Cultural Resources and Historical Preservation

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Comments on the consultation document are due March 9, 2020.

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Presidio Cultural Resources Program

The Cultural Resources Management Program functions to coordinate and monitor US Army Garrison (USAG), Presidio of Monterey (POM) undertakings at the Presidio of Monterey, the YMCA of the Monterey Peninsula (600 Camino el Estero) and the Ord Military Community in Monterey, Monterey County; the Benicia Army Cemetery in Benicia, Solano County; and the Satellite Communication Station within Camp Roberts, San Luis Obispo County. The USAG POM Cultural Resources Manager is responsible for planning, programming, evaluating and documenting proposed actions that may affect the Presidio of Monterey Historic District, El Castillo Historic District, Benicia Army Cemetery, Native American Cemeteries, archaeological sites and other cultural resources in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The varied cultural resources at each installation represent nearly 7,000 years of human land use and occupation ranging from the end of the Pleistocene Era through historic and modern period European settlement and the military acquisition and occupation of these installations.

The commanding view of Monterey Bay from the present-day location of the Presidio of Monterey led the governments of Spain (c. 1770’s), Mexico (c. 1822) and America (c. 1846) to build military fortifications there. The El Castillo Historic District, located in the Lower Presidio Historic Park, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)and the California Register of Historical Resources because of archaeological sites that contain remnants of these redoubts as well as evidence of Native American occupation. The Presidio of Monterey Historic District represents the 1902-1939 American period Infantry, Calvary, and Artillery cantonment and is comprised of 76 buildings, 20 structures, 3 monuments, roads, rock walls and cultural landscapes. The district has been determined eligible for listing on the NRHP and is managed via the “Programmatic Agreement among the U.S. Army, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the California State Historic Preservation Officer Regarding Routine Maintenance of Historic Properties at the Presidio of Monterey.” Directly adjacent to the Presidio’s southeast boundary is the City of Monterey’s “Old Town,” which is a National Historic Landmark. “

For more Presidio history visit the POM History page

Links:

• Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan
• POM Historic Preservation Plan