Abstract
This thesis addressed the cultural landscape of Lorenzo State Historic Site in Cazenovia, New York, home of the Lincklaen and Ledyard family for 160 years. The research was supported by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Friends of Lorenzo to inform management of the landscape.
An 87-acre property overlooking Cazenovia Lake, Lorenzo is significant for its association with John Lincklaen, a Holland Land Company agent who founded the village of Cazenovia in 1793, and as an outstanding example of Federal-period architecture. Lincklaen Ledyard, a naturalist by avocation, inherited the property in 1847 from Helen L. Lincklaen. Although he was sympathetic to romantic landscape ideas, Ledyard was also sensitive to the formal organization established by John Lincklaen, ultimately combining a range of design philosophies. The size of the property decreased over time; however, John Lincklaen and his heirs, the Fairchild and Remington families, occupied and preserved the estate for 160 years. In 1968, New York State acquired the Lorenzo property as an historic site.
This thesis, which was the recipient of a New York State Historic Preservation Award in 1998, documents the landscape’s physical history, inventories its existing conditions, and evaluates its characteristics and features. Based on this evaluation, the thesis provides preliminary treatment recommendations for preservation and enhancement of the historic landscape.
This thesis is also available at SUNY ESF’s Moon Library – Thesis Call Number F7745