Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 5, 1990 TAG: 9003052301
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Of course, the truer to history, the greater the exhibits' educational value will be. And the more information available about the old buildings - who occupied them and how they were used - the greater the integrity of the display.
In one sense, Explore's buildings will be more faithful to the past than Colonial Williamsburg. Explore is using old structures, which must be taken down, moved and then reassembled. A majority of the buildings at Williamsburg are replicas.
But preservationists don't think Explore is paying enough attention to its buildings. They've complained that not enough research is being done on the old buildings that are being moved to the Explore site. The severest critics maintain that without detailed studies on each structure, the buildings are virtually worthless as historical artifacts.
Research of land titles, deeds and other records relating to a building can be done at any time. But archaeological research - whose results likely would be more interesting to the public - must be done before a building is moved. The site of an old house contains numerous articles that were used by people who once lived there. If recovered and recorded, they become period artifacts that make an interesting display. But if turned up by an earth-moving machine when a site is developed, they're nothing more than discarded junk.
No one would disagree that such research is desirable, but the preservation price-tag is high. The Museum of American Frontier Culture, for instance, spent $400,000 moving a homestead from Botetourt County to Staunton. The project included $50,000 for photographs, archaeological digs and genealogical research.
Explore's spending priorities are on acquiring and moving the buildings, according to project engineer Richard Burrow. Twenty-seven barns, houses, mills and taverns have been acquired and/or dismantled, at a cost of $172,508. "I'd rather have the building and not know the history than not have the building and not know the history," he told Dwayne Yancey of this newspaper's reporting staff.
That's not to say Explore won't do any historical research. Burrow says research will be done on buildings of obvious historical value. Explore paid $11,000 for a 200-page report on one Botetourt County farmhouse. It ought to include archaeological digs in its plans as well.
However, Explore's critics should consider that the project has saved some buildings from demolition. When Salem offered Explore an 18th-century barn that was to be razed to make way for an industrial park, there was no time for research on the site.
"If property is to be lost by development, it's better to move it without research," says John R. Kern, head of the Roanoke office of the Virginia Division of Historic Landmarks.
Another complaint by preservationists is that Explore isn't seeking enough professional advice on handling its old buildings. There is no archaeologist or architectural historian on the staff, and the man handling the old buildings is not a traditional preservationist.
However, the preservationists' message is getting at least half an ear. Explore has named a preservation advisory committee, which succeeded in improving the plans for the frontier town: The layout was changed to make it more historically accurate.
Explore is operating under funding constraints, but its planners ought to consider spending more for research on historically significant buildings. The greater care that is taken with preservation now, the more enduring Explore's exhibits are likely to be.
Those whose passion is historic preservation ought to continue to pay close attention to the project, and to squawk when they think corners are being cut. They won't get everything they want. But Explore will be better for their efforts.
by CNB