Projects
Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia
Dr. Hyland completed a book, published by the History Press, on the house and plantation home of President James Madison. The book takes a landscape approach to the historic site to tell the story of all of the plantation's inhabitants, both enslaved and free. The story features the tensions evident in social relations on the plantation since the early 1700s. It also discusses the role owners subsequent to the Madison family played in commemorating President Madison's presence on the house and grounds.
Coal Heritage, McDowell County, West Virginia
Dr. Hyland participated in a county-wide survey dedicated to documenting the historic architectural, structural, and engineering resources that reflect the development and decline of the bituminous coal industry in this section of southern West Virginia. The Coal Heritage Survey Project inventoried over a thousand historic sites in McDowell County that convey the historic of this significant extractive industry. Numerous historic towns, such as War, Gary, Welch, Northfork, Keystone, Filbert, and Elbert, still illustrate the boom and bust coal mining's significant association with the growth of American industrial capitalism.
Key West, Florida
This project seeks to understand the role of historical commemoration and preservation in the development of community on the Florida Keys from 1822 to 1955. The focus here is on how community members relied on historical memory to promote community growth through such difficulties as fires, floods, and hurricanes. The project also informs present concerns about the effect of rising sea levels on the community.
Whiskey Rebellion
As part of his local history research project in Pennsylvania, Hyland has begun an investigation of the Whiskey Rebellion's legacy on the landscape and memory of Pennsylvania.