Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is partnering with HistoriCorps to restore the Homeplace 1850s Working Farm’s iconic Double Pen House- and we need your help! Everyone can be a HistoriCorps Volunteer. HistoriCorps team up crews of volunteers from all walks of life with their expert field staff to learn preservation skills and put those skills to work saving historic places that have fallen into disrepair. Volunteers on this HistoriCorps project will learn and apply traditional roofing skills to preserve the Double Pen House at the Homeplace. Aside from being comfortable with heights, no prior construction experience is needed! HistoriCorps will provide all the training, safety equipment, meals, tools, and a campsite as part of our partnership.
• Four Project Sessions: September 18-23, September 25-30, October 2-7, and October 9-14, 2022. HistoriCorps prefers volunteers to only register for a project if they can be there for a full session.
• Location: The Homeplace 1850s Working Farm and Living History Museum at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area near Dover, TN- located about 2 hours northwest of Nashville, TN.
• Logistics: Tents, truck campers, campervans, and RVs/trailers can access this campsite, but there are no hookups and RV spacing may be tight. Potable water, showers, and restrooms will be available.
• Scope of Work: Remove existing oak shakes and gutters on the main portion of the Double Pen House, replace purlins and roof decking, as needed, install new cedar shake roof and flashing, and install new and salvaged gutters.
• Project Leaders: Project Supervisor: Glenn Alf
• Need to Know: It’s free to volunteer! We provide all meals, tools, and training; volunteers are responsible for their own transit to the site, as well as personal camping equipment, work gloves, work clothes (buying used is fine!), and sturdy boots (not sneakers/light hikers). Volunteers age 14+ are welcome on HistoriCorps projects, but all minor volunteers must have an adult parent/guardian volunteering with them. Volunteering with folks from different generations is a really rewarding and educational experience.
REGISTER NOW!
About HistoriCorps:
HistoriCorps is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides volunteers of all skill levels with a hands-on experience preserving historic structures on public lands across America. Volunteers work with HistoriCorps field staff to learn preservation skills and put those skills to work saving historic places that have fallen into disrepair. HistoriCorps works to ensure America’s cultural and historical resources exist for generations to come.
About the Homeplace:
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area serves its original recreational and educational goals through places like the nationally-recognized Homeplace 1850s Working Farm and Living History Museum, the site of this HistoriCorps project. After all, if we can’t preserve our history, how are we ever going to learn from it? The Homeplace evokes the Civil War era in US history through replicating a two-generation farm spanning the scenic, rolling landscape of northwest Tennessee. Today, interpreters in period clothing reenact daily chores on a real, working farm, where attention to details, routine, and craftsmanship is of the utmost importance. The farm livestock includes rare and endangered breeds which would have been found on a farm like this in the 1850s, as well as varieties of garden plants and field crops planted from heirloom seeds dating back before the Civil War. Volunteers on this HistoriCorps project will learn and apply traditional roofing skills to restore Homeplace’s iconic Double Pen House. Bring your camera – aside from the unique interpretive farm scenery, the views from up high will be memorable.
Have questions?
Learn what to expect and see a sample session itinerary, or check out HistoriCorps’ Frequently Asked Questions. If you need help registering for this project, please email [email protected].
