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September 5, 2023 | By Margaret Merritt

Virginia Harness (A11) was drawn to St. John鈥檚 College by way of the postal service. 鈥淭here was a mailer from St. John鈥檚 [I saw in high school] that was extremely effective for me,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚t said: 鈥楾he following teachers will return to St. John鈥檚 next year,鈥� and then it said 鈥楶lato, Austin, Dostoyevsky ...鈥� They had all these authors listed, and I thought, 鈥榃ell that鈥檚 intriguing.鈥欌��

Harness鈥� time at the college would bear out the idea that these texts served as teachers, providing a foundation for analyzing primary sources that she draws from to this day. It also served as a catalyst for Harness鈥� journey toward becoming an architectural historian鈥攕omeone who studies buildings from a historical perspective鈥攁t the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH). There, she evaluates buildings to see if they qualify for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This designation brings recognition to historic sites while granting access to incentives like tax credits and grants.

With grandparents on opposite coasts, Harness spent her younger years traveling the United States and visiting historical landmarks such as President Abraham Lincoln鈥檚 home in Springfield, Illinois. These jaunts sparked her curiosity, and during one summer in college, she interned for the Lost Towns Project, a nonprofit that studies and conserves historical and archeological sites across Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic. Harness spent her break working at the ruins of a colonial mansion, which belonged to the family of prominent businessman Samuel Chew before being destroyed in a 1772 house fire. While identifying architectural features and labeling artifacts, she realized that she 鈥渨as more interested in what was going on with the ruins than necessarily what was going on with the artifacts,鈥� she recalls.

After completing St. John鈥檚, Harness interned at the Brethren Historical Library and Archives in Elgin, Illinois, and then received her master鈥檚 from the University of Virginia in architectural history, with a certificate in historic preservation. Post-graduation, she served as an assistant architectural historian at PCR Services Corporation, a California-based environmental consulting firm, until 2016, when she began working for SCDAH.

Harness鈥� time at SCDAH has been filled with encounters with interesting and important sites. One such example is the Phillips community, a historic African American settlement community in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

鈥淭his type of community was established by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War, [when] their communities were able to buy land,鈥� Harness says. 鈥淭hey remain, in some cases, still in the same families that purchased them. In one community we are working with, 85 percent of the residents of this community are descendants of the original farmers who purchased the land.鈥�

Founded in the 1870s, the Phillips community made headlines in recent years when Charleston County called for widening South Carolina鈥檚 Highway 41, which cuts through the area. Working to help nominate the community to the National Register prompted Harness to think about the more intangible aspects of historic preservation. The Phillips Community Historic District is the first in South Carolina to be registered as a 鈥渢raditional cultural property,鈥� meaning it is considered important due to its cultural heritage鈥攏ot, say, for its archaeological potential, connections to momentous events or people, or artistic or architectural merit.

鈥淲hen you are talking about a traditional cultural property, or TCP for short,鈥� Harness says, 鈥渋t offers an opportunity to look a little bit more at some of those things that are not so tangible鈥攍ike the cultural value that a specific group puts on a place鈥攔ather than thinking about fancy architecture.鈥� Highway 41 is still slated for construction, but activists and state officials have since agreed on a revised plan that reduces the freeway鈥檚 impact on Phillips community.

Two aspects of Harness鈥� St. John鈥檚 education鈥攚orking from primary sources (in her case, physical buildings instead of texts) and crafting arguments鈥攑lay a central part in her current role. 鈥淎 lot of what I do now is working on nominations for the National Register of Historic Places, and you must be able to explain very clearly about how whatever you鈥檙e talking about meets those National Register criteria鈥攁rguing for a site鈥檚 significance, arguing about how it retains its historic character,鈥� she says. Learning the value of interpreting subjects from as many angles as possible has increased her ability to protect and preserve history in her state.

鈥淭hinking about, like, 鈥榃hat is historic?鈥� and 鈥榃hat makes something historic?鈥� is important,鈥� Harness says. 鈥淭he program that we work with, the National Register, has these broad criteria, so it is open to a lot of interpretation. So, that is another aspect of my work, where you鈥檙e just constantly re-philosophizing about what does and does not matter.鈥� (One example is when additions are made to a historic site over time, leading to questions about which property components are significant and how to count each building on site.)

While Harness鈥� day-to-day work often consists of filling out paperwork instead of exploring old buildings, its greater purpose is underlined by people and living history. 鈥淣ot every property gets a big turnout [for a state Review Board meeting], but sometimes they do 鈥� and then people will often speak,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t just becomes evident how important that place is to those people.鈥