MOUNT PLEASANT, SC – Charles Pinckney National Historic Site received funding from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) Legacy Restoration Fund to address a window shutter and hardware rehabilitation project at the Snee Farmhouse. The shutter system project was a park priority as it plays a critical role in the Severe Weather Emergency Action Plan by protecting both the single pane windows and the interior exhibits and contributing to the historic character of the Snee Farm residence.
The $109,000 project included the removal of 68 existing side-by-side hurricane shutters and associated hardware for 34 window openings. The work crew meticulously labeled, cataloged, and stored the shutters and hardware, removed paint and rust, replaced rotten wood, and finally prepped, sanded, repainted, and rehung all shutters.
Led by the GAOA funded Maintenance Action Team (MAT) of skilled craftspeople from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) and an enthusiastic youth crew from the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the project encompassed more than repairs. HPTC recruits, trains, and employs people in traditional historic restoration and preservation techniques and trades. Several geographically based MATs travel to national parks to train and work alongside park staff to complete small, but critical, maintenance rehabilitation, and repair projects on historic structures. MATs enable the National Park Service to complete projects that require knowledge and competency in traditional trades in a consistent and cost-effective manner. They also serve as a beacon for traditional trade skills, allowing the younger generation to learn and appreciate the importance of preserving our architectural heritage.
“We are thankful for the outstanding work of the dedicated MAT team and the partnership with HPTC and SCA,” said Superintendent Tracy Stakely. “Utilizing Great American Outdoors Act funding to address an important deferred maintenance project while helping youth to learn historic preservation trade skills has been a positive experience for all of us.”
The current Snee Farm residence was constructed in 1828 on the original site of the Pinckney farmhouse and is architecturally significant as a surviving example of a 19th-century vernacular coastal cottage, a popular building style found in South Carolina’s rural Lowcountry.
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