Documentation is an important part of every archaeological dig. Dan is in the trench (called a “unit”) and Andy is recording the depth at which the soil changed from one color and texture to another. Every bit of glass, pottery, nails, etc. is recorded by the  depth where it was found. Nothing very dramatic about this unit, but cumulatively all the little pieces may tell us something of the lifestyle of the people who lived here a hundred, or perhaps even 250 years ago.

Andy, Dan and Jim Lee will be digging underneath the floor in the kitchen next week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday). All are invited to come and watch. And take a look at the unique wall painting and stenciling in the parlors.

We’ve had visits from Jim Lee of Hunter Research (archaeologists) and Chris Frey of Keystone Preservation (the wall paints and mortar analysis) in the last week, in both cases looking ahead to the research work that is critical to dating and preserving the property. Actual work will have to await warmer weather, probably in late March. But we did map out the areas where the archaeologists will do some digging, and we identified several panels in the parlor where the task of removing the layers of paint atop the wall paintings will begin. Chris was amazed at the extent of the paintings, which he said were usually confined to a single room or two. We plan to invite scholars and students from universities with major preservation programs (Columbia, Drew, Penn) to visit us during some of Chris’ work, and hope that we can find a graduate student or two who might consider doing a thesis or dissertation on the paintings and their preservation. We are going to put the Roseberry house on the map!

We’re going to open the house to the public on October 17, 2009, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Drop in for a look to see how we’re doing on the restoration; learn more about colonial times and the Phillipsburg of old.

The Warren County Municipal & Charitable Conservancy Trust Fund committee will visit the Roseberry house on Friday, October 2, at noon. All are welcome. We’ll conduct guided tours of the house for members of the committee, and respond to any questions they have. This is the last step in the process of evaluating projects that have applied for funding. The visit was originally scheduled for two days, Friday and Saturday, but the Saturday visit has been cancelled.

The Roseberry Homestead will be open for limited tours between noon and 5 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. We’ll have several rooms available, including the center hall, the parlor, the “living room” and the old kitchen. We may guide a very limited number of people through the upstairs rooms, although a final decision has not been made on that. The house is stable, and there is a coat of paint on three of the rooms, but we are still in the early stages of securing the building, so no one should expect an elegantly-restored eighteenth-century manor. But we’re pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last few months, and we’re looking forward to our first visitors.

John Torkos of the 22nd Regiment

On Saturday, John Torkos, a British Revolutionary War soldier will talk about his “kit,” and the role of his regiment in the Revolution. John is very knowledgeable about the late Colonial/Revolutionary War period, so his appearance is sure to be of broad interest. He’ll be available from 1:30 to about 4 pm, Saturday only.

Sunday will offer a sample of the roots of American music.

12:30 – 1:15 pm – Russ Cole and Kim Newell will treat all to a Colonial Fife and Drum concert complete with discussions about the music, the tradition, and their application in pre and post Revolutionary society.

1:30 to 2:15 pm – The lovely Theresa Couture, a brilliant Sean Nós (Old Style) singer, will treat all to a presentation of some of Ireland’s great ballads as well as discuss their origins and importance in Irish culture.

2:30 to 3:15 pm – The brilliant band Sonas will treat all to the great music of Cape Breton.

3:30 to 4:15 pm – Ed Saultz and friends will treat all to some of Ireland’s traditional dance music (the jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, and airs) as well as some of her traditional songs.

4:15 to 5:00 pm – We’ll all take the stage together for some tunes and song!

Ed Saultz put together this program and all the musicians have volunteered their time to offer this as an introduction to the educational and cultural goals of the Roseberry Homestead restoration.

Just one week left before Olde Towne Festival and lots to do. We’ll install the three remaining windows today, and perhaps get the temporary plywood flooring down in the kitchen. We still need to level the ground at the rear and spread the woodchips. Randy Piazza has been cutting up the big tree limbs that were taken down, but more need to be sawn up and taken away. And we want to get a coat of paint on the kitchen walls. Bob Gloor did a nice job on one of the upstairs bedrooms, and Dan Seyler has been vacuuming  several of the major rooms downstairs. We’ll probably be working at little things right up until the first visitor arrives. Your help is needed.

