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A1 Preserving and Working Rhode Island’s Historic Farms
Ken Ayars, Chief, Division of Agriculture, RI Department of Environmental Management
Pat McNiff, Farm Manager, Casey Farm/Historic New England
Stu Nunnery, Executive Director, RI Center for Agricultural Promotion and Education
Nancy Parker Wilson, General Manager, Greenvale Vineyards
Rhode Island farmers are applying new and tried-and-true strategies to working their historic farms in the 21st century. Learn how agritourism initiatives, like walking tours and demonstrations of historic farm practices, draw new visitors. Discover how the rising demand for local products spurs farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture, and collaborations like Rhody Fresh Milk. And compare the experiences of farmers who sell development rights to preserve open space and save tax dollars.
A2 Climate Change and Rhode Island’s Coast: Where Will Tomorrow’s Shoreline Be?
Jeffrey Emidy, Project Review, RIHPHC
Janet Freedman, Coastal Geologist, RI Coastal Resource Management Council
Rhode Island’s shoreline is one of its defining features and major attractions. Many of the state’s most beautiful and historic properties are located along the coast. With the daily flow of the tide and the brute force of coastal storms, our shoreline changes. What happens to historic properties along the coast? In this session, we will look ahead to the projected changes that will happen along the coast due to rising sea levels, and we will investigate how historic and archaeological properties may be impacted.
A3 Looking For The Silver Lining: Historic Preservation in an Economic Downturn
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Kevin Flynn, Associate Director, RI Statewide Planning Program (invited) Lance Robbins, President, Urban Smart Growth Clark Schoettle, Executive Director, Providence Revolving Fund Scott Wolf, Executive Director, Grow Smart Rhode Island |
How can we use the new federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the federal economic stimulus package to combat foreclosures in historic neighborhoods, stalled rehab projects, and design and construction layoffs? Is there hope for a new State Commercial Historic Tax Credit? Join the panel in a candid discussion of the challenges and opportunities for preservation during the economic downturn and recovery.
A4 Hearth and Home: Energy Efficiency for Your Historic House
Rob Cagnetta, Principal, Heritage Restoration, Inc.
Curt Genga, Director of Properties, The Preservation Society of Newport County
Virginia Hesse, Principal Historical Architect, RIHPHC
Karina Lutz, Deputy Director, People’s Power and Light
Jeff Moore, Chief Conservator, The Preservation Society of Newport County
Retrofitting your historic house can have significant consequences – on energy bills, moisture problems, historic integrity, and your health. The keys to successful energy management and climate control are planning and monitoring. Learn how to assess building dynamics and follow preservation guidelines before determining a course of work. Then discover how room-by-room climate monitoring, improving boiler efficiency, and replacing failed siding have improved energy management at the Newport Mansions.
A5 A Stitch in Time: Historic Textiles TOUR
Margaret Ordoñez, Professor of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design, URI
Linda Welters, Professor of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design, URI
Join faculty members on a visit to URI’s Historic Textile and Costume Collection, Textile Gallery, and Textile Conservation Laboratory. Spanning more than 20,000 objects from shawls to shoes to shirtwaists, the Collection is used for textile, costume design, historic costume, and historic textiles classes; for research; and for exhibition. In the Lab, students and professors carry out the painstaking work of textile analysis, documentation, and conservation. The tour will highlight Rhode Island collections.
>>SOLD OUT A6 Country Capital: Kingston Village TOUR SOLD OUT<<
Christian McBurney, Author of A History of Kingston, R.I., 1700-1900, Heart of Rural South County
Explore the history and architecture of Kingston Village National Register Historic District. Visit the 18th- and 19th-century buildings – residences, taverns, stores, church, jail, courthouse, and more – that depict Kingston’s emergence as a country capital for southern Rhode Island. Round out the story with tales of local personalities – counterfeiters, slave-owners, enslaved people, free people of color, abolitionists, prophets, politicians, and the infamous “cat inspector.” The tour concludes with the founding of the University of Rhode Island.
