRINKLE, JR.
Office Address:
October 2014
Bureau Historian
National Park Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
Office: 202-354-2228
Email: John_Sprinkle@nps.gov
EDUCATION
1992
Ph.D., History. The College of William and Mary in Virginia. Dissertation: Loyalists and
Baconians: The Participants in Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia, 1676-1677.
1984
M.A., Anthropology (with specialization in Historical Archaeology). The College of William
and Mary in Virginia. Thesis: An Archaeological Survey of “The Governor’s Land,” James City
County, Virginia.
1982
B.A., Cum Laude, Anthropology and History. University of Delaware.
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
2014-present Adjunct Faculty, Master of Arts in Historic Preservation, Goucher College.
 Independent Study (HP 628)
2012-present Research Faculty, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, University of
Maryland, College Park.
 People, Planet and Profit: Building Sustainable Places (ARCH-271)
 Sustainable Context Sensitive Solutions for Land Use: Development, Design and
Transportation Planning (HISP-688)
2008-present Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, George Mason University.
 Historic Preservation Seminar (HIS-693)
 Recognize an Old Friend: American Historic Preservation (HIS-386)
2007-present Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, Northern Virginia Community College.
 The History and Theory of Historic Preservation (H-181)
o In person 2007-20013; online 2014-present
 History of Virginia to 1800 (H-281)
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1994
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Historic Preservation, University of Mary Washington.
 American Archaeology (HISP-207)
1989
Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, University of Maryland Baltimore County.
 American History to 1877 (HIST-101)
1987-1988
Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, Christopher Newport College.
 The Ancient and Medieval World (HIST-111)
 The Modern World (HIST-112)
1986
Lecturer, Department of History, College of William and Mary.
 American History Since 1877 (HIST-122)
1983-1986
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, College of William and
Mary.
 Archaeological Field Methods (ANTH-225)
Internships Supervised
2013
Bates College Summer Internship
2011
University of Mary Washington Summer Internship
2003
College of William and Mary Internship
2002
Organization of American Historians NPS Internship
1999-2001
University of Maryland, College Park, Library Science Internships
2000
National Council for Preservation Education Internship
1999-2000
University of California, District of Columbia Internships
Student Conservation Association Internships
1999
Catholic University of America, Department of Architecture Internship
George Washington University Internship
RESEARCH POSITIONS
2012-present Bureau Historian, National Park Service, Washington, DC. Designs and executes
historical studies related to the history of the National Park Service and its diverse
programs in preparation for the agency’s 100th birthday in 2016. Provides subject matter
expertise on the history of NPS and conducts independent research on a variety of
historical subjects. Develops scopes of work, cost estimates, and guidelines for execution
of the bureau’s administrative history series.
2006-2012
Deputy Director, Federal Preservation Institute, National Park Service, Washington, DC.
Provided subject matter expertise on the National Historic Preservation Act to Federal
Preservation Officers. Served as the keeper of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards
and Guidelines for Federal Historic Preservation Programs. Inaugurated the Secretary’s
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national annual award program for federal, state, local, and tribal preservation officers. In
cooperation with other federal agencies, conducted policy research, designed and
delivered training programs, and sponsored collaborative projects to assist federal
agencies in the execution of their historic preservation duties.
1998-2006
Supervisory Historian, National Historic Landmarks Survey, National Park Service,
Washington, DC. Served as senior manager for the NHL Survey. Directed the
designation of more than 120 National Historic Landmarks in compliance with Historic
Sites Act of 1935 and 36 CFR Part 65. Worked closely with National Park System
Advisory Board and its Landmarks Committee to ensure timely and accurate review of
National Historic Landmark nominations. Edited 25 nominations from 18 states.
Following Congressional or National Park Service directives designed and implemented
national theme studies on various topics in American history.
1988-1998
Private Sector Historic Preservation and Environmental Consultant, Washington, DC.
Served as National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) consultant to variety of federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private
sector clients. Directed day-to-day operations of Washington, DC office for two
multi-disciplinary environmental consulting firms with branch offices across the country.
Oversaw NHPA projects in more than 35 states and successfully completed more than
140 studies. Developed NEPA documentation for 30 Environmental Assessments (EA)
and 20 Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Crafting Preservation Criteria: The National Register of Historic Places and American Historic
Preservation, Routledge, 2014.
