New phase for Historic Cherry Hill

ALBANY The first phase of stabilizing Historic Cherry Hill, an 18th-century Georgian mansion, has been completed, and the second phase, which includes a recent refurbishing of the windows, is under way.

While work continues, visitors on Saturday received a rare, behind-the-lath peek at the distinctive 1787 yellow clapboard house on a rise above South Pearl Street that was home to five generations of the Van Rensselaer and Rankin families.

These restoration tours are conducted in what amounts to construction zone, with plaster dust on the wide-plank pine floors, ladders and tools stacked in the corners and fireplaces blocked by antique furnishings sealed up tightly in archival boxes and protective plastic.

Kerry Lippincott of Elmira did not want to miss the work-in-progress.

"I was told this was a stop I had to make," said Lippincott, an educator at the Chemung Historical Society, who arrived a day early for a Museums in Conversation conference in Albany that runs Sunday through Tuesday. "It was a great tour and very unusual to see a house while it's undergoing a restoration."

Tom Howson of Latham was sent as an assignment from his professor for an online course he's taking through Hudson Valley Community College called Interpretation of American History.

"It's pretty interesting to get to see the mold and the rot in a historic house," Howson said. "I liked that we got to see it disassembled and learned how it will all get put back together."

"It's real easy to take old houses like this for granted," said Pat Mackenzie of Clifton Park. "This is my first visit, and I was impressed enough to want to come back to see it when it's all done."

It will take at least two more years to complete the four-stage restoration. It is being funded with a $575,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, along with more than $650,000 in state grants. The $1 million restoration is part of a $2.3 million campaign that will also establish an endowment for the property.

"We're pleased with how work is progressing, but we have a lot of fundraising left to do," said Director Liselle LaFrance, who noted the not-for-profit organization needs to raise $198,000 by July to meet the next benchmark of the NEH challenge grant.

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New phase for Historic Cherry Hill