Jail Restoration Update - September 2009

Masonry work including brick repair, stone repair and selective replacement and re-pointing and cleaning of masonry is complete on the north elevation with a few areas remaining on the east and west. Our crews focus is now turning to the ornate upper parapet above the south entry elevation. See the dramatic images attached of the severe deterioration on the south parapet. Much of the inner wythe of brick throught the exterior envelope needed additional stabilization due to poor mechanical attachment to the outer finish course. All windows in the building have been repaired and glazed and are curing. Painting has begun on many of the sash and frames. Window sash installation will begin in bulk in October. Window frame restoration is approximately 75% complete. Steel security bars have been removed, cleaned and painted with a special epoxy primer and paint system and will be reinstalled as each sash in installed over the next 2 month period. See the attached image. The northern chimney has been reconstructed and the east chimney has been repointed and its missing upper corbels replaced. Both chimneys will be anchored to the roof structure and crickets built to improve the historic flashing design. Larger sandstone beltcourse elements have been repaired in place and replaced with new stone where required. Materials have been ordered for porch reconstruction including decking and replica turned wood columns. Stainless steel standing seam roof materials have been ordered from Follansbee. Roof install is scheduled for spring 2010. Fall weather has been great with carpets of color surrounding the project site at the base of Boulder Mountain. However, winter is fast approaching with freezing temps and snowy dust on the roof of the building several mornings this last week. The project is approximately 40% complete. Thanks for checking out the blog. Any comments are gladly accepted.

Foreman John Richardson reviewing the scope of the repair work that Daren, our maser mason will begin this week on the upper parapet above the south elevation of the Jail.

Daren and Kyle smiling in the sunny fall weather with some of the most challenging brick work rehabilitation to their left on the south elevation.

Daren Richardson surveying the scope of the parapet work and the detailed flashing work required at the junction of the roof. Daren expects about 2 full weeks to repair and partially reconstruct this finely detailed blind dormer.

Steel security bars ready for installation after epoxy coating system was completed off site in Richardson's shop at the Historical Society Powerhouse site.

Sean building up severly damaged profiles on the porch columns, carving the details to match with Abatron's Wood exopy.

Kyle pointing the front entry's jamb.

Glade Guard Station

News from the 2009 Glade Guard Station Rehabilitation with the retired members of the National Smoke Jumpers Association. Please refer to the attached article published in the June 25th issue of the Cortez Journal.

http://www.cortezjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=6793

Jail Restoration Project Update #1

Construction started May 15, 2009. To date, the scaffold access to the site has been erected and the site prepared for safe and controlled access to workers and visitors including fencing and required signage. The building permit has been issued based upon drawings and specification that have been developed for the exterior building envelop rehabilitation by Reynolds and Associates architecture firm.On-site meetings with the Architect and the State Historical Fund staff technician have been held for approval of contract doccuments. Masonry analysis, completed by Dick Lippoth has been incorporated into an on-site mortar sample mock-up, using the type-N formula with adjusted levels of white and grey portland, lime and smelter slag to match existing color and texture of the original bedding mortar. All sashes in the upper floor of the building have been pulled and are in the process of being prepped including glazing removal and consolidation of decayed wood components. Project is approximately 10% complete.

Silverton Brings Home the Gold!

The Town of Silverton and the San Juan County Historical Society (SJCHS) brought home some Gold from the annual Colorado Preservation Inc. (CPI) conference held this February in Denver.

This year’s conference theme centered around the 150th anniversary celebration of the discovery of placer gold deposits in Denver’s Cherry Creek and Colorado’s mining history in general. The successful saving of the Yankee Girl, the pride of our Red Mountain mining district, was the iconic figure that graced the poster and seminar brochure for this year’s event. The conference was all a buzz with the success stories filtering in from Silverton’s small-in-numbers-big-in-heart preservation efforts. Representing Silverton and San Juan County was Bev Rich, Chairman of the SJCHS, David Singer, Principal at Silverton Restoration Consulting and Julie Coleman-Singer, Heritage Team Lead Archaeologist for the San Juan Public Lands. Topping the festivities for our small contingent was the presentation of the Stephen Hart award from the Colorado Historical Society at the opening reception and awards ceremony. The award was given for the Historic Structures Assessment and the Historic American Engineering Recordation of the Mayflower Mill that was coordinated with the National Park Service. The San Juan County Historical Society in partnership with the National Park Service and Silverton Restoration Consulting hosted two ICOMOS interns during the project.

Link to the ICOMOS Summer Intern Program:

http://www.icomos.org/usicomos/SIP/INTLHostOrganizationGuidelines.htm.

Our team presented a seminar at the conference giving details on the documentation of the Mayflower and the professional training workshops we hosted in Silverton over the past few years. The seminar was well attended by preservation professionals from all over Colorado and the western mining states.






