The Bishop Hill Heritage Association plans to launch an exterior historic restoration of the Bishop Hill Colony’s 1854 Dairy Building next spring as it marks the organization’s 65th anniversary.
Firmitas of Knoxville will serve as the general contractor. The scope includes removing exterior stucco that was added after the Colony era, replacing damaged brick, tuckpointing, repairing the chimney, and completing some woodwork repairs.
Association leaders say taking off the later stucco will return the Dairy Building to its original Colony appearance. The effort is described as similar to restoration work completed on the Carpenter Shop in 2017. Combined with interior repairs finished in 2015, the exterior work is intended to support the building’s structural stability for decades, with proper maintenance.
The project budget totals $366,000. The association says the biggest cost drivers are stucco removal and tuckpointing, two tasks that demand careful labor planning on historic brickwork.
Material matching is also a key part of the plan. The association says it must purchase custom, wood-fired bricks made to Bishop Hill Colony specifications. Because the specialized brickmaking is done in Europe, the bricks will be manufactured and shipped from Manchester, England, to maintain historical accuracy.
To help fund the work, the association plans fundraising efforts that include a “hod of bricks” sponsorship at $250, with donors recognized on a gift board at the Dairy Building and in association publications.
Read the full, original article from Kewanee Voice here.