Saving Space: Land Conservation in the United States, Routledge, forthcoming in 2017.
Edited Volume
The Archaeology of 19th-Century Virginia. Special Publication No. 36. Richmond: The Archeological
Society of Virginia, 1999. (with Theodore R. Reinhart).
Chapters in Books
“Uncertain Destiny: The Changing Role of Archaeology in Historic Preservation.” In A Richer
Heritage: Historic Preservation in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Robert E. Stipe. Chapel Hill:
The University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
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“The Wealth of a Rebellion That Was: The Material Culture and Domestic Space of Bacon's Rebellion
in Virginia, 1677.” In The American Home: Material Culture, Domestic Space, and Family Life, edited
by Eleanor Thompson. Wilmington, Delaware: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1998.
“Do Archaeologists Dig, Destroy, and Discriminate? The Historical Significance and Value of
Archaeological Sites.” In Preservation of What, For Whom? A Critical Look at Historical Significance,
edited by Michael A. Tomlan. Ithaca, New York: National Council for Preservation Education, 1998.
“The Difference Betwixt a Chevaux de Frise and a Cabbage Garden": The Archaeology of
Eighteenth-Century Military Sites in Virginia.” In The Archaeology of 18th-Century Virginia, edited by
Theodore R. Reinhart. Special Publication No. 35. Richmond: The Archeological Society of Virginia,
1996.
Publications in Refereed Journals
“’A Careful Inventory and Evaluation’: The Origins of Executive Order 11593,” CRM: The Journal of
Heritage Stewardship. Volume 8, Numbers 1&2 (Winter/Summer 2011), pgs. 80-102.
“An Orderly, Balanced and Comprehensive Panorama…of American History:” Filling Thematic Gaps
within the National Park System,” George Wright Forum, Vol. 27, No. 3, (2010), pgs. 269-279.
“Fiske Kimball’s National Park Service Memoir,” CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship, Volume
7, No. 2 (Summer 2010), pgs. 76-86.
“‘History is as History was, and Cannot be Changed,’ Origins of the National Register Criteria
Consideration for Religious Properties.” Buildings and Landscapes: The Journal of the Vernacular
Architecture Forum 16 (Fall 2009), pgs. 1-15.
“‘Of Exceptional Importance’: The Origins of the ‘Fifty-Year-Rule’ in Historic Preservation.” The
Public Historian 29 (Spring 2007), pgs. 81-104.
“The Contents of Charles Cox's Whitehall Mill Chest.” Historical Archaeology 25 (1991), pgs. 91-93.
(with Phyllis A. Hall) “Using Josiah Wedgwood to Teach the Industrial Revolution.” Teaching History:
A Journal of Methods 15 (1990).
Book and Museum Reviews
Review of Museums, Monuments, and National Parks: Toward a New Genealogy of Public History, by
Denise Meringolo, George Wright Forum, Vol. 30, No. 1 (2013), pgs. 14-17.
Historic Jamestown Assessment and Recommendations. Prepared for the Association for the
Preservation of Virginia Antiquities/Preservation Virginia. (with William Chapman and William Price),
2007.
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Review of “Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education” and “Marching Towards Justice: The
History of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.” CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship,
Volume 2 (Winter 2005), pgs. 115-117.
Review of Commoners, Tribute, and Chiefs: The Development of Algonquian Culture in the Potomac
Valley, by Stephen R. Potter. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 103 (April 1995), pgs.
272-273.
Other Selected Publications
“Local and Less than 50: Applying Criterion Exception G to Locally Significant Historic Properties.”
The Alliance Review: News from the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (July-August
2008), pgs. 11-14.
“A Prelude to Rebellion: Indian-White Relations on Virginia's Northern Neck, 1660-1676.” Northern
Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine 35 (1986), pgs. 3990-4004.
National Register of Historic Places Nominations
2004 Thornton, Kent County Maryland
1999 Cannon Branch Fort, Manassas, Virginia
1994 Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth, Manassas, Virginia
NATONAL PARK SERVICE PRODUCTS
Nationwide Standards, Guidelines, and Reports
“I am not ashamed:” Lessons Learned from the October 2013 Shutdown of the National Park System.
Prepared for the National Park Service Director, November 2014.
