Preservation work to begin on LeMoyne House in Washington
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Restoration work on the LeMoyne House in Washington is expected to begin soon to repair its original windows, sandstone foundation stones and roof.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
The original windows of the LeMoyne House in Washington are deteriorating and in need of repair.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
The sandstone base around the LeMoyne House has taken a beating over the years from sunlight, truck traffic exhaust and road salt along East Maiden Street in Washington.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
The LeMoyne House on East Maiden Street in Washington was built by John LeMoyne in 1812 and eventually became the home of abolitionist Dr. Francis Julius LeMoyne.
Restoration work on the LeMoyne House in Washington is expected to begin soon to repair its original windows, sandstone foundation stones and roof thanks to a prestigious federal grant honoring the landmark’s abolitionist history.
The Washington County Historical Society recently received the $75,000 grant from the National Parks Service through its History of Equal Rights program designed to spotlight landmarks that advanced civil rights.
The LeMoyne House’s history as the home of abolitionist Dr. Francis Julius LeMoyne and a stop on the Underground Railroad made it a natural selection for the distinguished grant, historical society Director of Operations and Development Tom Milhollan said. The NPS program delivered 10 grants totaling $3.27 million for various historic landmarks earlier this year.
“It helps to tell the story of the abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad in this region like no other landmark can,” Milhollan said of the LeMoyne House.
In addition to the NPS grant, the historical society also received a grant in 2021 for $43,945 from Washington County’s Local Share Account to help with the window preservation project. Between those two grants and other funding, the restoration work is expected to cost about $125,000 and rehabilitate the house’s windows, preserve the sandstone base of the building and make repairs to the roof.
While many rehabilitation projects are usually glitzy, historical society Director Clay Kilgore said this one is about making sure the building is protected so future generations can enjoy the LeMoyne House for centuries to come. It’s been nearly seven years since the last renovations were performed on the building.
“This is all about the security of the building. And when I say security, I don’t mean people breaking in,” Kilgore said. “It doesn’t take long for a building to collapse. This is important to keep the integrity of the building for another 200 or 300 years.”
The windows are original and very little work has been done to them over the years after the house was built in 1812, Kilgore said. The bids are currently out on the window portion of the project, and Kilgore is hopeful work can begin in the fall. But that will be weather dependent since the windows will have to be removed while they’re being restored elsewhere, making the work tedious and expensive.
“There might have been some work done to them (in the past), but everything has to be meticulously restored,” Kilgore said. “You can’t just grab a Pella window and throw it in. You have to make sure it maintains that historical significance.”
After that, the focus will turn to the house’s sandstone base that is at street level and has been damaged over the years from sunlight, truck traffic exhaust and road salt along East Maiden Street.
“When they put salt on the roads, it leads to very quick deterioration,” Kilgore said. “They take a heck of a beating.”
Minor repairs will also be made to the roof, while the shutters that were removed years ago to protect them from further damage will be restored and rehung. More projects could eventually follow if the historical society secures additional funding, Milhollan said.
“We’re going to be good stewards of this property and perform as much work on this cycle as we can. … Hopefully, during the course of the project, if we can secure more funding, we’ll layer that on,” Milhollan said.
While new windows and roofs might not be sexy home improvements for the average person, they are immensely important for an early 19th century building on the National Register of Historic Places. The LeMoyne House is the home of the historical society’s museum, meaning it holds many priceless artifacts and documents that need to be protected and stored for safekeeping.
“It’s going to improve the look of the house and make a better look for East Maiden Street. But what’s more important is that the house doesn’t deteriorate. It’s such an important site,” Kilgore said.
“We want to make sure it’s here to preserve it and keep telling those stories for the next 100 years,” he added.