cast iron cover

I hate blog posts without photos, so here's a photo to break up the monotony of the last three!

Detail of fireplace cover in the parlor at Oak Hill Cottage

demolition list

This morning Codes and Permits sent us the list of demolitons currently in the works. This is a giant step forward at least from the aspect of being able to review the list of properties and determine if any warrant our input. It does not address the requested list of rehab projects which Codes says will have to come from Community Development. If anyone is interested in it, here is a link which is an xls file. Also per the email I got:
"Sites approved at the last Council meeting (10/6/09 have not been released for bid) are:
131 Arthur Ave., 35 W. Augustine, 14-14 1/2 W. Blanche St., 143 Hedges St., 137 W. Dickson Ave., 96 Marion Ave., 125 Ford St.,
Sites scheduled for 10/20/09 Council meeting are:
311 W. Sixth St., 64-66-66 1/2 Wood St., 68 Wood St."

historical society request for consulting party status

The previous blog post below gives background on understanding the current problem the City of Mansfield is having with complying with the Preservation Act.
In June 2009 the Richland County Historical Society requested Consulting Party status in Section 106 Review of federally funded projects under the city's Community Development Department via official letter to the head of the department. In July 2009 the Historical Society requested a list of the adresses of federally funded rehab projects and demolitions being planned via official letter. Neither request has been acknowledged or responded to by the city, although City Council has approved at least two batches of demolitions in recent meetings, and reportedly about 80 are planned, using Neighborhood Stabilization Funds.
NSP funds are on a fast track, and if not spent correctly and within the deadline framework, I understand it could influence our ability to get round 2 funds. With Community Development stonewalling the Historical Society for the last 4 1/2 months there may come a day when the city wakes up to its responsibilities under the Preservation Act, realizes they have botched the process and can't get OHPO approval for their projects, and blame the delay or failure of the process on the Historical Society.
My purpose of belaboring my blog with this sad tale is to head off the blame game when this comes to pass. We have made repeated attempts to inform the city of their legal responsibility to respond and resolve this. We have worked through coucil members, the Ohio Preservation Office in Columbus, and the Department of HUD.
It now comes down to waiting and hoping that somehow this gets worked out.

preservation act

This post will be a preamble or footnote to further posts about the City of Mansfield's HUD program and how the Preservation Act applies to their operations.
The following paragraphs are extracted verbatim from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation publication "Protecting Historic Properties; A Citizen's Guide to Section 106 Review".
In 1966, the Federal Government created a process to ensure that American citizens would always have the opportunity to learn about and influence Government activities that could affect their communities’ historic resources.
Section 106 review is your opportunity to alert the Federal Government to the historic properties you value and to influence decisions about the Federal projects that affect them.
In the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Congress established a comprehensive program to preserve the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation as a living part of community life. Section 106 of NHPA is crucial to that program, because it requires consideration of historic preservation in the multitude of Federal actions that take place nationwide. Section 106 requires Federal agencies to considerthe effects of their actions on historic properties and provide the ACHP an opportunity to comment on Federal projects prior to implementation.
Regulations issued by the ACHP guide Section 106 review, specifying actions Federal agencies must take to meet their legal obligations. The regulations are published in the Code of Federal Regulations at 36 CFR Part 800, “Protecting Historic Properties,” and can be found on the ACHP’s Web site at ww.achp.gov/regs.html.
To successfully complete Section 106 review,Federal agencies must:
• determine if Section 106 of NHPA applies to a given project and, if so, initiate the review;
• gather information to decide which properties in the project area are listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places;
• determine how historic properties might be affected;
• explore alternatives to avoid or reduce harm to historic properties; and
• reach agreement with the SHPO [State Historic Preservation Office] /tribe (and the ACHP in some cases) on measures to deal with any adverse effects or obtain advisory comments from the ACHP, which are sent to the head of the agency.
The point of Section 106 review is not to stop projects. It is to ensure that Federal agencies fully consider historic preservation issues and the views of the public during project planning.
Throughout Section 106 review, Federal agencies must consider the views of the public. This is particularly important when an agency is trying to identify historic properties that might be affected by a project and is considering ways to avoid or minimize harm. In either case, agencies must give the public a chance to learn about the project and provide their views.
In addition to seeking the views of the public, Federal agencies must actively consult with certain organizations and individuals during review. This interactive consultation is at the heart of Section 106 review. You or your organization may want to take an active role in Section 106 review, especially if you have a legal or economic interest in the project or the affected properties.
Who Are “Consulting Parties”? The following parties are entitled to actively participate as consulting parties during Section 106 review: State Historic Preservation Officers Indian tribes Native Hawaiian organizations Local governments Applicants for Federal assistance, permits, licenses, and other approvals Other individuals and organizations with a demonstrated interest in the project may participate in Section 106 review as consulting parties “due to the nature of their legal or economic relation to the undertaking or affected properties, or their concern with the undertaking’s effects on historic properties.”
Federal agencies must conclude Section 106 review before project funds are approved or permits issued. They must not sign contracts or take other actions that would preclude consideration of the full range of alternatives to avoid or minimize harm to historic properties before Section 106 review is complete.
The City of Mansfield is an "entitlement city", operating the HUD program through their office of Community Development on behalf of the Department of HUD. The city takes on the responsibility that HUD has, as a federal agency, to comply with the Preservation Act.

