FLOTILLA PLEASES THE CHILLED CROWD

Founder of Down East Preservation, Dawson Tyler will be speaking at the Preservation Seminar on the completion of the restoration of Kadesh Church. Over the past three years, DEP has work tirelessly in reconstructing the beloved church, originally built in 1897, by the former enslaved carpenter, Hannibal Badham and his family of carpenters. The Kadesh A.M.E. Zion Church on Grace Street was severely damaged by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The destruction was so monumental, the building was rendered unusable. Edenton’s most revered African American cultural asset was in danger. It is one of Edenton’s most prized architectural buildings not only for its structural design, but for its provenance. Its endurance and resilience to overcoming mother nature’s challenges are symbolic to all those who realize Kadesh is more than a house of worship, it is sacred ground.

Across the country, there is a national effort to restore historic properties including buildings and important historic homes. As Edenton refines its historic preservation positioning within the national historic preservation efforts, so has Down East Preservation vision been refocused on the future. Dawson is positioning the DEP for long term growth. “Most of the restoration companies we will be competing with are located in Charleston and Boston,” said Dawson. “If you look at the eastern seaboard, we are uniquely located in the center”. For the full story on Down East Preservation future growth plans - Read Edenton Social Light’s Spring issue on news stands April 13th. 

Finding someone with an understanding of  Colonial and early American History, combined with an extensive and distinguished career in both historic preservation and curatorial leadership could have posed a challenge for most municipalities with numerous national treasures under renovation.   

Not so for Edenton. Enter Robert Leath.

Edenton resident Robert Leath is a historic preservationist who has spent his career polishing gems, many set on top of stone.

His talent, expertise and watchful eye in the areas of historic preservation are world  renowned. His attention to detail and his research into the provenance of the projects he touches repeatedly receive high praise.  

He has been focused, since moving to Edenton three years ago, on restoring, renovating and essentially polishing Edenton’s future, it’s historic past.  

As the Executive Director of the Edenton Historical Commission and Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation, Robert leads and closely collaborates with a team of expert artisans, historians, craftsman and consultants.  Under his leadership  the group has turned historic town dwelling restorations into architectural and cultural advanced history lessons for already well versed historians.  

Leath oversees the restoration activities of town’s historic sites that span the better part of two centuries. These include the 1758 Cupola House, the Kadesh Church and Hayes Farm.  

Under Leath’s direction, Edenton’s preservation efforts will continue to be a part of the current national effort of preserving the past for future generations.  

Andrew Ownbey specializes in building restoration based in Eastern North Carolina focused on 18th and 19th century structures. Working closely with Robert Leath, the team has made many historical discoveries of eye opening treasures. He will be highlighting those finds as he offers insight into the project.  

“The Cupola House had been described as “Jacobean.” But dendrochronology dates of 1757/59 forced us to take a second look. In fact, many of the house’s architectural features relate to the fashionable design trends of the 1750s, Said Ownbey. “Taken all together, the rusticated facade with a center gable, ocular window, and graduated brackets from plain to carved with turned finials, swept eaves, swelled end gable facia and an octagonal cupola, made the Cupola House exterior fancy and whimsical, a la mode with a hotch-potch of pattern book-derived motifs that were both classical and exotic.” Edenton Social Light’s spring issue, on news stands April 17, will feature more details from Andrew on his discoveries.  

Frances Henderson Ford has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Historic Preservation (College of Charleston, 2003; University of Pennsylvania, 2006). She has had a long-standing interest in materials conservation, and in graduate school concentrated in that area, particularly the field of paint and ornamental plaster conservation. She currently works an as independent conservator as well as heading conservation initiatives for Richard Marks Restoration, a nationally known restoration contracting company based in Charleston. In addition to her work focusing on historic interiors, she is much in demand for her skills in cemetery restoration and stone conservation, and has been entrusted with the repair of some of the oldest graves in Charleston.

Frances is an active scholar as well as a practitioner, and has participated in conferences up and down the east coast, as well as internationally, most recently presenting at the 2nd Historic Mortars Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. She has a long-standing interest in the important 19th-century Philadelphia marble mason, John Struthers, and has presented a paper on the Struthers tomb of George Washington at Mount Vernon. She continues to research and document the work of Struthers and his company. She serves as conservation lecturer and laboratory manager for the Clemson/College of Graduate Program in Historic Preservation teaching HP 810 Conservation Lab, HP 811 Advanced Architectural Conservation and HP 819 Investigation, Documentation and Conservation.

Michael Worthington is a dendrochronologist with extensive experience working on both sides of the Atlantic. Among the many buildings he has dated are Mount Vernon in Virginia; the birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams in Massachusetts; the Josiah Henson Site ("Uncle Tom's Cabin") in Maryland; Drayton Hall in South Carolina; the Officers’ Club at the Presidio in San Francisco, California; and Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London in the U.K. He began his career in buildings as an industrial archaeologist at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire, England. After deciding to specialize in dendrochronology, he received his academic training at Oxford University through a grant from English Heritage. At Oxford he was a member of staff at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art and an assistant tutor on the master's degree course in Archaeological Science. As a co-founder and partner in the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory, he spent more than a decade building a series of base chronologies for historic buildings in America. Upon moving full-time to the United States in 2010, Michael opened the Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory. He currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland..

Last summer , Hamzah Jule, M.S. Candidate, Clemson University,  was interning with the Edenton Historical Commission, where he contributed to the documentation of the Oldest House in North Carolina. His work includes photo documentation and 3D laser scanning to support the development of a framing diagram that captures the building’s structural elements. The resulting data will help inform future preservation efforts and provide valuable insight into the house’s current condition.

