Restorative House Work

by JODI BLACK Supervising Preservation Manager

Time and weather have taken a toll on Hamilton House in South Berwick, Maine. The roof of this National Historic Landmark needs to be replaced, the paint is starting to peel, and it has lost some decorative elements on the dormers. But all is not lost.

Historic New England has raised half of the $330,000 needed for repairs through a grant from the National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures (SAT) program. SAT recognizes nationally significant properties and Hamilton House, built c.1785, fits the criteria. This striking Georgian mansion is perched on a picturesque bluff at a bend in the Salmon Falls River. The square residence is finely balanced with symmetrically placed wood windows and has wood clapboard siding. The main door is framed by pilasters and topped by a Doricstyle triangular pediment. The three dormers feature alternating triangular and circular broken pediments and the elaborate cornice line includes dentils and modillion adornment. The building is topped by a steeply pitched wood shingle hipped roof and four soaring brick chimneys. A large arched window sits centrally located above the entrance on the north elevation, providing views to the river and forests beyond.

Although the property changed hands many times

Views of a section of the roof and a dormer at Hamilton House. Overall, the roof has missing, cupped, and severely deteriorated wood shingles that will be replaced in kind. The structure’s wood windows have loose glazing and missing paint and will be conserved. Some wood elements are missing paint and there are areas where decorative elements (bottom photograph) have been lost. Work will include replacing the missing elements and repainting the house.

before being bequeathed to Historic New England by Elise Tyson Vaughan, who died at the age of seventy-eight in 1949, it has maintained the core features of a Georgian country seat. Vaughan and her stepmother, Emily Tyson (1856-1922), purchased the property in 1898. Working with Boston architect Herbert W. C. Browne and artist George Porter Fernald to rehabilitate the property, the Tysons combined elegant antiques, painted murals, and country furnishings that reflected the period’s nostalgic impression of America’s colonial past.

The goal of the Hamilton House preservation project is to not only ensure protection of the exterior but also to prepare for weather conditions based on climate change predictions. This preservation effort focuses on replacing the wood shingle roof in kind; conserving the windows; repointing the brick chimneys and the stone foundation; and repairing and painting the cladding, trim, and exterior ornamental features.

With the building situated on the waterfront, weather has always contributed to its deterioration. Factoring in an increase of more intense wind and rainstorms, higher heat and stronger ultraviolet degradation, and more cycles of freeze-thaw, historic properties are further challenged for the future. A secure exterior envelope and roof, gutters, and siding are critical areas of protection, however just replacing a roof and painting the building is not enough. Historic New England’s 2018 study on gutter capacity and rainfall projections showed that those at Hamilton House were barely adequate for today’s intense rainstorms, let alone storms in the future. The SAT project will make the gutter system larger to ensure that the capacity is there for increases in rain predicted for the next several decades.

Historic New England conducted the gutter efficiency study with a grant from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission’s Federal Historic Preservation Fund. Several white papers were drafted that include recommendations, which are available at historicnewengland.org/preservation/for-professionalsstudents/property-care-white-papers/gutters-anddownspouts/.

We need your help to raise the $165,000 needed to match the Save America’s Treasures grant. For more information and to make a donation, please contact Manager of Community Partnerships and Resource Development Ken Turino at 617-994-5958. Thank you.