Our restoration craftsman, Mike Adams, has been hard at work at our historic sites during the off-season. Historic preservation is an ongoing, never quite finished process, and these cold months are the perfect time to tackle small projects, like remaking and replacing windows. Today, we’re highlighting two recently completed projects at Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown and Smith’s Fort.

At Smith’s Fort, Mike remade the louvered window for the outdoor necessary. He last replaced it nearly 25 years ago but decided to use pressure-treated pine for the frame and the louvers out of heart poplar siding boards leftover from a previous restoration job instead of the previous high-grade pine for both. He expects this one to last even longer.

The new windows are now installed with Plexiglas and a framed screen so Tom Forehand, Smith’s Fort site coordinator, can easily switch for more ventilation in the summer.

Mike has also been hard at work at restoring the kitchen windows at Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown. He removed one a few weeks ago to use as a pattern to create two new ones.

While installing the windows, he noticed some rot in the sash, sill, jamb and trim so he stripped the windows to the frames and used epoxy to rebuild them. He used pressure-treated pine to make two new sashes and other elements. They had previously been made of fir and lasted for about 40 years—the new ones should last even longer.

Come see the new windows at Smith’s Fort and Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown when both sites reopen on March 2!