Each year Historic Gettysburg Adams County presents awards to dedicated property owners who believe, as HGAC believes, that there is beauty and value in architectural history and who have invested hundreds of hours of hard work into preserving the past
HGAC’s Preservation Committee, chaired by Curt Musselman, is responsible for choosing a Barn Preservation Award winner, and the House Preservation Award Committee, chaired by Kendra Debany, selects a house winner.
For 2023, The Barn of the Year award went to Sherry Rogers and Clifford Frost for the extensive work done on their barn on Mount Hope Road, near Fairfield. The House Preservation Award went to David and Cynthia Salisbury for their restoration work on the Scott Farmhouse, located at 320 Scott Road in Freedom Township.
The Rogers-Frost Barn is a circa 1860 extended Pennsylvania Barn constructed by William Culp, brother of Henry Culp of Culp’s Hill fame. The barn was plundered twice by Confederate troops in the summer of 1863 on the way to Gettysburg.
When Rogers and Frost purchased the barn in 2014, the barn needed extensive repairs to failing timbers and masonry. The barn siding and louvers were damaged and deteriorating. With the help of contractor Hugh (Sam) McKinney, Rogers, and Frost, over eight years, methodically addressed significant threats to the barn’s existence and completely restored the barn.
The Scott farmhouse was built in 1869-70 by Civil War veteran George Washington Scott. The Salisburys purchased the structure in January 2017 and immediately set to work restoring the farmhouse back to its original beauty.
They successfully accomplished all of their goals, the most complicated being the removal of the changes made to the house through the years. In addition, they restored the kitchen, sanded and refinished all of the floors, stripped and repainted all of the doors and door hardware and removed an overgrowth of shrubbery and vines and tall pine trees surrounding the house.
The Salisburys and Rogers and Frost received bronze plaques from HGAC recognizing their indefatigable preservation work at HGAC’s annual meeting on May 24.
The Adams County Barn Registry was created by HGAC in 2005. Barn owners can request to have their barn added to the registry at no charge. Once a request has been made, a team of HGAC volunteers will survey the barn. The survey includes measuring the barn, taking photographs, and documenting the barn’s architectural details. All information is entered into the Barn Registry database. A copy of the survey report is given to the barn owner. Once a barn is registered, it becomes eligible for HGAC’s Barn of the Year award. Barn owners on the registry are also eligible to apply for the Barn Preservation Grants given each year by HGAC to help barn owners in their repair and stabilization projects.
Very Interesing! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the house and barn restorations. I am so happy people are interested in doing this and preserving our History of the Civil War Era.