SESSION A TOURS with LUNCH: 11:15am-1:30pm
>>SOLD OUT A7 Splendor by the Sea: Narragansett Pier TOUR with LUNCH*SOLD OUT<<
Keith Lescarbeau, Principal, Abcore Restoration Co., Inc.
John Miller, Member, Towers Committee
In the mid-1800s, Narragansett Pier was transformed from a small farming and fishing community into one of America’s liveliest seaside resorts. Hotels, guesthouses, amusements, and summer cottages lined the shore and filled neighborhoods. After you explore Narragansett’s seaside and streets, take part in a behind-the-scenes tour and lunch at The Towers – the surviving portion of McKim, Mead and White’s magnificent Narragansett Casino – and chat about current local preservation and heritage projects.
>>SOLD OUT A8 Small Wonders: Shannock and Kenyon Villages TOUR with LUNCH*SOLD OUT<<
Chris Fox, Director, Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association
Sandy Neuschatz, President, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society
Lori Urso, Director, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society
Picturesque Shannock is a hidden gem that was once a hub of industry and a bustling village. Sited on the Pawcatuck River, the Carmichael Company and Columbia Narrow Fabrics generated 400KW of energy, powering the mills and the villages that housed hundreds of employees. This tour of Shannock and Kenyon Mill (still operating) will highlight industrial engineering and the original architecture of the Clark Family homesteads, as well as river restoration and public access initiatives. Enjoy lunch in the former Clark Grist Mill overlooking the c.1820 Horseshoe Falls.
A9 Narragansett Indian Reservation TOUR with LUNCH*
John Brown, Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and Narragansett Indian Tribal Medicineman-in-Training
Paul Robinson, Principal Archaeologist, RIHPHC
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Narragansett Tribe’s reservation contains many ancient historic sites and landscape features, including the August Meeting Grounds, the Indian Church, family farmsteads, and ponds and trails that are important to the Tribe’s history, traditions, and culture. Hear firsthand about Native American preservation issues in Rhode Island today. Lunch is included.
B1 Land Conservation 101: What Preservationists Can Learn from Conservationists
Ted Clement, Jr., Executive Director, Aquidneck Island Land Trust
Roberta Lane, Program Officer & Attorney, National Trust for Historic Preservation Northeast Office
Valerie Talmage, Executive Director, Preserve Rhode Island
Land trusts are tremendously successful in voluntary, non-regulatory protection of important places. How do land trusts set priorities, respond to threats, develop protection strategies, get to “yes” with landowners, and build community consensus? What lessons can preservationists put into action? Be inspired by “best cases” where preservation and land conservation collaborate to protect special places, including historic farms.
B2 Preservation is Local Summit, Part 1
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Doug Brown, Vice Chair, East Greenwich Municipal Land Trust Sheila Brush, Director of Programs, Grow Smart Rhode Island Michael DeLuca, AICP, Director of Community Development, Town of NarragansettBernard Fishman, Executive Director, RI Historical Society Rick Greenwood, Deputy Director, RIHPHC Geoff Marchant, Director, Community Development Consortium Peter Nunes, Chair, South Kingstown Historic District Commission Lisa Primiano, Supervisor, Land Acquisition Program, RI-DEM Derry Riding, Principal Planner, RI Statewide Planning Edward F. Sanderson, Executive Director, RIHPHC Valerie Talmage, Executive Director, Preserve Rhode Island Sarah Zurier, Special Projects Coordinator, RIHPHC You |
Join neighbors from Kent and Washington counties – as well as statewide leaders – to launch Preservation is Local. This initiative promotes community preservation activities through summits, grants, and technical support. Discuss heritage tourism; local historic districts; planning/land use; survey; and property management. Consider threats and new opportunities, including the Preservation is Local grant program to debut in May. Conversation continues in C2 – participate in either or both.