Founder of Down East Preservation, Dawson Tyler will be speaking at the Preservation Seminar on the completion of the restoration of Kadesh Church. Over the past three years, DEP has work tirelessly in reconstructing the beloved church, originally built in 1897, by the former enslaved carpenter, Hannibal Badham and his family of carpenters. The Kadesh A.M.E. Zion Church on Grace Street was severely damaged by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The destruction was so monumental, the building was rendered unusable. Edenton’s most revered African American cultural asset was in danger. It is one of Edenton’s most prized architectural buildings not only for its structural design, but for its provenance. Its endurance and resilience to overcoming mother nature’s challenges are symbolic to all those who realize Kadesh is more than a house of worship, it is sacred ground.

Across the country, there is a national effort to restore historic properties including buildings and important historic homes. As Edenton refines its historic preservation positioning within the national historic preservation efforts, so has Down East Preservation vision been refocused on the future. Dawson is positioning the DEP for long term growth. “Most of the restoration companies we will be competing with are located in Charleston and Boston,” said Dawson. “If you look at the eastern seaboard, we are uniquely located in the center”. For the full story on Down East Preservation future growth plans - Read Edenton Social Light’s Spring issue on news stands April 13th. 

Finding someone with an understanding of  Colonial and early American History, combined with an extensive and distinguished career in both historic preservation and curatorial leadership could have posed a challenge for most municipalities with numerous national treasures under renovation.   

Not so for Edenton. Enter Robert Leath.

Edenton resident Robert Leath is a historic preservationist who has spent his career polishing gems, many set on top of stone.

His talent, expertise and watchful eye in the areas of historic preservation are world  renowned. His attention to detail and his research into the provenance of the projects he touches repeatedly receive high praise.  

He has been focused, since moving to Edenton three years ago, on restoring, renovating and essentially polishing Edenton’s future, it’s historic past.  

As the Executive Director of the Edenton Historical Commission and Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation, Robert leads and closely collaborates with a team of expert artisans, historians, craftsman and consultants.  Under his leadership  the group has turned historic town dwelling restorations into architectural and cultural advanced history lessons for already well versed historians.  

Leath oversees the restoration activities of town’s historic sites that span the better part of two centuries. These include the 1758 Cupola House, the Kadesh Church and Hayes Farm.  

Under Leath’s direction, Edenton’s preservation efforts will continue to be a part of the current national effort of preserving the past for future generations.  

Andrew Ownbey specializes in building restoration based in Eastern North Carolina focused on 18th and 19th century structures. Working closely with Robert Leath, the team has made many historical discoveries of eye opening treasures. He will be highlighting those finds as he offers insight into the project.  

“The Cupola House had been described as “Jacobean.” But dendrochronology dates of 1757/59 forced us to take a second look. In fact, many of the house’s architectural features relate to the fashionable design trends of the 1750s, Said Ownbey. “Taken all together, the rusticated facade with a center gable, ocular window, and graduated brackets from plain to carved with turned finials, swept eaves, swelled end gable facia and an octagonal cupola, made the Cupola House exterior fancy and whimsical, a la mode with a hotch-potch of pattern book-derived motifs that were both classical and exotic.” Edenton Social Light’s spring issue, on news stands April 17, will feature more details from Andrew on his discoveries.  

Frances Henderson Ford has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Historic Preservation (College of Charleston, 2003; University of Pennsylvania, 2006). She has had a long-standing interest in materials conservation, and in graduate school concentrated in that area, particularly the field of paint and ornamental plaster conservation. She currently works an as independent conservator as well as heading conservation initiatives for Richard Marks Restoration, a nationally known restoration contracting company based in Charleston. In addition to her work focusing on historic interiors, she is much in demand for her skills in cemetery restoration and stone conservation, and has been entrusted with the repair of some of the oldest graves in Charleston.

Frances is an active scholar as well as a practitioner, and has participated in conferences up and down the east coast, as well as internationally, most recently presenting at the 2nd Historic Mortars Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. She has a long-standing interest in the important 19th-century Philadelphia marble mason, John Struthers, and has presented a paper on the Struthers tomb of George Washington at Mount Vernon. She continues to research and document the work of Struthers and his company. She serves as conservation lecturer and laboratory manager for the Clemson/College of Graduate Program in Historic Preservation teaching HP 810 Conservation Lab, HP 811 Advanced Architectural Conservation and HP 819 Investigation, Documentation and Conservation.

Michael Worthington is a dendrochronologist with extensive experience working on both sides of the Atlantic. Among the many buildings he has dated are Mount Vernon in Virginia; the birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams in Massachusetts; the Josiah Henson Site ("Uncle Tom's Cabin") in Maryland; Drayton Hall in South Carolina; the Officers’ Club at the Presidio in San Francisco, California; and Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London in the U.K. He began his career in buildings as an industrial archaeologist at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire, England. After deciding to specialize in dendrochronology, he received his academic training at Oxford University through a grant from English Heritage. At Oxford he was a member of staff at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art and an assistant tutor on the master's degree course in Archaeological Science. As a co-founder and partner in the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory, he spent more than a decade building a series of base chronologies for historic buildings in America. Upon moving full-time to the United States in 2010, Michael opened the Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory. He currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland..

Last summer , Hamzah Jule, M.S. Candidate, Clemson University,  was interning with the Edenton Historical Commission, where he contributed to the documentation of the Oldest House in North Carolina. His work includes photo documentation and 3D laser scanning to support the development of a framing diagram that captures the building’s structural elements. The resulting data will help inform future preservation efforts and provide valuable insight into the house’s current condition.