Pine Mountain Settlement School
Pine Mountain Settlement School for Practical Historic Preservation in partnership with the
Kentucky Heritage Council has offered training classes in historic preservation since 2002.
The school seeks to bring together preservation experts with owners and managers of historic properties,
contractors, architects, and maintenance workers to learn about efficient and cost-effective methods of
historic preservation. The classes combine demonstrations and lectures with hands on inspection and work
in historic buildings on the Pine Mountain Settlement School campus. Past topics include repair of wooden windows, plastering, repair of steel windows, chinking and daubing of log structures, and mortar repair.
The Pine Mountain Settlement School is a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1913, the campus of
buildings is a strong testament to the many social and building reform activities that marked the Progressive Era throughout the country. Located in the state’s mountainous southeast region, the school was built by two women, Katherine Pettit and Ethel DeLong, as a boarding school for children and a social center for the entire community. Pettit and DeLong hired architect Mary Rockwell Hook of Kansas City to design plans for the entire site as well as the individual buildings. Hook received her architectural training at the Chicago Art Institute and L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and is credited with being the first architect in Kansas City to use cast-in-place concrete walls.
Pine Mountain Settlement School for Practical Historic Preservation offers the following workshops for 2007
“The Care and Repair of Log Structures June 10 - 15
Experts from the U.S. National Park Service's Historic Preservation Training Center will conduct this weeklong workshop on how to preserve log structures. The workshop will include instruction in preservation techniques, the philosophy behind the selection of particular techniques, and a hands-on experience on a 1930s era Civilian Conservation Corps log structure in Harlan County. Students will learn about how to examine a log structure for common preservation issues, how to approach preservation work from a safety viewpoint, and what skills are needed for preservation work. The hands-on application of preservation techniques will include demonstrations in log crown or end replacement, full and partial log replacement, skyward facing check crack, and chinking and daubing. The re-establishment of log features will focus on proper handling techniques, reinstallation of materials, and identifying and recovering/replicating character defining features. Other topics will include proper documentation methods, recordation of activities, material identification and selection, and proper tool selection and usage. Participants will receive a notebook with reference materials on logs and log-related subjects. Moss Rudley, exhibits specialist, and Paul Jensen, preservation carpentry trainer, will be the instructors for this workshop. Moss conducted the 2004 chinking and daubing workshop on the historic Creech Cabin at Pine Mountain. He has worked on historic structures throughout the nation's park system. The workshop is suitable for those with little or no construction experience as well as those with more advanced construction skills. Participants should bring work clothes, sturdy shoes or boots, and work gloves.
Cost of the workshop is $600.00. This includes tuition, written materials, lodging and meals, transportation to the hands-on project site, and safety equipment. A non-refunadable deposit of $100 is required. Participants should bring casual clothes and comfortable walking shoes.
“From the Ground Up: The Art of Building Dry Stone Walls” Richard Tufnell, Instructor Oct. 12 - 14
Richard Tufnell, co-founder of the Dry Stone Conservancy Inc. in the United States, will lead the dry stone masonry workshop. This workshop will include presentations of the history of this art, demonstra¬tions, and a hands-on stone wall project on Settlement School grounds. Dry stone construction requires no mortar – only stones and the knowledge of how to cut and arrange them to create beautiful, durable structures.
Richard, an award-winning stone mason, lives in Scot¬land. He makes annual trips to the United States to work on special projects. His work takes him to places throughout the world.
This workshop is suitable for those with little or not building experience and for those with more advanced building skills. Students should bring work clothes, sturdy shoes or boots, and work gloves. Tools will be provided.
Cost of the workshop is $325.00. This covers tuition, materials, lodging, food and a stone hammer. Partici¬pants should bring work clothes, work gloves, and sturdy shoes or boots. Safety glasses will be provided.
REGISTRATION AND TUITION
Additional registration forms are available from Pine Mountain Settlement School via e-mail or U.S. mail. The registration form must be accompanied by a $100.00 non-refundable deposit. The balance is due upon arrival at Pine Mountain. Call the School for detailed information on workshops.
WHAT TO BRING
Students should wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Students should also bring insect repellent and any special medications with them. The closest pharmacy is a 35-minute drive from Pine Mountain.
For leisure time, visitors may want to bring reading material, a camera, binoculars, cards, or board games.
LODGING AND FOOD
Visitors to Pine Mountain may stay in dormitory or cottage-style housing. A limited number of single rooms are available upon request. Linens are furnished.
Meals are served in the Laurel House dining room. When possible, the School serves vegetables grown on campus. Vegetarian meals are available upon request. (You can indicate this on the registration form.)
Snacks will be provided during classes. Visitors who need additional food may want bring those items with them. Two small stores located within three miles of campus carry a limited selection of soft drinks and snacks.
All buildings at Pine Mountain are smoke-free. Pets, firearms, drugs and alcohol are not permitted on School property.
OTHER INFORMATION
Pine Mountain staff are trained in emergency medical procedures. Ambulance service is also available to Appalachian Regional Hospital in Harlan, an 18-mile drive from Pine Mountain.
Pine Mountain has a public access Internet terminal for use by visitors. A public phone is available in Laurel House and West Wind dormitory. Cell phone use is hampered by the mountainous terrain.
Family members and friends may reach students by calling the Pine Mountain office from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at (606) 558-3571. After office hours and on weekends, call the maintenance/ security office at (606) 558-3604.
KHC On Site Preservation Skills Workshop
The Kentucky Heritage Council can provide a limited number of on-site workshops. These workshops are intended to train local volunteers in specific preservation skills needed in the community. Often these individuals are interested in a particular historic property that is being rehabilitated. The workshop can be tailored to fit the specific needs and time frame required by the community. (for additional information contact Patrick Kennedy)
Much of the rehabilitation of Boone Motor Building has been done by Appalshop staff and commuity volunteers. The Kentucky Heritage Council held a three day workshop in Whitesburg to train volunteers how to restore historic steel windows.
Preservation Trades Network
The Preservation Trades Network is a non-profit membership organization founded to provide education, networking, and outreach for the traditional building trades. We are a diverse group of tradespeople, architects, con servators, preservationists, contractors, students and others who believe believe that opportunities for education, employment, and compensation of people in the trades are directly reflected in the quality of the built environment, and the effective stewardship of cultural heritage http://www.iptw.org/