B3 Campus Heritage and Brand Identity: Three Rhode Island Campuses
James Barnes, AIA, Professor of Architecture, Rhode Island School of Design
Thomas Frisbie-Fulton, Director, URI Office of Capital Planning and Design
Jim Garman, Associate Professor of Cultural and Historic Preservation, Salve Regina University
Paul Jestings, Director of Operations, Portsmouth Abbey School
Rhode Island’s school and university campuses reflect evolving concepts in architecture and education from the late 18th century to the present. Campus planners must balance heritage with architectural expressions of the future. Consider three settings: a large state university, a university growing up among several turn-of-the-century Newport estates, and a high school designed by a preeminent modernist architect. Presented by AIA/RI.
B4 Protecting the Past – Rhode Island: A Disaster Planning Tool for Today
Alexandra Allardt, Conservator and Consultant, ArtCare Resources
Lisa Long, Ezra Stiles Special Collections Librarian, Redwood Library and Athenæum
George Pare, Director, Coggeshall Farm Museum
Eileen Warburton, Project Manager, Protecting the Past – RI
Sarina R. Wyant, Acting Head of Special Collections, URI Library
Protecting the Past – RI is a grant funded project to adapt dPlan™, an online tool for creating customized disaster preparedness and recovery plans for individual cultural heritage institutions in Rhode Island. The RI dPlan™ will be available to museums, historic properties, libraries, archives, and historical and preservation societies. The panel-ists will tell you about dPlan™, demonstrate how to use it for your organization, and offer case studies that reveal how having a plan can change the outcome of a disaster.
B5 Biscuit City: Historic Kingston’s More Recent Past TOUR
Shantia Anderheggen, Easement Administrator, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Spurred by expanding enrollments after World War II and URI’s transition from college to university in 1951, several residential subdivisions were developed near Kingston village and the campus. This tour will explore the Biscuit City neighborhood from its pre-war rural character to its post-war subdivision, development, and inhabitation by recently-arrived university faculty. Mostly scientists and engineers from other parts of the country, these new residents brought with them forward-looking modernist ideas that resulted in a wide range of mid-century housing styles – including one with an iconic “butterfly” roof – in Biscuit City.
SESSION B LONG TOURS: 2pm - 5pm
>>SOLD OUT B6 Olde Kingstowne TOUR SOLD OUT<<
G. Timothy Cranston, Historian
Jack Renshaw, Principal, Clifford Renshaw Architects
Exeter, Narragansett, and North and South Kingstown comprised the original colonial town of Kingstowne. This tour focuses on the landscapes and buildings of that early settlement, beginning with the village of Little Rest – today’s Kingston Village – and continuing along Old Boston Neck Road through Narragansett to North Kingstown. Stops include Casey Farm, the village of Wickford, and Smith’s Castle.
>>SOLD OUT B7 South County Farm TOUR SOLD OUT<<
Ken Ayars, Chief, Division of Agriculture, RI Department of Environmental Management
Jim Crothers, Director, South County Museum
Jeffrey Farrell, Farm Manager, Sunset Farm
Pat McNiff, Farm Manager, Casey Farm/Historic New England
This tour will survey local agricultural heritage with visits to two working farms – Casey Farm (1702) in Saunderstown and town-owned Sunset Farm (ca. 1850s) in Narragansett. A stop at the South County Museum will tell the story of how local citizens organized to preserve their rural heritage in the face of encroaching sprawl along Route 2 and Route 4. In the spaces between, survey the agricultural landscape, from turf farms and nurseries to pastures and corn fields.
>>SOLD OUT B8 Preservation and Conservation in Coastal Matunuck TOUR SOLD OUT<<
Clarkson A. Collins IV, Land Management Director, South Kingstown Land Trust
Ken Woodcock, Trustee, Land Trust Alliance; Trustee National Trust for Historic Preservation
Joan Youngken, Principal, Youngken Associates; Project Consultant, Hale House Restoration
Richard Youngken, Principal, Youngken Associates; Advisor, National Trust for Historic Preservation
The landscape of Matunuck has been the focus of conservation efforts for more than 150 years. The preservation and restoration of key historic structures helps to link the land to its legacy. Explore Matunuck’s treasures: woods, fields, beaches, farms, a grist mill, a theatre, and the historic summer home of Edward Everett Hale. Hear how kindred organizations address issues from the sustainability of historic sites to rising sea levels.