Standards for Federal Historic Preservation Programs: Section 110 of the National Historic
Preservation Act. National Historic Preservation Act Briefing Folder, National Park Service, 2009.
Guidelines for Evaluating and Registering Archeological Properties, National Register of Historic
Places, Washington, D.C. (with Barbara Little, Erika Martin Seibert, Jan Townsend, and John Knoerl),
2000.
Defining Boundaries for National Register Properties, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. (with
Donna J. Seifert, Barbara Little, and Beth L. Savage), 1997.
Guidelines for Evaluating and Registering Historical Archeological Sites and Districts. National
Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C. (with Jan Townsend and John Knoerl), 1993.
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National Historic Landmark Theme Studies (managing editor)
World War II and the American Home Front. Marilyn M. Harper, editor, with contributions by Dr. John
W. Jeffries, Dr. William M. Tuttle, Jr., Dr. Nelson Lichtenstein, and Dr. Harvard Sitkoff, 2007.
Japanese Americans in World War II. Jeffery F. Burton, Mary M. Farrell, Florence B. Lord, and Richard
W. Lord, 2005.
Landmarks that Transformed Education: Racial Desegregation in Public Education in the United
States. Susan Cianci Salvatore, editor, 2004.
Civil Rights in America: Racial Desegregation of Public Accommodations. Susan Cianci Salvatore,
editor, with contributions by Dr. Matt Garcia, Dr. Alton Hornsby, Jr., Dr. Steven Lawson, and Dr.
Theresa Mah, 2004.
American Labor History Theme Study. Susan Cianci Salvatore, editor, with contributions by Dr. Eric
Arnesen, Dr. Alan Derickson, Dr. James Green, Dr. Walter Licht, and Dr. Marjorie Murphy, 2003.
Civil Rights in America: A Framework for Identifying Significant Sites. Susan Cianci Salvatore, editor,
with contributions by Dr. Al Camarillo, Dr. Yong Chen, Dr. Sara Evans, Dr. Alton Hornsby, Jr., Dr.
James Riding In, Dr. Leila J. Rupp, and Dr. Charles Vincent, 2002.
Racial Desegregation in Public Schools in the United States. Susan Cianci Salvatore, editor, with
contributions by Dr. Waldo E. Martin, Jr., Dr. Vicki L. Ruiz, Dr. Patricia Sullivan, and Dr. Harvard
Sitkoff, 2000.
National Historic Landmark Nominations (editor)
2006 Lighfoot Mill, Chester Springs, PA.
University of Wisconsin Dairy Barn, Madison, WI
2005 Bethel Baptist Church, Parsonage, and Guardhouse, Birmingham. AL
2004 Navajo Nation Council Chamber, Window Rock, AZ
United States Air Force Academy, CO
2003 Centennial Baptist Church, Helena, AR
Rebecca T. Ruark, Tilghman Island, MD (with Candace Clifford and Jennifer Perunko).
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket, MA
Revere Beach Reservation, Revere, MA
Union Oyster House, Boston, MA
Prestwould, Clarksville, VA
2001 Daisy Bates House, Little Rock, AR
Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall, and Founders Library,
Howard University, Washington, DC
John Philip Sousa Junior High School, Washington, DC
S.R. Crown Hall, Chicago, IL (with Carolyn Pitts).
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2000
Gerrit Smith Estate, Peterboro, NY
Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, Kill Devil Hills, NC
Bizzell Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX
Quarry Visitor Center, Jensen, UT
New Kent School, George W. Watkins School, New Kent, VA
Labrot & Graham’s Old Oscar Pepper Distiller, Versailles, KY
Socialist Labor Party Hall, Barre, VT
George Washington Boyhood Home Site, Fredericksburg, VA
Federal Preservation Institute: Facts for Feds
2011 The Origins of Executive Order 11593: Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural
Environment.
2008 National Register Criteria Considerations: Implications for Federal Preservation Officers.
2007 Baby Boom for National Register Eligibility.
Patterns in Determination of National Register Eligibility, 1987-2006.
Federal Stewardship of National Historic Landmarks.
Trends in Nomination of Federally-Owned Historic Properties to the National Register of
Historic Places.
Online Lesson Plans (editor)
2006 "A Loathsome Prison:" Slave Trading in Antebellum Alexandria. Teaching with Historic Places
Lesson Plan developed in association with the Northern Virginia Urban League.
