The summer of 1999 was typically warm for the four women who began
restoration of the one-story frame building east of the barn. Despite the
conditions, the four made great progress in making sense of a long forgotten
shed that had fallen into disrepair. The students were part of Randolph
Community College's Historic Preservation Technology program, which teaches
students how to understand, appreciate and manage historic sites such as
Mendenhall Plantation.
The substantial timber frame construction used for the building indicated a
structure built to last. Ordinarily, an agricultural building of this small
size would be of much flimsier construction. In addition, the open beams of the
ceiling were finished with a bead, a feature reserved for the finest buildings
in central North Carolina. The 1820 Jamestown Indulged Meetinghouse across the
street, for example, sports beaded ceiling beams as well.
Three windows could also be picked out from the placement of jambs and wall
studs, and archaeology hinted at the existence of a fireplace on the gable
wall, long ago removed. Finally, the extended ceiling joists, beyond the face
of the exterior walls indicated that the building once has a handsome high
pitch roofline, in keeping with other buildings in and around Mendenhall
Plantation. These clues and others led students to believe that the building
was built around 1825 for a very noble use such as a store, office, or school.
The students recorded the building as they found it, and set about
developing plans for its resurrection. Using circular saws, hand saws and
jacks, they constructed stone piers to support a new floor system on which to
place the old frame. Lifting the building nearly five feet on cribbing proved
challenging and a bit risky, but plans paid off as the building was lowered
onto a new and secure foundation. The students harvested cedar poles from the
nearby woods to fashion rafters for the restored roofline, and looked with
pride at their accomplishment at the end of the summer when class was over.
Completing the project were dedicated trustees and volunteers, who expertly
placed clapboards on the exterior, reset the windows, and masterfully assembled
a wood shingle roof as would have been on the building originally. Today, the
house stands tall and proud, much as it might have looked when built 175 years
ago.
Mendenhall Plantation - 603 W. Main Street -
Jamestown, NC
