D.H.
Lawrence Ranch placed on State Register of Historic Places
The UNM
ranch of author D. H. Lawrence has been nominated to the National
Register of Historic Places and placed on the State Register
of Cultural Properties. The Cultural Properties Review Committee
(CPRC), which oversees the Historic Preservation Division of
the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, recently nominated
the property where Lawrence lived and wrote several significant
works, including The Plumed Serpent.
The nomination,
prepared by Virginia Hyde, Department of English, Washington
State University, was five years in the making. It drew unanimous
praise from CPRC members recently appointed by Governor Bill
Richardson to nominate historic properties to the state and
national registers.
Terry Gugliotta,
university archivist and chair of UNMs Historic Preservation
Committee, said the property, named Kiowa Ranch
by Lawrence, represents several aspects of the writers
personal and literary life.
The
connections are significant at every level because of the life
he lived there and the writing he did on the ranch, Gugliotta
said.
The 16-acre property near San Cristobal in Taos County is of
local, national and international importance, says Joe McKinney,
university planner.
Hugh Witemeyer,
board member of the D.H. Lawrence Society of North America and
UNM professor of English, said, placing the property on
the state and national registers will help raise the status
of the ranch for endowments to pay for continued maintenance.