2004
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America. Teaching with Historic Places
Lesson Plan developed in Association with Maury Elementary School.
2003
America's First Sit-Down Strike: The 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In. Teaching with Historic
Places lesson plan developed in association with the Maury Elementary Parent Teacher
Association, the Alexandria Black History Museum, and Alexandria City Public Schools.
2001
Green v. New Kent County: Where Desegregation Became Integration. Prepared in association
with the College of William and Mary, the National Park Service, the New Kent County Board
of Education, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers.
SELECTED ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS
Panelist, Deciding What and How to Preserve: A Century of Historic Site Designation, “Historical
Consciousness in a Changing City,” Annual Conference on DC Historical Studies, Washington, DC
2014.
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Valuing Vision: Frances Payne Bolton and the Preservation of George’s Washington’s “Overview.”
“Women of Vision Conference,” Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, 2014.
Discussant, How Did We Get Here? Retrospectives on the Federal Historic Preservation System.
Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, 2012
Signs of Significance and Plaques of Power: Federal Recognition of Science and Technology
Properties. AIAA Engineering History and Landmarks Workshop, Reston, VA, 2008.
Symposium Organizer, A Citizens Guide to Federal Preservation in Maryland, Preservation Maryland
Annual Meeting, Chestertown, MD, 2007.
Battered Treasurers: Katrina’s Impact on Historic Sites. Society for History in the Federal Government
annual meeting, Washington, DC. 2006.
Bringing History Alive: Innovative National Park Service Research Projects with a Variety of Partners
and Products. The George Wright Society Biennial Conference, San Diego, CA, 2003.
Recognizing Landmarks in Aviation History: The Role of the National Park Service. “They Taught the
World to Fly: The Wright Brothers and the Age of Flight” First Flight Centennial Commission, Raleigh,
NC, 2001.
Moderator, Finding a Place for Civil Rights History in the National Park Service. Organization of
American Historians annual meeting, Los Angeles, CA, 2001. (Workshop sponsored by NPS and OAH).
Integrity in the Aftermath of Disasters. “Multiple Views, Multiple Meanings: A Critical Look at
Integrity.” Second National Forum on Preservation Practice. Goucher College, Baltimore, MD, 1999.
GRANTS
Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon Residential
Fellowship, 2014-2015.
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, African-American Mini-Grant, 2001, 2003 & 2006.
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Brown v. Board of Education Special Grant, 2004.
Virginia Historical Society, Mellon Fellowship, 1991& 1993.
Jamestowne Society Fellowship. 1986.
Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society Fellowship. 1985.
College of William and Mary, Department of History, Doctoral Studies Fellowship. 1984-1988.
College of William and Mary, Department of History, Historical Archaeology Internship 1983-1984.
College of William and Mary, Department of Anthropology, Graduate Student Internship 1982-1983.
The Explorers Club, Philadelphia Chapter Student Scientific Exploration Grant, 1980.
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PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Morven Park Symposium on the Future of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
(Steering Committee, 2013-present)
City of Alexandria Historic Preservation and Restoration Commission.
(City Council appointed Member, 2006-2013, Chair, 2014-present)
City of Alexandria Historic Area Resources Commission
(City Council appointed Member, 2006-2010; Chair, 2010-2011)
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Federal Agency Program Committee
(NEPA and NHPA Integration Working Group, 2009-2010)
Chesapeake Fields Institute
(Member, Board of Directors, 2006-2009)
University of Mary Washington, Department of Historic Preservation
(Historic Preservation Book Prize Jury, 2005)
Organization of American Historians
(Chair, White House Historical Association Fellowship Committee, 2005-2008)
General Services Administration Advisory Committee
(Growth, Efficiency, and Modernism: GSA Buildings of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, 2003)
AWARDS
National Park Service, Time-off Awards, 2011-2012.
National Park Service, STAR Award, 2002-2004.
Graves Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation, Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, 2001.
National Park Service, Quality Increase, 2001.
National Park Service, Service Award, 2000.
National Park Service, Albright Training Center Supervision Fund Award, 1999.
National Park Service, Special Achievement Award, August 1999.
Eagle and Sustained Service Awards, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1994 & 1995.
National Bicentennial Family Farmer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1988.
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