Dan and Cathi Hartsook, the current owners of French’s Mill, are looking for people of interest in the purchase and preservation of the mill. The “on table” selling price is 149,900.00, will be negotiable. Please visit their website frenchsmill.com for contact information, history of the mill and photo gallery.
In 1900, 428 mills were listed in West Virginia. In 1980, there were 18. Today, only four remain operable to include French’s Mill. Ref: Wonderful West Virginia Magazine, June 2016. With post and beam construction much of the building and machinery remains intact, providing a rare view into an early 20th century electric powered gristmill, both in terms of construction as well as operation. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History can offer matching grants between $2,000 and $10,000 to West Virginia nonprofit arts and history organizations whose buildings or collections were impacted by recent flooding.
The Cultural Facilities and Capital Resources Fast Track ADA Emergency Grants provide emergency funds to address damage and the threat of damage or unsafe conditions involving a building or collection. This includes damage to an art or history museum’s infrastructure or sudden failure of equipment that may result in harm to the collections and public safety. Smaller renovation and construction projects needed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act also are eligible. This program has a rolling deadline, and funds for approved projects are generally available within 6 weeks. Funding for the grant program is provided by the West Virginia Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, contact Debbie Haught, program coordinator, at (304) 558-0240 ext. 714 or Debbie.R.Haught@wv.gov or visit www.wvculture.org/Arts. CERF+ relief assistance: CERF+ would like to make sure that any professional artist working in a craft discipline seriously affected by the flooding is aware of the emergency relief assistance available from CERF+. If, as an artist, you have suffered loss, please contact us when able. If, as an arts organization representative, you know of artists in the disaster areas, or plan to correspond with your artist constituents in the near future, please pass this information on. If there are organizations that directly work with artists in your community that you think we should know about, please send us their contact information. Direct Assistance to Artists Working in Craft Disciplines: CERF+’s programs include:
For eligibility requirements and more detailed information, please visit the Emergency Relief section of our website or contact us at: CERF+ PO Box 838 Montpelier, VT 05601 ph: (802) 229-2306 fx: (802) 223-6484 relief@craftemergency.org www.craftemergency.org Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Information for Artists The CERF+ Studio Protector website has extensive information and resources designed to help artists and those helping them in the disaster recovery effort, as well as disaster planning resources.
We rely on people like you to let us know when an artist has been affected by a disaster. Help us help artists in need by staying in touch with CERF+. Join our mailing list to receive these notices and other CERF+ information aimed at safeguarding and sustaining the careers of craft artists and providing emergency resources that benefit all artists. Thank you for helping spread the word about CERF+! Share on Facebook. Please contact me if you have questions, Les Snow Program Manager relief@craftemergency.org Contact the PAWV to take advantage of a special offer for a nonprofit fundraising workshop at the PAWV Conference. This offer is available to the first 4 nonprofits to register with dlapresta@pawv.org.
