J. Patrick Harshbarger
Vice President/Principal Historian/Architectural Historian/Industrial Archaeologist, M.A., M.P.A.
Resume | E-mail | (609) 695-0122 ext. 115
Mr. Harshbarger joined Hunter Research in 2010 as Principal Historian/Architectural Historian/Industrial Archaeologist. His current duties include the management and technical oversight of the firm’s archival research, historic architectural surveys, industrial archaeology studies, preservation plans, HABS/HAER/HALS documentation reports, National Register nominations and interpretive planning and signage projects. With more than three decades of experience in cultural resources management, he has worked in 21 states for a variety of clients from federal and state agencies to municipalities and not-for-profits. He has excellent research skills with a strong working knowledge of archives and libraries on the East Coast and beyond.
Mr. Harshbarger has authored several hundred technical reports and publications, and he is especially adept at developing historic contexts for understanding the significance of project sites. With a background that includes work at historic sites, museums and parks, he understands how to convey complex historical and technical information to general audiences through public speaking and the use of artifacts, exhibits, signs, tours, posters, brochures and websites. His work assignments regularly include historic architectural field recordation and photography of buildings, and he has a keen eye for assessing cultural landscapes and the condition, significance and integrity of all types of historic architectural and industrial archaeological resources. In 2017, he received the Society for Industrial Archaeology’s General Tools Award for distinguished lifetime service.
Of special interest to Mr. Harshbarger are historic transportation corridors that grew alongside of canals, railroads and early American highways. He is considered a national expert in historic bridges and has conducted state historic bridge surveys and/or management plans in 12 states and has worked on historic bridge projects from Hawaii to Maine. He has extensive experience advancing projects through the Section 106 (36 CFR 800) and 4(f) regulatory processes for cultural resources and keeps up-to-date on National Register of Historic Places evaluation guidelines and National Park Service preservation and documentation standards. Mr. Harshbarger enjoys interacting within multi-disciplinary teams and has a track record of working cooperatively with architects, engineers, planners, graphic designers and archaeologists. He meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards in History and Architectural History (36 CFR 61).
