Dartmouth Heritage Trust Annual Meeting July 29

“Preserving Dartmouth’s Heritage from the Foundation Up”

Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust Annual Meeting

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 – 6:00 P.M.

At the Wamsutta Club (James Arnold Mansion)
427 County Street, New Bedford, MA

Guest Speaker – Ms. Valerie Talmage
Executive Director, Preserve Rhode Island

The public is cordially invited to the Annual Meeting of the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6:00 P.M. at the historic Wamsutta Club (James Arnold/William J. Rotch Mansion) 427 County Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The theme of the DHPT annual meeting is: "Protecting whole communities -- collaborations between historic preservation and land conservation.”
Our featured speaker is Ms. Valerie Talmage, Executive Director of Preserve Rhode Island. Our past, your present, their future [www.preserveri.org.
Ms. Talmage will challenge us to ask ourselves “Where is the boundary between land conversation and historic preservation?” While historic preservation and land conservation share many goals, those intrepid protectors live in parallel worlds–separated by laws and rules, governmental institutions, programs, academic backgrounds, and experience–and march to different drummers. How often have we wondered, as we admire a scenic landscape, “What was the house like?” It doesn’t have to be that way.

Valerie Talmage is the Executive Director of Preserve Rhode Island, a statewide non-profit preservation organization with a mission to protect the state's historic structures and unique places for now and for future generations. Prior to joining Preserve Rhode Island in 2007, Talmage was the Director of Projects for the New England Regional Office of the Trust for Public Land, overseeing a portfolio of land conservation
and historic preservation projects throughout New England. Her previous job was as a Land Protection Specialist with The Trustees of Reservations. Talmage spent the first fifteen years of her career at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, first as State Archaeologist and later as its Executive Director and the State Historic Preservation
Officer. She has a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.
The Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust is a 501 (C) 3, nonprofit preservation organization, established in 2007, specifically to protect and preserve architecturally and historically significant structures and sites located in the town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts and surrounding communities, through the acquisition of such structures and sites, and easement interests therein, through providing financial and technical assistance in connection with the preservation and restoration of such structures and sites, and through education and advocacy.
The Trust manages the 1762 Elihu Akin House and is overseeing its structural conservation. The Trust has received a $195,000 grant from Dartmouth’s Community Preservation Act historic preservation fund. Conservation work begins this summer. The third season of archaeological fieldwork, under the direction of Dr. Christina Hodge, concluded in early July. The DHPT has established a preservation restriction program for private property owners and a partnership with the Wamsutta Club of New Bedford to help oversee the restoration of the James Arnold Mansion.
Please join us on Wednesday, July 29 at 6 p.m. for the Trust’s Annual Meeting. Refreshments will be served. Cash bar. A brief business meeting will include the election of new Board members and a report on the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust’s prior year’s activities. Our featured presentation is a perennially fascinating topic and will be of special interest to advocates of historic preservation and land conservation alike.
More after the jump

Valerie Talmage is the Executive Director of Preserve Rhode Island, a statewide non-profit preservation organization with a mission to protect the state's historic structures and unique places for now and for future generations. Prior to joining Preserve Rhode Island in 2007, Talmage was the Director of Projects for the New England Regional Office of the Trust for Public Land, overseeing a portfolio of land conservation
and historic preservation projects throughout New England. Her previous job was as a Land Protection Specialist with The Trustees of Reservations. Talmage spent the first fifteen years of her career at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, first as State Archaeologist and later as its Executive Director and the State Historic Preservation
Officer. She has a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.
The Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust is a 501 (C) 3, nonprofit preservation organization, established in 2007, specifically to protect and preserve architecturally and historically significant structures and sites located in the town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts and surrounding communities, through the acquisition of such structures and sites, and easement interests therein, through providing financial and technical assistance in connection with the preservation and restoration of such structures and sites, and through education and advocacy.
The Trust manages the 1762 Elihu Akin House and is overseeing its structural conservation. The Trust has received a $195,000 grant from Dartmouth’s Community Preservation Act historic preservation fund. Conservation work begins this summer. The third season of archaeological fieldwork, under the direction of Dr. Christina Hodge, concluded in early July. The DHPT has established a preservation restriction program for private property owners and a partnership with the Wamsutta Club of New Bedford to help oversee the restoration of the James Arnold Mansion.
Please join us on Wednesday, July 29 at 6 p.m. for the Trust’s Annual Meeting. Refreshments will be served. Cash bar. A brief business meeting will include the election of new Board members and a report on the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust’s prior year’s activities. Our featured presentation is a perennially fascinating topic and will be of special interest to advocates of historic preservation and land conservation alike.
For additional information, please contact Diane M. Gilbert, President, the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust, (508) 993-1216, cell (508) 965-7265, d.m.gilbert@ComCast.net or Peggi Medeiros, Clerk, (508) 992-9624 or (508) 997-7431, pmedeiros@ComCast.net
Click here to read on!

Archaeological open house at Akin House

The Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust is pleased to announce
an Open House to share with the public the results of the third season of the Akin
House Archaeology Project on Saturday, July 4, 2009 from 11:00 A.M. – 3:00
P.M. Dr. Christina Hodge will present the findings of her students and
volunteers
Full press release can be found by clicking here

Learn about archaeological techniques and what was found during the dig!
Click here to read on!

Akin House archaeological dig underway

The Standard Times has an article today about the archaeological dig taking place at the Akin House on Dartmouth Street. My oldest son does this kind of work (he lives in Georgia)and I think it pretty cool to have some of it going on right here in town.
The Akin House is one of the oldest structures in the area dating to Revolutionary War times.
Those of you ...

... who like your history to come alive may be interested in the Civil Wart re-enactment at Fort Taber this weekend. Here is the Standard Times piece about that event.
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Akin House tours this weekend

Peggi Medeiros emailed me and asked me to link to this article about the Akin House in the S-T about the open house this weekend. And this article in the Chronicle about the history associated with the Akin House. She also said

I've been working on Akin since 2002 (long before WHALE bought it) first while at WHALE and now with the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust. This house matters to all of us. The foundations and interior supports (or lack of them) are truly an emergency. ...

CPA was voted in to support exactly this type of preservation project. 10% is budgeted for preservation. No other preservation projects are proposed. This one will have real concrete
results.
I hope you'll stop in this week end and support us at town meeting.

Sincerely,
Peggi Medeiros
Clerk
Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust

I do support the warrant article to preserve the Akin House. While I think that the house is not architecturally significant(my opinion, others disagree), the house does have historical significance as a window into the colonial period, our war with the English king, and the early years of our town and nation. Hope to see all of you at the tour.

Click here to read on!