On Thursday, September 22, at the PAWV Conference in Beverly, PAWV will offer a full-day fundraising coaching workshop with consultant, Beth Raps. This workshop is outcome-focused: not just quick money (although that will be one result) but a loyal donor base ensuring long-lasting money for the long haul, mirroring the long-term nature of preservation. The workshop teaches how to ask for funds but doesn’t start there. It starts rather with what we already have: a strong feeling for “our” place. It teaches us how to use that to invite support year-round through a planned approach combining a variety of types of fundraising, from crowdfunding and memberships to events and large donor cultivation and solicitation, emphasizing the three Rs of long-lasting fund development: relationship-building, record-keeping, and recognition. For $200, your organization can send three participants to the workshop and have a 30-minute one-on-one coaching session with Beth Raps either Thursdayevening or Friday morning of the conference. It is recommended to send a team to this workshop and coaching session as you’ll be working on your own fundraising plan. This offer is available to the first 4 nonprofits to register with dlapresta@pawv.org. You can learn more about Beth and her business, RAISING CLARITY at http://www.raisingclarity.com/ To learn more about the conference and other available sessions, visit http://pawv.org/2016-conference.htm. This offer is first come, first serve. ‘War Comes to Union’
Event Offers Unique Volunteer Opportunities June 24, 2016. August 27th, 2016 is the date for the Monroe County Heritage Days Living History event: War Comes to Union! The organizers are looking for people interested in portraying local citizens of Union, West Virginia, during the 1860’s. The event seeks to recreate that time in 1864 when our town was visited by the Federal Army and occupied for five days. Citizens of the area were Southern Secessionist, Unionist and pacifist. Many were local farmers, laborers, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, teamsters, etc. We are seeking men, women, and children to bring that time ‘alive’. This unique volunteer opportunity is your chance to “step back in time” and live for a day as our ancestors did during that defining moment in American History. In May of 1864, Union General George Crook led his force through Union on a Sunday morning after his victory at Cloyd’s Mountain, VA. The 10,000 men, 200 wagons, 35 ambulances, 213 prisoners, and over 100 negroes of Crook’s army took six and a half hours to march through town and spread out for miles to camp and forage. The population of Monroe County was nearly doubled by the size of the army that occupied Union. The Monroe County Heritage Days organizers are seeking volunteers, reenactors, and living historians to bring this history alive. This living history event will attempt to portray the 1864 Federal occupation of Union’s historic district and surroundings. There will be an encampment in the fields surrounding the town’s Confederate Memorial. There will be drills, demonstrations throughout the encampment. In Union and the vicinity there are several historic structures (log cabins, homes, churches, and the stately Elmwood mansion), which will serve as scenes for scenarios of events that happened (documented, first person accounts). We would like to have civilian (local ‘southerners) impressions to portray the townsfolk and how they will be ‘dealing with the Yankee troop’s ‘foragers’ as they occupy the town. There will be an initial ‘skirmish’ with local Home Guard by the forward skirmishers of the Federal’s leading element. Friday will be arrivals and set-up of participants. Saturday, August 27th is the ‘main event’, that evening we will host a period dance. Sunday we are planning a period ‘church service’. Please join us! For more information about the event and volunteering visit our web site:MCHDWV.COM and contact Chris Johnson at wvaca@hughes.net, or call (304)772-4712. WBOY Channel 12 recently published a story about the WV Historic Theatre Trail expansion. It can be viewed here. To learn more about the trail, visit http://wvhistorictheaters.com/.
“There is no other region in the country which contains such a wealth of original Washington family homes and history–and Happy Retreat is the crown jewel of them all,” said Robert Nieweg, Senior Field Director and Attorney of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We couldn’t be happier to work with the Friends to create an experience at such an important site that will draw more people, ensure its story is more broadly told and its long term future secured.”
Located in the Eastern panhandle region of West Virginia, Happy Retreat is the principal estate of the Washington family. Built in 1780 by Charles Washington, George Washington’s youngest brother, Happy Retreat was the foundation for the surrounding city of Charles Town. It is here where George Washington and his lifelong friend Dr. James Craik started their 680-mile trek out to the American west. Joel Achenbach’s 2005 book, The Grand Idea: George Washington’s Potomac and the Race to the West, details this ambitious journey. Happy Retreat is currently one of 40 sites along the 132-mile Washington Heritage Trail, a designated National Scenic Byway which runs from the “Gateway to West Virginia” at Harpers Ferry to points west – all within the national capital region. “Happy Retreat is a wonderful part of the nation’s history, where George Washington long ago came to launch his grand idea of exploration in a new America. Today, the Friends of Happy Retreat seek to restore the Happy Retreat mansion and property so that it can be a vibrant center of cultural life and community gatherings linking history, neighborhoods, greenspace, downtown Charles Town, and the broader tourism region,” says Walter Washington, President of the Friends of Happy Retreat. “We are confident that our partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation will help the national treasure of Happy Retreat again become a place for the grand idea of exploring creative opportunities.” In 2015, the Friends of Happy Retreat successfully saved Happy Retreat from being divided into 25 residential lots for new construction, and together with the city of Charles Town raised $775,000 towards the acquisition of the property. Although the immediate