By the way, we’d like to have people available next Saturday and Sunday during the Festival. You may be able to guide visitors through the house, or just be there to answer questions (and maybe sign-up new members or volunteers). A Revolutionary War re-enactor (British version) will be there Saturday afternoon, and several groups performing musical selections with Celtic, Scottish, Irish roots will perform on Sunday afternoon. No sign-up is necessary—just show up when you have an hour or so.

Last night Michael Margulies, our architect, and I met with the board of the County’s Land & Historic Preservation agency in a preliminary review of our application for a grant of $122,000 for the initial phase of stabilization and preservation of the Roseberry house.  There were several questions about the property, which only a few people there were familiar with; the questions concerned the security of the building once it was restored, the use to which it would be put, the level of commitment of the town to the long-term prospects for the place and its role in the area’s history. Sometime after August 15 they will schedule a formal presentation, and then a visit to the site. Following that, they will make a recommendation to the County Freeholders, who will decide on this and other applications in early December. One board member asked when we might expect to have the place open for visitors—I think all were pleasantly surprised when I said we would entertain several hundred people on July 25 and 26 in conjunction with the Ole Towne Festival.

As we get a little further along in developing a long-range plan for the place, we’ll outline more of our thoughts—not only for preservation and restoration, but for the activities and uses that might be made of the property. We are committed to a large measure of community involvement, so we’ll probably hold our own “hearings” —inviting public comment as well as input from the many people who have been volunteering these past several weeks. I believe everyone close to the project sees this as an extended process, with the restoration proceeding apace with our efforts to develop programs and activities that enhance the educational value of the Roseberry homestead to the community.

Ed Saultz brought his father in to measure the fireplace in the living room; he’s going to build a replacement that closely matches the ones in the parlor. We’re drawing on a wide range of talents in our bootstrapping start on restoration of the building. Ed also spent several hours cleaning up the parlors. On Wednesday we expect a visit from an environmental engineer to check out the mold in the kitchen ceiling and any other potential hazards. We need this for our application for a grant from Warren County. We intend to continue our efforts to clean up the exterior of the building and should have that in pretty good shape by the end of the week. We’ll also clean out the kitchen in preparation for making it fit for tours in late July.

Last Sunday we hosted a Meet-up Group interested in Historical Architecture. Michael Margulies, our architect, is the organizer of that group. At least 16 people were there, almost all deeply involved in restoration efforts in Warren and Hunterdon counties. People were fascinated by the Roseberry house, especially the wall paintings and the associated history. Most have never even heard of the building before. It’s an interested group of people really knowledgeable about 18th century buildings and the history of the region. Here’s the URL if you’d like to learn more: http://www.meetup.com/Historic-Architecture-Meetup/

We expect to have a dozen high school students from North Carolina helping us out with cleaning up the exterior, installing plexiglass in the windows (a temporary measure), and giving the floors a real cleaning. We may even be able to put a coat of primer on the exterior woodwork. C’mon over and say hello to the kids as they help make the place presentable for Ole Towne festival in July.

We had archaeologist Jim Lee in last week to look at the place and give us an opinion as to what areas in and around the house merit a test dig. Then early this week Chris Frey, an historic preservation consultant with the Keystone Preservation Group, was in to take paint and mortar samples. Chris was really intrigued by the wall paintings in the parlor, the hallway and the new “kitchen,” saying they deserve careful study and preservation.

A guided tour of the Vannatta farmhouse is scheduled for this Saturday, June 13 at 4 pm. The building has many similarities with the Roseberry house, so it should be interesting to see what’s been done. Mike Margulies, our architect, will guide the tour, but members of their board will also be present. The Vannatta house is located on Route 519, in Harmony. All are welcome. There’s a link to its website on the right.