oak hill cottage out of doors

A slide show about the historic landscape restoration project at Oak Hill Cottage

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by alanwigton Upload your own presentation

blockhouse

One of the difficult decisions with the blockhouse restoration has been how to deal with the old dark redish brown stain on the older logs. It was obviously there to stay. My personal feeling was to treat the wood without a paint or stain and let the differences in the color of the logs tell their own story. The other extreme was to stain all the logs, which was a course that Don Hutsler of the Ohio Historical Society recommended. At this juncture the committee has chosen to paint a gray stain over the brown and leave the color of the new logs to weather, which will still allow the visual interpretation of the new vs old logs while evening out the color overall. It seems like a good compromise, and will be reviewed at the Sept 16 Historic Preservation Commission meeting. Hopefully if this can be codified, so to speak, it will stand a chance of not being undone by some future whim of the city.

new/old arbor

A new arched rose arbor was installed today across the front walk of Oak Hill Cottage...part of the ongoing effort to restore the Victorian landscape plan. The original arbor in this location shows in old photos, but obscured by foliage that hides its exact design. The new arbor has been designed to capture the essence of what we can see in the photos.

clematis

first crop

The first tomatoes from my garden!

Singing on the Square

Some old fashioned sounds downtown today, with a Mennonite choir singing (and some preaching) in the bandstand. Listen on this video. Your extra bonus is a slide show of the Square. The song..."There's a Fountain Free" by Mary B. Slade 1876. "Will you come to the fountain free?Will you come? ’tis for you and me;Thirsty soul hear the welcome call:’Tis a fountain opened for all."

another present from the crows

The crows that visited me last winter left another present besides the sand on my garage roof. (see previous post). Besides sand, they spew poison ivy seeds from the berries they eat, and they're sprouting now under every tree they roosted in, including the wild cherry tree in my yard and the oak tree on the west side of the Cottage.

time to mow

When the grass gets a little long in the west yard at the Cottage it has an old fashioned look. Prior to the 1870s the grass would have been mowed with a sythe about 4 times a year. I remember my grandfather using a sythe to cut grass (I was 10 or 11 years old) and I've tried many times but never got the hang of it. I remember him methodically stoning the blade from time to time, and when he swung the sythe the blade sliced through a narrow swath, neatly laying the grass down. I know my Dad had a sythe and used it to mow hillsides, but for some reason the image of my Grandfather mowing grass sticks in my memory.

mock orange

The mock orange along the lower edge of the yard has been blooming for well over a week but has almost no fragrance. Same over west of the cottage. Last year this old one beside the house bloomed about the time I moved in, and it's fragrance was very strong. It's just now starting to bloom and I hope it smells as good this year. Its blossoms seem more shapely and petals thicker.

crow beach

I was cleaning off the garage roof today and wondering why it had so much coarse sand on it. It was directly beneath the crows that roosted here last winter. I looked it up and crows eat large amounts of sand and gravel for digestion, and unlike many birds that retain it till it's worn out, they eject it constantly. So the sand is a feature of crow roosts.
They arived last October and I finally convinced them to move along sometime in December. They went down along the railroad tracks for the rest of the winter. I hope they liked it down there.
I also learned one of their favorite berries is poison ivy, so they spread the seeds of course.

living history portrait

Group portrait of the living history cast by Tim Mckee.