Author: PHW

Friday Photos: Salvaged Greenhouse

Today’s photos are images of a greenhouse once located at the Virginia Agricultural Experimental Station/Winchester Fruit Research Laboratory on Valley Avenue (Route 11), approximately where Hope Drive is located today. Several greenhouses on the site had been abandoned and were decaying after the Research Laboratory moved into larger facilities in the mid 1990s.

Theodora and Benjamin Rezba salvaged, relocated and restored one greenhouse left behind at the Valley Avenue facility. These images, given to PHW in 2006, show the greenhouse in its dilapidated state and during the reconstruction and restoration phase. The unusual project was recognized in 2006 by PHW with an Award of Merit for retaining this piece of Winchester history, even though it had to be moved from its original location. Today, it is once again a functional greenhouse.

Read more about the history of the Fruit Research Laboratory at Virginia Tech’s website.

Curious about what other projects have received recognition with PHW preservation awards? Find a list of past winners at Preservation Award Recipients.

Salvaged Greenhouse from Fruit Research Laboratory

Celebrate Rouss Day on May 25

Celebrate Charles Broadway Rouss and his contributions to Winchester this Saturday, May 25 with events at the Visitors Center, 1400 S. Pleasant Valley Rd. in Winchester. Kick off the morning from 10:30 a.m. to noon with presentations and tours of Rouss Springs led by Becky Ebert of the Handley Archives and Dr. Woodward Bousquet of Shenandoah University. Following the tour, join us for an ice cream social behind Abram’s Delight and Hollingsworth Mill. The event will conclude with the wreath laying at the Rouss Family Mausoleum at 12:15 p.m. in Mt. Hebron Cemetery, 305 E. Boscawen St.

The Samuel Noakes House, Part 24

The Samuel Noakes HouseAlthough no house is ever truly complete, the Samuel Noakes House at 101 West Cork Street/201 South Braddock Street has reached the finish line. This last update completes the work in the barbershop area and some tweaks to the Cork Street side.

As you may recall during the March open house, the barbershop area was still fairly rough and unfinished. Since our last visit, the floors have been painted, walls and lighting installed, and the bathroom given a complete overhaul. The shelves in the bathroom are fashioned from more of the salvaged oak shelving found in the Cork St. basement. The walls are wired for internet and for televisions in the corners of the room. Display lights have been installed in the windows and around the room. The exposed beams on the ceiling were oiled and the fire separation between the commercial and residential spaces approved.

Also, one door was tweaked upstairs in the Cork Street apartment. A barn style door on a track was installed at the top of the Cork Street stairway. This solved the problem with the two closet doors hitting each other. The horizontal members in the barn door are fashioned from more the old pine from the original stairwell. The boards were lightly planed and sanded, leaving traces of the old paint and saw marks. The frame was welded together out of angle iron. The door handle was originally attached to one of the giant beams in the barbershop and happily it could be repurposed in the house.

Guapo admires the new barn style door in the Cork Street apartment.The completed barbershop

Barn door at Cork Street

Revisit the previous entries: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, and part 23.

Friday Photos: South Kent Street, 2001

In 2001, a team of PHW volunteers canvased South Kent Street to gather more information about the properties in that neighborhood as part of our Revolving Fund efforts at the Blues House, 401-403 S. Kent St. Although it was not a complete survey, some buildings in the 500-800 block – properties just outside the Winchester Historic District – were captured and documented, along with a few of the field volunteers in action. Take a look back and “remember when…” on South Kent Street!

From South Kent Street, 2001

First Grinding at the Burwell-Morgan Mill

Burwell Morgan MillWhat: First Grinding at the Mill
When: May 18, 2013
Where: 15 Tannery Lane, Burwell-Morgan Mill, Millwood, VA
Admission: Free, donations appreciated
Contact: Jennifer Simpson, Outreach and Special Events Coordinator

Ever dreamt of getting preservative free grain and watching it be milled in an 18th century grist mill? A National Register Historic Landmark, the Burwell-Morgan Mill begins offering visitors a chance to meet both of these goals on May 18, 2013 when the first grinding of the 2013 season is set to take place and continue throughout the summer and into the early fall on Saturdays. The Mill is also open to visitors on Fridays and Sundays but does not operate.