Link to the National Park Service Common Ground Article.
http://commonground.cr.nps.gov/Feature_Start.cfm?past_issue=Spring%202006&feature=2

Seminars held during the conference included a wide array of subjects ranging from training on the removal of graffiti to the formation of historic preservation ordinances like to one recently adopted by the Town of Silverton. The Key Note address was headlined by the Director of Colorado’s Mining, Reclamation and Safety Division, Ron Cattany. Cattany, a Tyrolean descendant, traced his roots from the mines and saloons on the Front Range to his immigrant family’s hard-won journey with other Italians who worked the hardrock right here in the San Juan’s.

The conference was sponsored in-part by Preserve America, the Federal historic preservation grants program that designated Silverton a “Preserve America City” in 2006. http://www.preserveamerica.gov/ Taking advantage of our Town’s status and recognition, Julie Coleman had prepared a grant to Preserve America whose award was announced at the closing ceremony. This award, given directly to the Town of Silverton, totals $27,838 and consists of three mining history and preservation components including; an Historic Structures Assessment of the 8 standing buildings at Animas Forks, the development of a self-guided hand-held audio tour for the Shenandoah-Dives Mill and final development of the film Castle-in-the-Clouds into a full length documentary for potential distribution to PBS, the History Channel etc… The matching funds totaling $30,601 for this group of projects was awarded to the Town of Silverton from the Colorado State Historic Fund in January.

Topping the good news for Silverton at the conference was an award of $227,000 from the State Historical Fund to complete the exterior restoration of our museum. These dollars have already started to flow through Silverton’s coffers in the form of building materials, local contracts and jobs. The economic impact of historic preservation projects in Silverton and San Juan County is enormous. Financial assistance from organizations like CPI and the State Historical Fund are the driving force in most of Colorado heritage tourism and preservation success stories. More than 3.3 million dollars have been awarded to projects in San Juan County since the inception of the State Historical Fund in 1990! In 2008, funds from these organizations provided 6-full time jobs and on-site training in the preservation trades at the San Juan County Museum building.

The sesquicentennial celebration of Charles Baker’s infamous 1860 expedition to his names-sake Baker’s Park, the Town site of Silverton, is only a short year away. The exterior restoration of our Museum couldn’t be happening at a better time, offering a fitting tribute to the men and women who settled this frontier mining Town we call home. The restoration of the Jail building is also a testimony for future generations, who will inherit these special places, and carry the message of stewardship forward. The CPI conference and its mining history theme was an inspiration to our preservation efforts here in Silverton and around Colorado, celebrating the history of the mining industry and the culture that symbolizes our corner of the great American Rockies.

1903 San Juan County Jail / Museum Restoration

The 1903 jail building was the third known jail structure in the Town of Silverton, Colorado. The first jail structure was a one-room cell constructed of wood. The second jail structure was two-cell jail built of stone. The third jail structure (5SA1189) was built of brick with dressed limestone detailing. The recurring escape of prisoners from the first two jail structures led to the necessity of a multi-cell, state-of-the-art, escape proof and fireproof structure. An article in the Silverton Standard newspaper, dated April 26, 1902 described the last prison break to occur in San Juan County from the second of the three structures, the stone jailhouse. The County Commissioners quickly responded to the problem, placing an advertisement in that same periodical on May 10th, 1902, soliciting bids for the construction of a new facility. An announcement of the award of the contract for the construction of the now existing jail was printed on May 31st, 1902, declaring Thomas Edwards of Silverton as the recipient of the contract for the project, to be completed by November of the following year for a fixed price of $12,175. Several other articles pertaining to the construction of the jail appear in the Silverton Standard over the course of the next year. According to the Jail Resister of San Juan County, Andy Johnson, a 38-year old male, found guilty of burglary, was the first prisoner to be incarcerated, beginning his 5-month and 26-day commitment on November 16th, 1903. A foiled escape plan from the new facility was reported in the Silverton Standard on October 8th, 1904.

The building served as the County jail until the early 1920’s when it abandoned for approximately 10 years due to the decline in population and crime in San Juan County. In the early 1930’s the building became home to a small population of elderly miner’s who were essentially wards of the County. Several death certificates held in the County archive identify the former jail building as the County Poor House during this period. However, by the end of World War II, the building was again abandoned.

In 1965, the San Juan County Historical Society (SJCHS)http://www.silvertonhistoricsociety.org/index_files/page0012.htm entered into a 99-year lease of the structure from the County. The San Juan County Historical Museum remains housed in the former San Juan County Jail building. A comprehensive restoration of the building was begun in 2008 and is anticipated to be complete by 2011.