The long-awaited restoration of the
Rice-Upshaw House near Dalton moved into full gear in
July. The first month’s efforts have produced
significant changes and brought a few new discoveries.
With the removal of much of the non-original materials,
the 180-year-old log structure has a “new” old look—one
that gives hint of what the final result will be once
the historic building is restored to an 1836-era inter-pretation.
The projected completion date is March 2009. Project
Architect Tommy Jameson of Little Rock terms the visible
work to date as mostly "selective demolition," and said
the
work of the past few weeks has
“proceeded carefully and well.” In addition to the
removing of siding and other fabrics to expose the logs,
workers also disassembled the stone chimney in
preparation for upcoming phases of work. This will
involve removal of the south porch followed by carefully
bracing the walls so that the entire
structure can be lifted to |
allow for pouring new foundation
piers. Elevating the structure will also make possible
further investigation by the Arkansas Archeological
Survey, this time to examine the soil beneath the house
to learn more of its original form and function.
Current time projections call for
the AAS to be on-site during the first two weeks of
September. The stone chimney will be reconstructed to
what researchers believe to be its original size,
somewhat larger than the just-dismantled chimney. “Based
on an early photo and other evidences,” Jameson said “we
believe this was not the original chimney, though in all
likelihood it had been constructed with the stones from
the original chimney. So when the chimney is
reconstructed, we will use as many of these stones as
possible.” The project’s stonemason, Ken Hurd of Sparta,
Missouri, along with Eric Samons of Mountain Home, log
specialist, were on hand to assess the condition of the
stone and the logs and to determine what additional
materials would be required for the restoration work.
During the precleaning phase, workers with KMC
Contractors discovered several artifacts in the debris
under the stairs |
and
in the upstairs area. These included what are believed
to be additional pieces to the loom which had been
stored on the rafters for many years. One of the pieces
appears to be a well-preserved shuttle. In addition,
workers found a small device apparently once used for
pouring lead shot. Numerous paper documents, including
old checks, holiday cards, and old letters were also
recovered.
The restoration of the Rice-
Upshaw structure and the Looney- French Tavern/Inn,
along with related research on the two historic log
structures, are at the heart of Project REACH
(Researching Early Arkansas Cultural Heritage), a
project of Black River Technical College. The work is
made possible by the donation of the two properties to
the college by family descendants of the structure’s
builders, Reuben Rice and William Looney, in 1828 and
1833, respectively. Funding for the project is provided
by grants from Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resource
Council. For more information on the project, contact
Dr. Jan Ziegler at janz ((at)) blackrivertech.edu. |
