Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990 TAG: 9003310212
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Marianna Fillmore
DATELINE: ELLISTON LENGTH: Medium
"We are building a Shenandoah Valley town that will illustrate three different time elements: 1750, 1800 and 1850," said Ren Heard, master builder for the Explore project.
"You have to remember that the valley was the western United States for a period of about 100 years. There is a need to populate the town with buildings that are authentic, that look right. Of course, we could just build new and make them look old, but that wouldn't have the right patina of age."
Heard and his company, Renovation Specialists Inc., disassemble a historic building piece by piece and number each piece "like a giant jigsaw puzzle."
They photograph it extensively and do an archival study of it, looking for artifacts so when they rebuild it in Blue Ridge Town they can display it with its history intact and accompanied by the objects that were found with it when they took it apart.
Explore has several archeological consultants, one of whom excavates the site. The project's historian researches the building's past.
"We put together a whole package with a whole history of the building: archeological, curatorial, architectural," Heard said.
Heard is especially excited about the donation of the Crosier house.
"We feel like the house is a valuable addition to our collection of buildings that will enable us to interpret the early history of Montgomery County."
The only building in Montgomery County that has been donated is the Halberstadt barn beside the New River Valley Mall. It will be moved later this year.
The Crosier house will be placed in the 1800s section to illustrate the transition from log construction to timber framing.
"The Great Wagon Road of Virginia passed by its front door," Heard said, plunging down the side of the knoll through the briars to point out the faint traces of an old roadbed.
"It was the only road in and out of this area at the time, and 20 percent of this nation's population traveled it on their way to the Cumberland Gap."
The house was a mile from Fort Vause, the last fort in the New River Valley. George Washington inspected the fort and very likely stopped at the homestead.
Blue Ridge Town will be four miles east of Roanoke on a plateau overlooking the Roanoke River.
"It will be, in essence, a living museum display that will allow us to interpret the history of this area," Heard said. "This has never been done before in Virginia on such a large scale."
In Williamsburg, he said, the preservation took place on site with existing buildings. This is the first attempt, he said, to save old structures from a large region.
by CNB