Clermont to receive Historic Preservation Commission award
05/18/22 15:43
By MICKEY POWELL
The Winchester Star, Saturday, May 14, 2022
BERRYVILLE — The Clermont Foundation will receive an award for its restoration of a structure in which enslaved workers lived for four decades prior to emancipation.
Restoration of the “ slave quarter,” as the building formally is known, was intended to ensure its survival as an educational facility well into the future. The structure at the historic 360- acre Clermont Farm, on Berryville’s eastern edge, had been in danger of collapsing.
The Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission ( HPC) next week will present a certificate of merit to the foundation, along with four people who were involved in other restoration projects. The certificates, awarded annually, honor those who have successfully refurbished historic structures and other places deemed essential to preserving the county’s cultural identity.
Clermont was established on property originally owned by Lord Fairfax and surveyed in 1750 by George Washington, who was 18 at the time. The farm had several owners over the years. The family of Elizabeth Rust Williams, a Clarke County lawyer and judge, owned the farm for 185 years. When she died in 2004, Williams bequeathed it to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR).
The private foundation, established by Williams, manages the farm in partnership with DHR. No state funds are put toward operations of the farm, now a research and training facility in agriculture, history and historic preservation.
Built in 1823 by Dawson McCormick, the slave quarter is the only one remaining among three such buildings at Clermont. Historic preservationists say it’s one of the few surviving log duplex slave quarters.
“ We had a little row ( of buildings) here,” said foundation Executive Director Bob Stieg. Archaeologists discovered the foundation of another on one side of the remaining structure and artifacts of yet another on the other side, he said.
A $ 236,000 grant from the National Park Service was obtained for the remaining structure’s rehab, completed in 2015.
HistoriCorps, a nonprofit organization that repairs historic buildings and promotes preservation work, oversaw the project. Forty-five volunteers from across the nation participated.
The duplex’s stone foundation, log walls and roof structure underwent repairs. New siding was installed to protect logs from sunlight and moisture. Much of the original siding was lost in bad weather, especially Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
In addition, a new roof covering made of recycled black cypress shingles was installed.
The building’s loft, accessed via a wooden ladder, today is used to show people how a historic building can be preserved, Stieg said. Floor boards have undergone “ snugging” to get their tongues into grooves, he said. And, original pole rafter logs — still covered in bark — are visible.
“ These old logs have been doing their work (helping to support the roof) for more than 100 years,” said Stieg, noting how strong the rafters remain.
Anyone going into the loft must be careful: Square nails used in the roof’s original construction are sticking out just about everywhere.
It’s believed the loft once was used to store hay and other agricultural supplies, Stieg said.
Originally, the building had two large rooms where enslaved workers lodged. The rooms were divided into four in 1861.
Some of the logs in original walls downstairs are noticeable. So is some of the thin wood paneling over the logs, as well as plaster wallboard, installed around the early 20th century as times began to modernize.
However, the building is comprised largely of plank floors and walls. A porch, a small kitchen and a bathroom with plumbing were added over time. Splotches of mold cover the ceiling in the kitchen and bathroom, which no longer is usable — small boards cover the toilet basin.
Inside the kitchen are simple wooden cabinets. Other relics now occupying the building include a smokehouse saltbox, an old plow and an antique school desk, one in which the writing surface is lifted to get into the storage compartment for pencils and paper.
History has revealed that of the 28 enslaved people at Clermont in 1860,10 were under 12 years of age, Stieg said. Those children, along with women, took care of domestic chores while the men worked in nearby fields. [data edited]
In the years following emancipation, the building housed paid male farm workers who were single. It last was occupied in the late 1950s and early 1960s by a family who rented it from the Williams family, according to Stieg.
Considering its simple construction that has held up for several centuries, “ it really is an amazing building,” he said.
— Contact Mickey Powell at mpowell@winchesterstar.com
END
The Winchester Star, Saturday, May 14, 2022
BERRYVILLE — The Clermont Foundation will receive an award for its restoration of a structure in which enslaved workers lived for four decades prior to emancipation.
Restoration of the “ slave quarter,” as the building formally is known, was intended to ensure its survival as an educational facility well into the future. The structure at the historic 360- acre Clermont Farm, on Berryville’s eastern edge, had been in danger of collapsing.
The Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission ( HPC) next week will present a certificate of merit to the foundation, along with four people who were involved in other restoration projects. The certificates, awarded annually, honor those who have successfully refurbished historic structures and other places deemed essential to preserving the county’s cultural identity.
Clermont was established on property originally owned by Lord Fairfax and surveyed in 1750 by George Washington, who was 18 at the time. The farm had several owners over the years. The family of Elizabeth Rust Williams, a Clarke County lawyer and judge, owned the farm for 185 years. When she died in 2004, Williams bequeathed it to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR).
The private foundation, established by Williams, manages the farm in partnership with DHR. No state funds are put toward operations of the farm, now a research and training facility in agriculture, history and historic preservation.
Built in 1823 by Dawson McCormick, the slave quarter is the only one remaining among three such buildings at Clermont. Historic preservationists say it’s one of the few surviving log duplex slave quarters.
“ We had a little row ( of buildings) here,” said foundation Executive Director Bob Stieg. Archaeologists discovered the foundation of another on one side of the remaining structure and artifacts of yet another on the other side, he said.
A $ 236,000 grant from the National Park Service was obtained for the remaining structure’s rehab, completed in 2015.
HistoriCorps, a nonprofit organization that repairs historic buildings and promotes preservation work, oversaw the project. Forty-five volunteers from across the nation participated.
The duplex’s stone foundation, log walls and roof structure underwent repairs. New siding was installed to protect logs from sunlight and moisture. Much of the original siding was lost in bad weather, especially Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
In addition, a new roof covering made of recycled black cypress shingles was installed.
The building’s loft, accessed via a wooden ladder, today is used to show people how a historic building can be preserved, Stieg said. Floor boards have undergone “ snugging” to get their tongues into grooves, he said. And, original pole rafter logs — still covered in bark — are visible.
“ These old logs have been doing their work (helping to support the roof) for more than 100 years,” said Stieg, noting how strong the rafters remain.
Anyone going into the loft must be careful: Square nails used in the roof’s original construction are sticking out just about everywhere.
It’s believed the loft once was used to store hay and other agricultural supplies, Stieg said.
Originally, the building had two large rooms where enslaved workers lodged. The rooms were divided into four in 1861.
Some of the logs in original walls downstairs are noticeable. So is some of the thin wood paneling over the logs, as well as plaster wallboard, installed around the early 20th century as times began to modernize.
However, the building is comprised largely of plank floors and walls. A porch, a small kitchen and a bathroom with plumbing were added over time. Splotches of mold cover the ceiling in the kitchen and bathroom, which no longer is usable — small boards cover the toilet basin.
Inside the kitchen are simple wooden cabinets. Other relics now occupying the building include a smokehouse saltbox, an old plow and an antique school desk, one in which the writing surface is lifted to get into the storage compartment for pencils and paper.
History has revealed that of the 28 enslaved people at Clermont in 1860,10 were under 12 years of age, Stieg said. Those children, along with women, took care of domestic chores while the men worked in nearby fields. [data edited]
In the years following emancipation, the building housed paid male farm workers who were single. It last was occupied in the late 1950s and early 1960s by a family who rented it from the Williams family, according to Stieg.
Considering its simple construction that has held up for several centuries, “ it really is an amazing building,” he said.
— Contact Mickey Powell at mpowell@winchesterstar.com
END