threat of demolition was avoided, Happy Retreat remains threatened until a sustainable new use is established and underway. The National Trust’s involvement at Happy Retreat provides an opportunity to show how creative, multipurpose uses of historic sites can create a roadmap for the long-term sustainability of these significant places. As a National Treasure, Happy Retreat will join the ranks of other shared use concepts such as National Trust historic site, Cooper-Molera Adobe in Monterey, California, which is currently being converted to accommodate a museum, a restaurant, and event facilities. In an effort to mitigate the pitfalls of traditional house museums, the National Trust and Friends of Happy Retreat intend for the property to be used continuously by the public as a center for community events, heritage tourism, arts, culture, and scholarship, ultimately becoming a centerpiece for the newly founded Washington Heritage & Cultural District. To learn more about the Happy Retreat National Treasure, visit www.savingplaces.org/happy-retreat About the National Treasures Program The National Trust for Historic Preservation mobilizes its more than 65 years of expertise and resources to protect a growing portfolio of over 80 National Treasures. Among them are threatened buildings; neighborhoods, communities, and landscapes that stand at risk across the country. Our National Treasures program demonstrates the value of preservation by taking direct action to protect cherished places and promote their history and significance. For more information, visit: savingplaces.org/treasures or follow @SavingPlaces and #SavingPlaces for updates. About the National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places. For more information, visit www.preservationnation.org About the Friends of Happy Retreat The Friends of Happy Retreat is a nonprofit organization seeking to transform Charles Washington’s home, Happy Retreat, into a vibrant center of community and cultural life, linking neighborhoods, greenspace, and West Virginia’s broader tourism region. For more information, visit www.happyretreat.org Tickets are on sale at the Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/this-place-matters-connecting-with-historic-places-tickets-26139243180
PAWV is excited to announce three featured speakers for the up-coming historic preservation conference, “This Place Matters”. Tom Mayes (National Trust for Historic Preservation), Daniel Carey (Historic Savannah Foundation), and Dr. John Ochsendorf(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) will be the plenary and keynotes presenters over the three-day period. Each speaker will present on a different topic focused on why historic places are important and how to save them. Tom Mayes, the Vice President and Senior Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will be the opening plenary speaker on Friday, September 23. He will speak immediately following lunch and will kick off the main educational concurrent sessions of the conference by presenting on “Why Old Places Matter”. Mr. Mayes will answer the questions: Why do old places matter? What difference does it make if we do – or do not – save old places? What difference does it make in people’s lives? He will explore some of the many reasons that old places matter to people, including Continuity, Memory, Individual and Civic Identity, Beauty, History, Architecture, Sacredness, Creativity, Sustainability, Community and Economics. Old places matter – perhaps for more reasons – and more fundamentally — than we think. Daniel Carey, the President & CEO of the Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF), will be the keynote speaker at the 8th Annual Historic Preservation Awards at Halliehurst Mansion in Elkins. Mr. Carey’s presentation is entitled “Secrets of Preserving a City” and will be based on his experiences with HSF over the last 7 years. He will convey the need for balance between tourism and preservation while touching upon the value of heritage tourism, the competitiveness of historic buildings in terms of energy efficiency, and collaborations HSF enjoys with non-traditional partners in Savannah – arguably the largest urban National Historic Landmark district in the United States. Dr. John Ochsendorf is Professor of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs a research program in historic masonry structures. Dr. Ochsendorf will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon on Saturday, September 24, to be held in Beverly’s historic I.O.O.F. building. His presentation is entitled “Preserving Historic Structures: Challenges and Opportunities” in which he will discuss how the preservation of the cultural heritage of West Virginia is vital for the future. Within his presentation he will explain how the field of preservation straddles the “two cultures” of the sciences and the humanities and therefore demands a deep engagement with both the technical and the cultural aspects of the built environment. We are very honored to have all three presenters speak at the conference this year. For more information about the conference, check out the event page: http://pawv.org/2016-conference.htm Plan your trip to the conference, September 22-24, 2016. Reserve your room in the conference room block at the Iron Road Inn – a locally-owned hotel in Elkins. The rate is $75.00/night+tax, and the room block is available beginning September 21 through September 23. Be sure to state you are with the group “Preservation Alliance of West Virginia.” The phone number for the Iron Road Inn is 304-637-1888. The website is ironroadinn.com This conference is being financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination in departmental Federally Assisted Programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of Federal assistance should write to: Chief, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs United States Department of the Interior National Park Service 1201 Eye Street, NW (2740) Washington, DC 20005 PAWV is pleased to announce that it is expanding its heritage tourism initiative, the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail. In addition to having just added 6 significant theaters to the Trail, PAWV’s recent receipt of a $1000 mini-grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council will allow the organization to further promote the Trail.
