Gettysburg Daily

William Patterson House and Peace Light Updates



Wooden beams and the first floor are being installed at the William Patterson House. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.

Wooden beams and the first floor is now being installed in the William Patterson House on the Taneytown Road.



The floor being attached to the logs/beams is plywood. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



We probably shouldn’t be surprised by that, but on a project where it was promoted that they will even have the same axe marks in the logs as the original house, this was somewhat of a letdown. This view was taken facing west at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



Especially when you compare the plywood to these original logs from the 1796 house that will be incorporated in the structure. This view was taken facing north at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



This piece is tagged…This view was taken facing east at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



…and still has its original notches. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



Just doesn’t look right to us, but we have had our expectations raised for this project. We are hoping the plywood has been temporarily placed on the logs, but it has been screwed into the logs/beams pretty well at multiple locations. Maybe they’re just very thorough even on constructing a temporary platform. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



The Pennsylvania State Monument is in the left background, and the National Park Service Maintenance Area is in the right background. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



The kitchen area is the pile of rocks on the right. This view was taken facing north at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



A closer view of the flooring from the southwest. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



We are looking at the west end of the structure. The Taneytown Road is on the left. This view was taken facing north at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



We are looking at the west end of the structure. The Taneytown Road is on the right. This view was taken facing south at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



We’ll use the entrance on the right to go down into the basement. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



The beams to which the plywood is fastened. This view was taken facing west at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



The brick “root cellar” area in the northeast corner. This view was taken facing north at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



The oil tank in the northwest corner. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



The entrance and the southwest corner. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



A view from the west side of the Taneytown Road. This view was taken facing east at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.



The structure will be 66% original wood and 34% new wood. Here’s some of the new wood waiting to be placed in the house. This view was taken facing east at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2009.

Related Posts:

Taneytown Road Battlefield Rehabilitation on July 18, 2008.
William Patterson House Stabilization on August 11, 2008.
Cemetery Ridge Rehabilitation Shows Subtleties of Terrain on September 2, 2008.
Tree Cutting on East Side of Cemetery Ridge Covers a Large Area on October 15, 2008.
William Patterson Tree Cutting Update on October 17, 2008.
William Patterson Field Earthworks on October 29, 2008.
Confederate Earthworks on Seminary Ridge on October 30, 2008.
William Patterson Farm Tree Cutting Update on November 9, 2008.
William Patterson Field Earthworks 1890s Photo on November 20, 2008.
William Patterson Farm Update and Patterson Field Panorama #4 on December 12, 2008.
Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Bellamy: Colonel Edward Ephraim Cross Part 2 on January 5, 2009.
William Patterson House Deconstruction on January 18, 2009.
William Patterson House Stabilization: Reconstruction Methods Impressive on January 28, 2009.
William Patterson House Stabilization Update: Foundation Enclosed on February 22, 2009.
William Patterson House Stabilization Update: Foundation Nears Completion on April 5, 2009.
William Patterson House and Old National Park Service Visitor Center Updates on April 15, 2009.
Old Visitor Center and William Patterson House Updates on April 21, 2009.



Plywood still covers the graffiti on the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. The cannon represents the position of the Orange (Virginia) Artillery. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 6:15 PM on Friday, April 30, 2009.

As has been pointed out on other Civil War internet sites, with all of the work being done on the William Patterson House, why hasn’t the Eternal Light Peace Memorial been restored? The spray painting of the monument took place on Thursday, January 8, 2009. We are fast approaching the four month anniversary of that incident. Supposedly warmer weather is needed, and we have certainly had that lately. Hopefully this is the last week that we will see the Peace Light in this condition.



We visited Sunday afternoon. The spray paint has been cleaned off the parking signs. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.



At one time the National Park Service that it would be a major effort to clean the graffiti. Then they thought they could do it over the winter by encasing certain sections with plastic, as they did when they worked on the masonry at the William Patterson House. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.



Then we heard that they planned to use steam to clean off the monument. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.



Any of those options would be very welcome at this point. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.



Some government agencies try to clean graffiti as quickly as possible so that the perpetrators will be discouraged. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.



Now we’re just waiting. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.



And waiting. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.



And waiting. This view was taken facing west at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 26, 2009.

See the following related posts:

Peace Light: Some Photographs Taken When the Vandalism was First Discovered on January 27, 2009.
Peace Light Monument Vandalism on January 10, 2009.
Eternal Light Peace Memorial Dedication Ceremony on January 1, 2008.
Red Cloths Finally Removed From Monuments on July 7, 2008.
Smith’s New York Battery Monument Still Awaits Restoration on May 31, 2008.
A New Type of Vandalism for Memorial Day on May 26, 2008.
Lots of Rain, No Eternal Flame on March 19, 2008.