B9 Cycle South County BICYCLE TOUR*
Rob Swanson, Cycling Enthusiast
Bob Votava, Executive Director, DOT Watch
From the 1870s to the 1960s, trains rumbled back and forth along the Narragansett Pier Railroad between Kingston Station and the shore. After the tracks fell silent, local advocates and leaders turned rails into trails to create the William C. O’Neill Bike Path. Take a spin through historic villages, woods, and neighborhoods with stops at sites like Peace Dale National Register District and W.E. Stedman’s and Co. Bicycle Shop – in business for over a century. Bring your own bike, lock, and helmet, and we will secure them until tour time. WEATHER PERMITTING.
C1 Barn and Raised in New England: Preserving Historic Barns and Outbuildings
Todd Levine, Preservation Services Officer, Connecticut Trust for Historic
Preservation
Bonnie Parsons, Principal Planner, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Vice Chair,
Preservation
Massachusetts Barn Task Force
Roberta Randall, Principal Historical Architect, RIHPHC
Historic agricultural outbuildings are a familiar yet endangered part of New England’s rural landscape. Thankfully, owners, advocates, and admirers are teaming up to document, protect, promote, and preserve these landmarks. This session will provide an overview of barn building and architectural traditions, and then share barn preservation initiatives from Massachusetts and Connecticut. We will conclude with a presentation of several recent Rhode Island projects from East Greenwich and Cumberland.
C2 Preservation is Local Summit, Part 2
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Doug Brown, Vice Chair, East Greenwich Municipal Land Trust |
Join neighbors from Kent and Washington counties – as well as statewide leaders – to launch Preservation is Local. This initiative promotes community preservation activities through summits, grants, and technical support. Discuss heritage tourism; local historic districts; planning/land use; survey; and property management. Consider threats and new opportunities, including the Preservation is Local grant program to debut in May. Conversation begins in B2 – participate in either or both.
C3 All Together Now: Collaborations for Cultural Institutions
Shirley Eastham, Event Coordinator, Kinney Bungalow
Jascin Leonardo Finger, Curator, Maria Mitchell Association
Bill Hall, Manager of the Portland History Docents Program, Greater Portland Landmarks
Theresa Woodmansee, Lippitt House Manager, Preserve Rhode Island
Organized by the Historic Sites Coalition of Rhode Island, this session will feature successful collaborations between cultural institutions. In Maine, five organizations participate in the Portland History Docent Program to train their volunteer interpreters. On Nantucket, two museums share a full-time curator. And in South County, eight institutions formed the Culture Coalition to coordinate special events.
C4 KeepSpace: Creating Community and Preserving Place
Jeffrey Emidy, Project Review, RIHPHC
Richard Godfrey, Executive Director, Rhode Island Housing
David Twombly, Principal, Twombly Consulting
Founded by Rhode Island Housing, the KeepSpace initiative uses partner-ships to preserve
and enhance open space while revitalizing previously developed areas that are
underused or poorly developed. Learn about historic preservation’s role in this comprehensive approach to developing healthy, vibrant communities. We will spotlight one of KeepSpace’s pilot sites: the Cranston Print Works mill complex on the Pocasset River.
C5 Old School: University of Rhode Island Campus TOUR
Thomas Frisbie-Fulton, Director, URI Office of Capital Planning and Design
Ron Onorato, RIHPHC Commissioner and Honors Professor of Art History, URI
Sandy Taylor, University Architect Emeritus, URI
Robert Weygand, Vice President for Administration, URI
The original site for the RI College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts was a 140-acre farm, purchased in 1888. The landscape firm of Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot developed an academic quadrangle plan, and the early granite buildings reflected the college’s land-grant identity. This tour will showcase not only the original Oliver Watson farmhouse (1796) and historic buildings of the Old Quad, but will also examine how the historic campus buildings have informed more recent construction.