The Burwell-Morgan Mill begins milling cornmeal and grits this coming Saturday, but throughout the summer grinds rye, buckwheat, nine-grain and whole wheat flour. Just a quick visit to the Mill’s website (http://www.burwellmorganmill.org) will allow visitors the chance to answer any questions about the up-to-date grinding information. Flour and grits are also available on Saturdays at the Clarke County Farmers Market located just minutes from the Clarke County Historical Association’s archives and museum in downtown Berryville, VA. The purchase of grain is not only a memento from the trip but goes to help fund both the preservation of the Mill and the running of the museum and archives.

For more information on the mill, please visit the Burwell-Morgan Mill’s website at www.burwellmorganmill.org, email admin@clarkehistory.org or call 540.955-2600.

PHW Lunch and Learn Lecture Tomorrow!

Don’t forget, PHW’s fourth “Lunch and Learn” lecture on how to utilize historic tax credits will be held tomorrow, May 15 at noon. We’ll be meeting in the basement bar (off the lower level parking lot) at the OakCrest Companies, 126 N. Kent St. Feel free to attend even if you haven’t RSVP’ed — we’ll find room for you!

If you have any other last minute questions, be sure to call or email the office before 10:30 AM tomorrow so we can get back to you in time. Thanks, and we hope to see you at the lecture tomorrow!

Friday Photos: Willow Brook

This week we step back to 1984 and visit “Willow Brook” near Kernstown at 3105 Shawnee Drive. Willow Brook, also known as the Hamilton-Triplett-Copp House, was once a 300 acre working farm consisting of a dairy, icehouse, large barn and a brick smokehouse. Although the house is solidly vernacular from the exterior and the homeowners were not prominent in local history, the house still displays remarkable architectural details. The most prominent piece, an elaborate mantelpiece featuring a large handcarved eagle that was originally in the living room of Willow Brook, was purchased by E.I. DuPont in the 1930s and became part of the Winterthur Museum collection. By 1984 the farm was whittled down to the main house and a root cellar on 1.3 acres. Shortly after these photographs were taken, the house was sold and converted to an apartment complex.

From Willow Brook, November 1984

Friday Photos: The Grim-Moore House

Friday Photos returns this week with a look back at a massive renovation project at 510-512 South Loudoun Street. The building, known as the Grim-Moore House, is comprised of a log building circa 1760 and a brick building circa 1795-96. The house was purchased by Preservation of Historic Winchester through the Jennings Revolving Fund in 1975. At the time of the purchase, the once grand Federal-style home had been subdivided into multiple apartments, resulting in truly horrific living conditions. Bill and Virginia Miller purchased the property from PHW and worked diligently from 1976-1982 to restore the home to its original splendor.

Virginia Miller documented the process in over 500 photographs and captions. PHW was fortunate enough to be allowed to scan and transcribe the notes from this scrapbook, and now we can share them with you. This is a fascinating and telling example of how PHW’s Revolving Fund can save “junky” properties from neglect and almost certain demolition and restore them to contributing structures in the Historic District. We hope you take some time this Apple Blossom weekend to remind yourself that this is what PHW is all about.

From The Grim-Moore House

Fort Loudoun Day on May 18, 2013

Join the French and Indian War Foundation for a journey back in time at the location of Fort Loudoun in Winchester, 419 N. Loudoun St. on May 18 from 10 AM-1 PM. Tours begin at 10 AM, to be followed by guest speaker Larry Johnson at 11 AM, essay contest results at 11:30 AM, and the flag raising at noon. Don’t miss the interactive display presented by Dr. David Clark to learn how an archeological dig functions.

This event will be held rain or shine and is free and open to the public. To learn more, visit the French and Indian War Foundation’s website at www.fiwf.org.