Summer, 2001
| The Valley Lime Kiln Preservation Project | ||
| Heritage Study Approved | ||
| The Archives Have It!! |
Celebrate and Ground-Break At the Great Attic Ground-Break
The Great Attic Ground-Break, the evening of Friday, June 29, will kick off the Society’s capital fund campaign for the Museum’s long needed expansion project. (See Building Blocks).
The Big Tent adjoining the Gay-Hoyt House grounds will again be the scene of this summer’s fund raiser, a cocktail party and super silent auction. The affair will begin at 6 p.m.; tickets are $40 per person and include an open bar and scrumptious hors d’oeurvres.
The fabulous silent auction will include an array of items for every interest and pocketbook. For example, a sailboat with open cockpit, completely hand-made, donated by Sally and Peter Pettus (see it afloat on the Pettus’ pool during the party!); an antique christening dress donated by Fran Roberts; a nineteenth century cast bronze French palm leaf, signed by the artist, donated by The Elemental Garden and a framed original watercolor by artist Ethel Halsey Blum, donated by Jack and Jeanne Blum and Alice and Bob Yoakum.
As in the past, the food for the party will be prepared by and benefit the Sharon Day Care Center.
Another feature of the festivities will be “Sorab”, a New York City jeweler who designs beaded gold pieces. He will show examples of his creations including bracelets, earrings and necklaces, and will be happy to work with you to design that special, one-of-a-kind bauble that meets your fancy. A percentage of his sales generated by the Ground-Break will be donated to the Historical Society.
During the party, blueprints of the new addition/renovation will be on display. The event will also be a wonderful opportunity to meet architect Robert Hatch and to talk with members of the building committee.
The tireless and creative committee which has made these Great Attic fund raisers an annual summer happening in the Northwest corner includes: Ducky Bancroft, Irene Blagden, Jeanne Blum, Annette Cloney, Maureen Dore, Kristina Durr, Susan Ginkel, Sally Pettus, Deborah Reyelt, Fran Roberts, Ilene Rothschild, Cindy Rubicam, Liz Shapiro and Sally Wilburn.
The Ground-Break is being partially underwritten by Salisbury Bank and Trust Company.
The Great Attic Ground-Break
Friday, June 29, 6 p.m.
Gay-Hoyt House Grounds
Join your friends for a early evening cocktail party and Super Silent Auction underneath the big tent on the lovely grounds of the Sharon Historical Society. This party will be the kick-off and official ground-breaking for the museum’s expansion project. So join the fun and be the first to see blueprints of the new building. Tickets are $40 per person. Call (860) 364-5688 for information or e-mail to director@sharonhist.org
The
Valley Lime Kiln Preservation Project
by Ed Kirby
With the snow finally off the ground, on Thursday, April 12, preliminary study for the Sharon Valley Lime Kiln project began. Participating in the initial working phase at the kiln were Stephen Sopko, architectural engineer, Victor Rolando, industrial archaeologist and Ed Kirby, project manager. Director Liz Shapiro, assistant director Marge McAvoy, first selectman Robert Moeller and several members of the lime kiln committee were also in attendance.
Constructed by Chauncey W. Morehouse around 1881, the kiln has been the property of the Town of Sharon since 1941. Today, despite the ravages of time, the kiln stands as the only remaining monument to Sharon’s one hundred seventy-six years of industrial history. When Morehouse began the operation of the kiln, the Sharon Valley Iron Company blast furnace was still in operation on the east side of Webutuck Creek and the malleable iron works was in production in the south end of the Valley. Even as Sharon was incorporated as a town in 1739, the seeds and needs of industry and manufacture were in a developmental stage. By 1740, Joseph Skinner had begun the production of iron at his bloomery forge along the stream flowing south from Mudge Pond. With the need for iron in the colonial period, production at Skinner’s Forge was followed by that of Gray’s Forge in 1750, Hutchinson’s Forge in 1760, Guinea Brook Forge later in the 18th century, Bradley’s (blast) Furnace in 1825, the Hotchkiss iron works in 1832, Hiram Weed’s Furnace in 1845, and foundries, finery forges and other locations of iron manufacture.
