| Join us in one of the oldest cities in the United
States conserving horsehair plaster at Orange
Hall. This Greek Revival antebellum home is located in St.
Marys, Georgia, which was settled in the mid-1500s and established
as a town in 1787. It is a small coastal village 90 miles south
of Savannah and at the entrance to the Cumberland
Island National Seashore.
Orange Hall was built around 1850 on land originally granted to
William Ashley, one of the founders of St. Marys. The structure
was skillfully incorporated into an earlier home built about 1830.
During the American Civil War, it became the headquarters of occupying
Union troops and remained relatively unharmed. After a variety of
owners, it was purchased in 1919 by the Beckers of New York, who
turned the house into the social center of St. Marys. Since then
it has served as apartments, a library and a civic center. The Orange
Hall Foundation recently formed to encourage the preservation and
restoration of the house as the Orange Hall House Museum. HCN’s
workshop will be the first interior restoration work.
Workshop participants will work at Orange Hall learning about and
working with historic plaster. They will analyze existing plaster
to determine its original components and learn to make historically
compatible plaster for use in restoration work. A lime burn will
be held to demonstrate how oyster shells were prepared historically
to serve as a source of lime. Jimmy Price of Virginia
Lime Works will lead participants in preserving existing plaster
and mixing and re-applying plaster to walls that have been hidden
by sheetrock for a number of years. This will be an excellent opportunity
for historic home owners and building contractors to learn techniques
for dealing with deteriorating plaster in historic homes.
The workshop will be two weeks in length and participants may register
for either one or two weeks. The cost is US$950 for one week and
US$1900 for two weeks, which will cover lodging, breakfast and lunch,
insurance, workshop materials and instruction. The cost for area
residents not requiring lodging or breakfast is $475 per week. There
is a discount for early registration received by August 9, 2005;
see Registration
Form.
Transportation to the workshop is not included and is the responsibility
of the participant. If coming to the area by air, the nearest airport
is the Jacksonville
International Airport in Jacksonville, Florida, 30 minutes south
of St. Marys on I95.
Participants will be housed in a Bed & Breakfast or small hotel
in St. Marys and will have free time on evenings and the weekend to
explore the area. The group will visit the St. Marys Historic District
and other nearby historic sites of interest. Participants may wish
to extend their visit to enjoy such attractions as the Cumberland
Island National Seashore. The month of October on the coast of Georgia
brings daytime high temperatures in the 70s and 80s F. Night-time
lows will be in the 50s and 60s F. Bring attire suitable for the weather
that will also be protective while working. Keep in mind that working
with horsehair plaster involves exposure to lime, which may require
protection for eyes and skin. Sturdy shoes and work gloves are recommended
along with water bottles, insect repellant and sunscreen as needed.
Please be conscious that safety is an important issue at any work
site.
If you need additional information, please contact us at workshops@heritageconservation.net
or call +1 303-444-0128.
If you find this project intriguing, but are unable to attend,
you can still participate by supporting conservation work at Orange
Hall House Museum and at other project sites with a gift to HCN.
Donations are tax deductible and will be used in a variety of ways
- to sponsor a participant, to provide materials needed for conservation
work, or to provide teaching materials for participants, just to
name a few.
We have partnered with Groundspring.org to make it easy and safe
for you to donate online:
If you would prefer to mail in a gift, please use our donation
form. |
