The three buildings that presently form the Complex are accessible only on a seasonal basis. In order to maintain a vibrant year-round organization, and protect the treasures entrusted to us, it is essential that an additional building with climate control be erected. Plans for this expansion are in progress, and a building fund is being established. Once completed this facility will provide a number of uses, including:
Administrative and programming home base year-round
Climate controlled storage and work space to house fragile collections
Exhibition space for special collections currently not available to the public
Proper environment to preserve genealogical and archival records
Research space and computer oriented historical database development tools
Links to existing State and Federal genealogical databases
A gift shop and public rest rooms
The Clark House was originally placed on a rubble stone foundation that is made up largely of round edge stone laid dry. This foundation has for over 200 years supported the Clark house frame.
Many repairs have been accomplished over time and almost all of the perimeter sills were replaced with elements smaller than the original. Some of the joists fell short of the newer sills, and contributed to the deterioration of the foundation and the house in general. In recent years, changes made to the property in combination with general build up of the grade, have compromised the foundation. In many places foundation wall failure has occurred allowing water to run freely to the interior of the basement. To address these problems, the Society and the Town formed a team to specify an effective program that would repair existing damage and halt rapid foundation deterioration. Proposals for restoration were evaluated, and in the Spring of 2004 work commenced.
All connections between existing and repaired perimeter sills and their corresponding undercarriage beams have now been restored and made sound. Traditional joinery methods were used to match the original configuration of the undercarriage. Water penetration is now controlled by backing up the dry stone foundation with lime mortar below grade, and drainage around the building has been improved. Upon completion of the undercarriage work the house frame was straightened.
By completing these critical repairs we are confident that the foundation will endure another 200 years!