Included among the many iron related industries was a long list of grist mills, sawmills, cider mills, flax mills, satinet and fulling mills, carriage and wagon shops, and other manufactures. Even as the Hotchkiss Manufacturing Company in Sharon Valley produced hardware, tools, accessory farm items, and the first exploding cannon shell used with great effectiveness in the Civil War, the Noyes Malleable Iron Works produced and sold 80,000 Bostwick mouse traps annually. In addition to the production of wrought iron in forges, pig iron in blast furnaces and dozens of products from local resources, lime from the lowland host rock, Stockbridge marble, became important in Sharon history.
In the blast furnaces the marble was loaded with iron ore and charcoal for the smelting process. The intense heat of the blast furnace calcined the marble to lime, which serving as a flux, combined with the impurities in the ore forming slag.
In 1814, the first lime kiln was constructed near the east bank of Webutuck Creek in Sharon Valley. By 1843, Hiram Weed’s kiln in White Hollow (remains extant) was in operation. Both of these earlier kilns were of the intermittent type, those requiring the fire to die out and cool before the removal of the calcined (burned) lime. Then, in circa 1881, the Sharon Valley Lime Kiln was constructed as the first perpetual or continuing kiln.
At the Sharon Valley kiln, the loading of carbonate rock was from the top. The earth-covered abutment of the loading bridge is extant near the northwest corner of the kiln stack. A wooden bridge connecting the abutment to the stack top and work platform permitted top loading of the rock from the adjoining quarry into the kiln. In perpetual kilns of this type, carbonate rock was loaded into the kiln and wood fires fuelled the stove areas on the east and west side. Calcined (burnt) lime was periodically removed from the lime gate at ground level as new layers of rock were added from the top. The processes of calcining local Stockbridge marble to lime required a hardwood fire reaching a temperature of about 2300º F. The host rock, basically calcium carbonate (CaCO3), undergoing intense heat for an extended period, forced the carbon dioxide (CO2) to escape as a gas, leaving calcium oxide (CaO). Following the calcining process, the lime was removed from the opening on the south side of the kiln and barreled for shipment. The final product, very much in demand for making cement, plaster, mortar, bleach, and in the production of glass, paper, refining of sugar, medicines, antacids and the tanning of leather, was transported to local markets or to the railroad at Sharon Station. Lime was also vital to farmers in the region. Since local upland soils were usually acidic, lime was needed for the neutralization of the pH level to "sweeten" the soils.
In June of 1999, the Sharon Historical Society sponsored a cleanup of the kiln and surroundings. At that point it was determined that the deterioration of the stack was serious and major stabilization and preservation steps were needed. Based on work performed at the Lime Rock and Beckley blast furnaces, a plan with a series of steps for preserving the kiln was developed:
The preliminary budget developed for these eleven steps totaled $71,650. As part of the joint effort for preservation by both the town and the historical society, $25,000 was applied for through Sharon’s Capital Fund for non-recurring expenditures. That item was voted on at the May 11 town meeting and approved. In addition, the historical society will receive a $40,000 grant toward the project when the town’s share of $25,000 is approved. With the total of $65,000, an additional $6,650 will need to be raised through donations. However, though based on a careful study and contractor’s input, these figures represent estimated costs. Until contractor’s bids are received, the added amount to be raised cannot be determined. At the April 12th meeting a tentative schedule was agreed upon:
The inventory and reorganization of our “Great Attic Archives” are now complete thanks to the $10,000 grant from the Mary A. and John M. McCarthy Foundation.
Over a period of six months museum consultant Margaret C. Vincent and assistant Meg Szalewicz have sorted through a hodge-podge of boxes and files to categorize thousands of archival papers, making the valuable collection readily accessible for research. Commenting on the collection, Ms. Vincent said, “It’s truly a treasure of local history. While Meg and I weren’t able to take the time to enjoy the items in detail, we were impressed with the variety and depth of the museum’s research resources — personal diaries, letters, local business account books, family bibles, land records and on and on.”
The proven team of Margaret and Meg have agreed to take on another needed assignment — the job of numbering and officially accessioning the museum’s entire non-archival and non-photograph collection. The project was last undertaken generally some thirty years ago. The documentation of each collection artifact requires a three-part numbering system that identifies the year of acquisition, the donor and the object.
