Ridgedale Restoration

A Stately Lady Gets Restored

After having fallen on hard times and complicated legal wranglings, one of Hampshire County's most historic and impressive homes is being restored. Recently purchased by a couple who love old homes, the George W. Washington home, Ridgedale, is seen above sheathed in scaffolding. This is only the early stage of what will be an extensive restoration as the old house was in a sad state of repair and was suffering the ravages of the weather under a leaking roof and sagging foundation.

As shown by the banner displayed on the building, funding for this project is coming from both the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and from the Department of Interior through the National Park Service. The work is quite extensive and has already included replacement of the interior roof joists, resheathing and papering the roof for the installation of standing seam copper roofing. The roofing installation is being held up by the winter weather, but will continue.

The building has had some structural restoration including an unfinished project to rebuild the southwest corner of the house. Seen below are a photo taken in March 2000 on the left and a current photo on the right. The damage below the window has already been fixed. The crack will take more work.

HistoricHampshire.org salutes the owners who have undertaken this labor of love. It is a long and expensive task. We will try to update this report every so often.

Go to Part II (April 2007)
 
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