Joanne Ostergaard, Protector of History Fort Pitt Block House Celebrates 250 Years Maureen Mahoney Hill, Project Manager, Block House 250 For those who haven’t met Joanne, a current resident of Friendship Village and a former resident and school teacher from Mt. Lebanon, she is the powerful engine behind 2014’s yearlong celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Fort Pitt Block House, Pittsburgh’s oldest historic landmark. The Block House remains standing in its original location surrounded now by scenic Point State Park in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, a reminder of our past and a beacon to the future. Beginning with its construction in 1764, the story of the Fort Pitt Block House is one that spans nearly three centuries of Pittsburgh history. The Block House was originally constructed as a defensive redoubt for Fort Pitt, a key British fortification during the French and Indian War. After the conflicts on the Pennsylvania frontier ended, the brick-laid building served briefly as a trading post for wares and munitions. During the 19th century it was used as a private dwelling, hosting numerous families for over one hundred years. In 1894, the only surviving structure of Fort Pitt was gifted to be preserved and used as a historic site and museum to the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) by then owner Mary Schenley. Though the building was threatened by demolition for the expansion of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the DAR’s Fort Pitt Society fought to preserve this precious historic structure. Last year, the Block House welcomed more than 54,000 visitors from across the region and around the world, including approximately 1600 children on school-sponsored field trips. Yet, many Pittsburghers are unaware that the Block House is a private, independent nonprofit organization, receiving no state or federal funding. For the past 120 years, the Fort Pitt Society has owned and operated the Fort Pitt Block House, working tirelessly, and often anonymously, to keep the 250-year-old structure in sound condition and open to the public and free of charge, presenting Pittsburgh’s rich history for all to enjoy.
At the Block House 250 Gala, Joanne Ostergaard (right) greeting keynote speaker Julie Nixon Eisenhower 14
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
Spring 2015
Joanne Ostergaard joined the Pittsburgh chapter of the DAR in the 1980s; she says she joined to please her mother. She didn’t really become active in the chapter until 2000 when she was elected to the Fort Pitt Society board of directors. Up until that point, she claims she was unaware that the chapter actually owned and operated the Block House. But it didn’t take long for Joanne to fall under the spell of that little building with a big history. In 2010, Joanne was elected president of the Fort Pitt Society, a critical time in the organization’s history as it was about to embark on efforts to acknowledge the upcoming 250th anniversary of the construction of the Block House. Under Joanne’s leadership, a vision was developed to use the 250th anniversary as a critical opportunity to build internal capacity and begin focusing on the future sustainability of the Block House. To say her vision was successfully realized is truly an understatement. Joanne stepped down as president of the Fort Pitt Society in late 2012, but maintained an active leadership position in planning the anniversary commemorations and served as the Fort Pitt Society coordinator for Block House 250. As such, Joanne’s fingerprints have been on every single event and activity related to the 250th anniversary of the Block House. Her first task was to raise the funding needed for a long overdue preservation and restoration project. This effort represented the first time that the Fort Pitt Society and the DAR had to raise funds from the public for the Block House. Despite the challenge of being virtually unknown in the funding community, the Fort Pitt Society was successful in raising the $190,000 needed for the restoration project. Joanne showed up on the coldest day in January 2013 as the project started with technicians taking X-rays of the 250-year-old gun loop timbers that encircle the building on two levels. The ten-month project included repair and preservation of the gun loop timbers, and masonry and French drain repairs and reinforcement of the upper floor beams. Additional foundation support was secured to develop the Block House’s first professional website—www.fortpittblockhouse. com—to kick start an important effort to build communications capacity at the Block House and increase public awareness, ensuring a more active role by the wider Pittsburgh community in preserving and protecting local history. In August 2013, an archeological dig was conducted on the grounds of the Block House where a new memorial garden, part of the Block House 250 commemorations, was planned. The dig