The West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail is a statewide thematic tour of operational, historic theaters, encompassing both cinemas and live performance venues. All of the Trail’s theaters are listed in, or have been officially determined eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places – the official list of the nation’s historic places deemed worthy of preservation by the National Park Service. The Trail promotes the rehabilitation and sustainable operation of our state’s historic theaters for the enjoyment of the public. The Trail was born in 2010 following a 2007 Preserve America grant award to the West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), in partnership with PAWV, to develop statewide thematic tours to encourage heritage tourism in communities throughout the state. When it started, the Trail included 26 theaters across the state. By 2015, however, 4 Trail theaters had closed, and staff at various other historic theaters in West Virginia had been asking PAWV about how to be added to the Trail. During 2015 and early 2016, PAWV requested and received applications from additional historic theaters across the state. After using state heritage trail criteria to decide which to accept or reject, PAWV recently added 6 theaters to the Trail. The new members include:
The Trail now encompasses 28 members, spanning 21 of West Virginia’s 55 counties. For quotes from several of the organizations and agencies that operate or utilize the Trail’s new members, please see the end of this press release. The Trail’s main public presence is a website run by PAWV (https://wvhistorictheaters.com/). It contains informational pages on each member theater; overarching Google Maps and theater trip itineraries, broken up by region of the state; historic theater resources (such as books, articles, and related organizations); links to the Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) for each theater’s area, etc. The Trail’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/wvhistorictheaters/) is where PAWV staff share member theaters’ events and post relevant news articles, press releases about the Trail, etc. PAWV also promotes the Trail and its member theaters through rack cards distributed to member theaters and their CVBs. Another marketing tool has been Trail interpretive signage, which PAWV presented to each original member theater to display inside. Those signs contain site-specific historical and architectural information, as well as information about the Trail itself. Having added the 6 new member theaters, PAWV plans to launch a major promotional campaign for the Trail, utilizing the $1000 WV Humanities Council mini-grant funds. PAWV has already purchased a short, memorable URL and has updated the existing Trail website to include the new members throughout. Next, PAWV will design and print various promotional materials. Those will include interpretive signage for each new member, updated rack cards, and a portable, retractable banner showcasing the Trail. Overall, these new promotional materials will serve as a valuable outreach tool – educating the public (both locals and tourists) about the Trail and its member theaters. Specifically, the rack cards will alert people that the member theaters exist and are open for visiting, offering entertainment in their communities. The interpretive signs and the banner will go more in-depth, helping to inform and educate viewers about the history, sociocultural importance, architectural significance, and historic preservation of the state’s operational, historic theaters (not only individually but as a group). Additionally, since many of the Trail’s theaters have been reopened after periods of closure or are adaptive reuses of other building types (such as historic churches), these promotional efforts will help demonstrate how historic preservation has been a successful revitalization and economic development tool in West Virginia. To learn more about the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail, visit https://wvhistorictheaters.com/ or email PAWV’s Preserve WV AmeriCorps member, Kelli Shapiro, PhD, at americorps@pawv.org. Check out this video about the Tygart Valley Homestead Project in Randolph County. Do any of these places look familiar? Video created by Gerry Milnes and the Traveling 219 Project. |
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