Two new exhibits will be featured in the museum during July and August’s summer hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
The Elms of Sharon, a collection of historic photographs featuring this beloved Sharon tree in various guises, was developed and designed by the Sharon Historical Society in conjunction with the Sharon Land Trust. The vintage photograph exhibit opened at the Sharon Town Hall on Saturday, May 12 and may be viewed in this venue through June 12. A portion of the exhibit, which features over fifty photographs both historic and contemporary, will be moved to the Gay-Hoyt House for viewing during the summer months.
Bursting at the Seams! Collecting from 1911 to the present at SHS, will focus on the fine art of “collecting” as illustrated through the sometimes eclectic but always interesting objects which form the heart of the Society’s collection. Whether you have always wanted to see a hair from George Washington’s head (and who hasn’t?) or your interest lies, more seriously, in the many industrial products manufactured in Sharon throughout the nineteenth century, you are guarenteed to smile, and possibly, even learn something from this fun exhibit!
The first of several local community public information meetings on the potential for designation of the Upper Housatonic Valley as a National Heritage Area was held April 5 in Great Barrington, hosted by the Great Barrington Historical Society. A National Park Service study of the proposed region, some 893 square miles, extending about 70 miles from Hinsdale, Mass., to south of Kent, Conn., is now in process.
The Tri-Corners History Council, operating under the auspices of the Salisbury Association, initiated efforts early in 1999 to seek Heritage Area designation for the Upper Housatonic area. Legislation for the Park Service Study, which may take as long as three years, was introduced last spring and signed into law in December. A favorable report to Congress could lead to creation of the heritage area with annual resources to research, educate, promote and preserve the region’s rich past and present assets.
A nonprofit corporation, the Upper Housatonic Valley Heritage Area, Inc., has been established to work with the Park Service in its evaluation of the region and to support the efforts of other interested groups. Some 90 organizations, government bodies and individuals have joined.
(Reprinted from the newsletter of the Salisbury Association.)
Photo Collection Goes High-Tech!Combining a background in digital photography and a “dabbler’s interest in history,” volunteer Ted Rogers has started work scanning the museum’s large photo collection into a readily accessible computerized file. The hundreds of pictures of people, places and events accumulated over the years comprise a valuable resource of local history. The conversion of the photos onto a CD-ROM will make the collection handy to anyone interested in looking into Sharon’s past. Original and reproduction prints will be refiled and preserved after scanning.
Mr. Rogers and his wife moved to Sharon five years ago from Weston, CT. Commenting on the photo collection, Mr. Rogers says, “It’s a fascinating project — I’ve come to know a little more about our town. So far we’ve been through three of the eight or nine files, scanning and indexing photos of identified individuals and landmarks.”
Archaeology Alive and Well
Got a hankering to dig in the ground? Does the name Howard Carter mean anything to you? Perhaps it’s time to try your skill and learn about what archaeologists really do by joining us this summer excavating some test pits prior to new museum construction. William Trowbridge, who has led digs at the Sharon poorhouse site and in the area to the south of the Historical Society building, will supervise the work. Excavation will take place in the mornings for a period of approximately two weeks. Volunteers are asked to commit to at least one week’s work. Actual dates to be determined based on response and project needs. Call Liz at 364-5688 or e-mail to her at director@sharonhist.org for further information.
Wear the Lime Kiln on Your Wrist!
In an effort to promote the Sharon Lime Kiln stabilization project, the Historical Society has added wristwatches featuring a black and white image of the kiln to its gift shop repetoire. The watches, in a handsome silver-tone case with black leather wristband, are a bargain at $15 each. Quantities are limited so pick yours up soon!
Information Available on Historic Homes
Do you live in one of Sharon’s old houses? Would you like to know how old it is and who its previous owners were?
Jeanne Majdalany, our town historian, has researched a great many of Sharon’s early houses, in some cases tracing their history back through the years even to the middle 1700s. If she has made a study of your house and you would like a copy of her work, please contact her at (860) 364-0560 or via the Sharon Historical Society. Since each detailed study has required many hours of work, she is charging a blanket price of $80 per house.
Apologies & Corrections...
...to Sharon Daniel Kroeger for being inadvertantly left off the Historical Society’s Year 2000 membership list.
...In the Spring 2001 Sharon Archives’ story about the Revolutionary War letter of Colonel Ebenezer Gay, the recipient of Gay’s letter was incorrectly identified as Captain Samuel Pierce. Captain Pierce’s first name was Seth.