This summer, volunteers have been helping preserve a museum in Southwest Virginia.
The Settlers Museum is a historic farmstead from the 1800s in Smyth County. It’s getting a makeover this summer with the help of dozens of volunteers, including Beth DeFrancis Sun, a librarian from Northern Virginia.
“You know, I’ve gained some skills. And I can hammer a nail straight in,” DeFrancis Sun said as she was hammering a section of the museum’s front porch. “So I’m definitely feeling like a little more confident overall than I did.”
Rick Butland said he likes history and likes that this work teaches historic preservation.
“It feels good. Physically it’s a little fatiguing. You definitely sleep better. The bug bites aren’t so great,” Butland said, pointing to his calves that were dotted with bites. “But I’m having a good time.”
The volunteers spend a week or more and camp in tents (hence the bug bites). Their meals are provided and they receive training in historic preservation, through a nonprofit called HistoriCorps.
On this day, five people were doing repairs to the museum’s front porch; a previous crew had repaired the porch’s foundation.
Two others were on the roof repairing the chimney, which was damaged two years ago during Hurricane Helene.
Becky Halsey manages the Settlers Museum and said this is work the museum has wanted to do, but couldn’t afford to.
“It’s just a blessing beyond belief that we were chosen,” Halsey said. “And we wouldn’t have been able to do the things that they’re doing now without them.”
The Settlers Museum is open to the public and hosts arts and crafts workshops, hayrides, and an apple butter event in the fall.
HistoriCorps is planning a second volunteer project in Washington County later this fall, restoring a site along the Virginia Creeper Trail.
