1812 Homestead Asks for Assistance After Fire

1812 Homestead Aug 2016 — The 1812 Homestead needs your help!

The 1812 Homestead is a historic site in Willsboro, NY that is a living farm and museum and offers visitors an educational and hands on experience of life on a 19th century farm. Unfortunately, one week ago tragedy struck and a fire caused massive damage to several of the buildings.

“On the evening of August 27th 2016, there was a large fire at the 1812 Homestead which caused extensive damage to the original Farmhouse and the 1840’s barn. Three additional buildings also suffered damage, although less severe, and we hope they can be repaired easily and quickly. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined by investigators.

We are grateful that no one was injured and all the animals are safe and unharmed. HUGE thanks to all of the local fire department teams who responded. For decades, the 1812 Homestead Farm & Museum has been an integral part of living history programs for students and also campers from Pok-O-MacCready Camps. The 1812 Homestead has a special place in the hearts of the local community, and we appreciate your support as we assess our future programming.

OUR PLAN

Of course, we can never truly replace what has been lost, but it is our hope that we can replicate the physical structures of the site to mirror 19th-century living as closely as possible. This will be a long and careful process, and to do so, we are enlisting the help of several qualified consultants, engineers, professionals, and historic preservationists to help us achieve our goal.

Our first task is to replace the 1840’s barn so that we can have an indoor teaching space for our programming and special events. This may involve obtaining an original 19th century barn and relocating it to our site, or building a new barn onsite to the specifications that would have been followed in the 1800’s. Either way, it is a project of tremendous proportions, and we can’t do it alone. (1812 Homestead Fundraiser)

You can learn more and find out how to support the rebuilding efforts on the 1812 Homestead’s GoFundMe page.

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Fire ravages 1812 Homestead (pressrepublican.com)

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