FUTURE STUDIES
As with many theses, several questions arise during the results
and analysis. These questions often lead to possible future studies that
would further improve the current thesis. This thesis is contains several areas
where a future research could be needed. The obvious place to begin a
further study is to include the data on the historic buildings in Montgomery
County. This would complete the data set for the Manatawny Creek
watershed.
Since the designation of a historic scenic route seems to be
the more viable option in preserving the history of the Oley Valley, another
possible study would be to analyze the steps needed in order to officially
register the route with the National Trust of Historic Places.
Documentation of the historic buildings, land uses, and villages along with an
in-depth analysis and comparison of current buildings and land uses would
determine whether the designation of the historic scenic route is possible.
The Oley Valley traditionally consists of Oley, Amity, and
Exeter Townships, along with portions of District, Earl, Pike, and Rockland
Townships. Unfortunately, Exeter Township is in the Monocacy River watershed and
not in the Manatawny Creek watershed. The Berks County Conservancy does not have
the funds to currently pursue such a study therefore no data was collected on
the historic homes within Exeter. With such a strong historical link between the
three townships, any subsequent study should include Exeter. The Berks County
Conservancy could seek a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources to prepare a conservation plan for the Monocacy River
watershed. This could also provide an excellent opportunity for an internship.
A fourth aspect that should be addressed is the updating of
current Berks County Conservation files. During the thesis study, it was
discovered that several historic buildings are listed on the Historic Register
yet no Pennsylvania Historical Resource Survey forms were located in the Berks
County Conservancy's files. A thorough search of which forms are missing is
needed in order to accurately map all of the historic homes. Perhaps these
houses do not exist anymore because of highway construction or other reasons.
These "missing" historic buildings need to be identified in order to determine
if they still exist.
Many other structures exist throughout the Oley Valley, which
are of historical value. These include covered bridges, fences, canal stones,
and gravestones. A fifth possible study would be to locate all structures within
the Manatawny Creek watershed that can be categorized under the "small-scale
elements" documentation category according to the Guidelines for Evaluating and
Documenting Rural Historic Landscapes (McClelland 1995). These small structures
are also vital in understanding the historical importance of the Oley Valley.
The last possible study would be to identify current buildings that would be eligible for historic preservation. While attempting to locate the historic buildings, several buildings were encountered which could possible be considered for preservation. A possible future study would be to identify these homes and include them in another similar study as this thesis.