Around the Township Historical Society Receives Grant for Springhouse Repair Rachel Carlson, President, Historical Society of Upper St. Clair This fall, the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair (HSUSC) embarked on the restoration of Gilfillan Farm’s springhouse. The springhouse is believed to be the oldest structure on the Gilfillan property, predating the Gilfillans. It is a small stone structure located at one of the lowest elevation points on the property. The springhouse captures water from underground springs, diverting them through pipes and a trough in the building. The cold underground water Gilfillan springhouse, circa 1940–1950. source provided our ancestors with the first “refrigeration.” Different food products in containers would be stored directly in the water trough and others would be stored in containers on shelves in the cool building. Over the years, the water for the Gilfillan Farm springhouse has gone off course. It is currently flowing beneath the stone walls, eroding the foundation of the structure and flooding the floor.
Then Ski Masonry will repair the damage to the stone structure. The HSUSC will be documenting the restoration project on the Gilfillan Farm Facebook page. Visit www.facebook.com/GilfillanFarm. This will be the third major restoration project at Gilfillan Farm, and it is in line with the recommendations set forth in the 2015 Gilfillan Farm Master Plan. The plan is a result of local experts Keith Cochran (architect), David Scofield (preservation consultant), Anne Madarz (curator), and Mark Abtman (landscape architect) working together with HSUSC and the local community to assess and outline the condition of the property, artifacts, and buildings resulting in a plan and priority list for restoration. The first project was the smokehouse, a small brick structure used for preserving meats. The project required complete dismantling and rebuilding of the structure and was funded by the Allegheny Foundation and generous donations from the Upper St. Clair community. The summer kitchen, a larger brick structure used for cooking in the summer, came next. This project required extensive masonry repairs. This project was supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, a program funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Matching funds for this project came from community support through the Gilfillan Farm Barnyard Beer Benefit. The work of both projects was done by Ski Masonry and are now nearing completion. A reassessment of the plan and priority list is scheduled for later this fall and winter.
A flooded interior of the springhouse, showing broken pipe and water on the floor instead of where it should flow (into the trough) Buildings on the Gilfillan property, left to right: farmhouse, summer kitchen, smokehouse
The springhouse project will involve geotechnical engineers from Ackenheil Engineers, Inc. and excavating crews to locate the source of the water and direct it, in a controlled mann e r, b a c k t h ro u g h the springhouse. 76
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
As a Registered National Historic Place, all projects completed on the Gilfillan Farm are done to the Secretary of the Interior’s standards and in consultation with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, as well as with the Gilfillan Farm Master Plan team of experts. The Gilfillan Farm springhouse project was made possible thanks to a Gaming Economic and Development Tourist Fund grant that was brought to the attention of HSUSC by Pennsylvania State Representative Natalie Mihalek. n Winter 2020
