The Derby Historical Society was awarded a $7,200 Historic Preservation Technical Assistance Grant (HPTAG) by the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
The grant helps to fund a condition assessment report, architectural plans, and specifications for the restoration of the David Humphreys House.
The Society’s Board of Directors appropriated the matching funds required by the grant, and has awarded the contract to Hudson Valley Preservation of Sherman.
Mason Lord, the proprietor of Hudson Valley, is currently conducting a complete assessment of the building and will be presenting his initial findings to the historical society in August.
During the course of the project HVP will be documenting the historic structure to identify and prioritize any problems that they find.
A finished report will be presented to the Board of Directors and will include HVP’s recommendations for the restoration of the house.
“Since the house was restored for the Bicentennial, time has taken its toll, with so many different components needing attention and being interrelated to each other,” said John Poole, acting Project Director and Board Member of the Derby Historical Society.
“It just made sense to get professional historic restoration help to assess our options and evaluate where and how to incorporate modern technology within our restoration efforts. We need to make the David Humphreys House more sustainable, both energy-wise and in terms of maintenance cost. The society will gain a better understanding of its custodial responsibilities, and that will benefit not only the house, but the organization as a whole,” Poole said.
The Derby Historical Society is a regional organization that strives to protect and preserve the heritage of what was once colonial Derby.
Today this area encompasses much of the lower Naugatuck Valley.
Located at 37 Elm St. in Ansonia, the David Humphreys House is the birthplace of the Revolutionary War officer and aide-de-camp to George Washington, who later became our nation’s first ambassador.
Presently the home not only serves as a museum dedicated to its famous resident and his community, but also hosts the Derby Historical Society’s unique “A Day in 1762” Program.
Each year, this interactive program introduces more than 1,200 fourth and fifth grade students to the life of a ten year old back in 1762, as well as educating the students on our region’s proud colonial past.
