Restoring the National Apple Museum’s Eastern Wall

Biglerville Historical and Preservation Society (BHPS) has begun to restore the siding of the National Apple Museum’s eastern wall. Funding for this project was made possible through the sponsorship of the Gettysburg Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR).

BHPS has received $9,512.50 from NSDAR for the removal of the old damaged siding, the replacement of rotted insulation and sills, the instillation of new historically-correct wooden siding, priming and top-coat painting, and the addition of a restored “National Apple Museum” sign on the top of our restored wall.

Because the current siding had been patched into place with green boards when the barn was renovated into a museum in 1990, many boards had shrunk creating gaps into the museum’s second floor. These boards had not been beveled to create a drip-edge so water had been drawn in toward the building causing rot. By using dried lumber cut to proper clapboard specifications, our restored eastern wall will create a safe, dry environment for our BHPS artifacts for many, many years to come.

Due to a wonderful collaboration between Historic Gettysburg Adams County’s Barn Restoration Project and Adams County Technical Institute (ACTI), our contractor, Pine Hill Carpentry, is able to complete this project while educating potential future historic preservation contractors!

During ACTI students’ first visit, we gave them a complete tour of the historic barn and the museum. What a wonderful moment it was when one of the high-schooler started researching his family’s genealogy in our BHPS library!