Five years of accomplishments by Friends of Hearthside
2001-2006
Founded in 2001, Friends of Hearthside, Inc. is an all-volunteer
organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion and stewardship of
Lincoln’s historic Hearthside homestead as well as the other adjoining
Town-owned historic sites along Great Road. The following represents highlights
of the group’s accomplishments over the past five years:
- Incorporated as a nonprofit organization and received 501(c)(3) status
from IRS allowing for charitable donations; established memberships and
created newsletter.
- Research and production of Historic Structures Report by
Roger Williams University, documenting history of Hearthside’s families,
the architecture of the house, and a structural assessment, as a result
of a grant from the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage
Corridor Commission. Discovery of rare Rumford oven during research process.
- Have raised over $135,000 in grants to address capital
improvements, includinggrants from the RI Historic
Preservation Commission, The Champlin Foundation, and Preserve RI.
- Received three grants from the RI General
Assembly: $1,000 to establish an indepth Hearthsidewebsite: www.hearthsidehouse.org receiving
an average of 500 visitors per month which promotes Hearthside and Great
Road as a destination; $1,000 other to reproduce of the original Hannaway
Blacksmith Shop sign and support the feasibility study of the reuse of
Chase Farmhouse as a dairy farm museum; and $2,500 to fund the
construction of a handicap ramp at Hearthside.
- Organized core group of volunteers, developed tours, and
held numerous public events, resulting in an annual average of
3,000 volunteer hours or some $55,000-$60,000 worth of inkind investment
annually.
- Numerous special events held including: Civil War Re-enactment,
Traditional Afternoon Teas, Fall Heritage Crafts Festival, and Victorian
Christmas Open Houses, and various fundraising events such as: Colonial
Dinner, Victorian Reception, and Colonial Winetasting at the Arnold House:
result of over $24,000 in event revenue.
- Serve as a catalyst in the Great Road Historic District by
coordinating openings of other historic properties (Arnold House, Friends
Meeting House, Whitman House and Blacksmith Shop).
- Attracted close to 10,000 visitors since opening in
2001 (previously had opened only one day a year for Festival of Lights);
Increased from opening 4 times in our first year in 2001, to now just under
50 openings per year.
- Hosted numerous public and private functions, including
Blackstone River Valley Heritage Corridor Commission, tourism directors
throughout RI, Town Clerks Association, political fundraisers, press conferences,
business meetings, family celebrations, and wedding receptions.
- Creation of other sources of revenue such as opening a gift shop at
Hearthside, donation boxes, raffles, and adding costumed tour guides to
private functions, thereby increasing the rental fee and resulting in an
additional $12,000.
- Designed and produced a promotional brochure and membership form to
develop a membership base.
- Formed collaboration with nearby historic sites (Arnold House, Kelly
House, Whitman House, Blackstone River Theatre, Friends Meetinghouse, and
Blackstone Valley Historical Society) to coordinate openings together and
promoting the area as a destination rather than single site experiences,
such as with the Victorian Christmas Celebration.
- Initiated monthly Open Houses, attracting 30-50 visitors during each
3-hour opening. Costumed guides have enhanced the visitor experience during
the tours.
- Worked with the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council to develop the Great
Road De-Tour Map to promote Great Road historic sites as a destination.
- Ongoing media exposure (once a month minimum) in print,
radio and TV media to increase awareness of Hearthside and historic Great
Road, both locally, statewide and regionally.
- Major restoration work begun on exterior of Hearthside:
roofline repair, roof rafters restored, engineering work to determine movement
along foundation, rebuilding of underground drainage system and stonework
at side entrance. Portico has just been restored using the original columns.
Initiated general maintenance plan with Town for painting, tree removal,
driveway repair. Window restoration begun in 2006, with masonry and chimney
repair on schedule for early in 2007.
- Began to address interior restoration by removing wallpaper
and painting hallways and borning room. Added hand-painted stenciling design
as part of historic recreation. Removal of kitchen cabinets and replacement
with shelves.
- Initiated weekly housekeeping for maintenance and upkeep
of the 10-room house, all done by volunteers.
- Active participation in education workshops for historic preservation
at the statewide and local level, and specifically of the Blackstone River
Valley Heritage Corridor Commission to promote linkages among historical
and cultural sites in the Valley for tourism and education purposes.
- Act as ambassadors to raise visibility of Hearthside
and the Great Road Historic District throughout the Blackstone
Valley and across the state to promote the importance of preserving our
heritage. Selected as outstanding example of preservation to participate
in Blackstone Valley’s application to the White House’s Preserve
America Program; resulted in 24 communities throughout the Blackstone Valley
being named as Preserve America communities.
- Installed an information rack at Hearthside containing
brochures of historic and cultural sites throughout the Blackstone Valley.
- Expanded awareness of Hearthside across the state and nearby Massachusetts
by participating as a selected site for Footsteps in History Blackstone
Valley, Rhode Island Tourism Day, and for the Blackstone
Valley Elderhostel, bringing in hundreds of additional visitors.
- Kathy Hartley and John Scanlon recognized by the Valley Breeze in
June 2005 with the inaugural “Good
Neighbor Award” for their successful leadership of preservation
efforts along Great Road.
- John Scanlon selected as the 2006 Recipient
of the John H. Chafee Heritage Award.
- Friends of Hearthside selected as the 2006 Preserve Rhode Island
Merit Award for Preservation Education & Advocacy.
- Joined the Volunteers in Parks Program of the National
Park Service, Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor to expand
visibility and reach of volunteer base.
- Secured numerous artifacts and furnishings to enhance the value as a
house museum, including antique buggy and sleigh, Victorian couch, mirror,
table, lamps, pictures, textiles, clothing, and a 150 year-old loom, which
is now enabling the re-creation of Talbot Weavers (1907) history at Hearthside.
- Costumed guides added to all events and openings of
the house, adding to the visitor experience of stepping back in time, and
promoting additional donations.
- Reorganized the neighboring Hannaway Blacksmith Shop with
displaysof original tools, as well as
set up of a blacksmithing demonstration program and weekly
classes to perpetuate the traditional art of hand forging.
Shop has gained a great deal of visibility through a feature newspaper
article, being selected for a documentary movie set, as a model shop for
both the Slater Mill and a sister shop on the island of Nevis, and having
a waiting list of students.
- Serving as a catalyst to develop the neighboring Chase Farm House,
a town-owned property left vacant for over 20 years, as a possible visitor
center/dairy farming exhibit. Successful application to National Trust
for Historic Preservation for $1,500 in matching funds to hire preservation
architect to conduct study for reuse. Study has been completed with a strong
recommendation to move forward to transforming the house into a dairy farming
museum. In process of soliciting funds for the needed repairs and construction.
- Selected by Town of Lincoln to serve as site manager for Great
Road’s historic Moffett Mill when it opens in 2006/2007.
- Promoted Hearthside and the Great Road Historic District with a float
in Lincoln’s Memorial Day Parade, garnering the award for best
float in 2005 and most impressive in 2006.
- Located original Talbot looms and negotiated for return
of at least one to Hearthside on loan for establishing weaving exhibit
in attic.
- “The Hearthside Story” song written and
performed, and now for sale on CD at Hearthside.
- Continued research into history of Hearthside and accompanying topics
in order to deepen the information given on house tours.
- Added training for tour guides, with two guides earning credentials as Certified
Interpretative Guides.
- Added Pow Wow as an annual event at Chase Farm Park
for added interest and broadening the audience base at Hearthside.
- Expanded preservation and heritage tourism network by
joining and attending events of key organizations.
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