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Hardman
Farm Receives Statewide Award
from
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
Historic North Georgia Dairy Barn and Gazebo
Restored
ATLANTA, April
22, 2006 – The dairy barn and gazebo at Hardman
Farm located just outside Helen, Ga., received an
award for Excellence in Restoration from The
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation at its
Annual Meeting April 22 in Athens.
“The Hardman Farm is
considered one of the best examples of a historic
working farm in North Georgia,” said Greg Paxton,
president and CEO of The Georgia Trust. “Restoring
the dairy barn and gazebo is an important step to
its overall historic preservation.”
Purchased by former
Governor Lamartine Hardman in 1903, the 173-acre
farm includes an Italiante farm house built in
1869 and 23 farm buildings, including the recently
restored gazebo and dairy barn. Constructed in a
variety of styles and forms, the buildings have
survived with few alterations.
In 2003, the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) hired Surber
Barber Choate & Hertlein Architects to survey the
site and propose appropriate stabilization
treatments. The precariously leaning 7,000-sq.-ft.
dairy barn was righted to a level position by
replacing its foundation and adding wood bracing.
The gazebo, located atop a Native American mound,
was also fully restored.
Completed in 2005,
stabilization and construction was conducted using
the U.S Green Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) scoring
system for sustainable practices, including the
reuse of existing building materials, diversion of
waste products from landfill to recycling, and the
use of locally and regionally manufactured and
harvested materials.
Stabilization of the
dairy barn and gazebo is part of a long-term plan
by the DNR to restore all structures on the
Hardman Farm and eventually open the site to the
public as a historic museum.
For more than 25
years, the Trust has recognized preservation
projects and individuals in the state who have
made significant contributions to the field of
historic preservation. Awards are presented on the
basis of the contributions of the person or
project to the community and/or state and on
compliance to the Secretary of the Interior’s
Standards for Rehabilitation.
Awards in the
Excellence in Restoration category recognize
exemplary restoration of historic structures. An
accurate restoration project depicts the form,
features and character of a historic building as
it appeared at a particular period of time.
Restoration requires sensitive upgrading of
mechanical systems and other code-required work to
make the building functional. This year the Trust
presented five Excellence in Restoration awards.
With more than
8,000 members, The Georgia Trust for Historic
Preservation is the country’s largest statewide,
nonprofit preservation organization. Founded in
1973, the Trust is committed to preserving and
enhancing Georgia’s communities and their diverse
historic resources the education and enjoyment of
all.
The Trust
generates community revitalization by finding
buyers for endangered properties acquired by its
Revolving Fund; provides design assistance to 105
Georgia Main Street cities and encourages
neighborhood revitalization; trains Georgia’s
teachers in 56 Georgia school systems to engage
students in discovering state and national history
through their local historic resources; and
advocates for funding, tax incentives and other
laws aiding preservation efforts.
Late last year,
the Trust announced its first annual listing of
Georgia’s 10 Places in Peril. The
Georgia Trust is a recipient of the Trustees Award
for Organizational Excellence from the National
Trust for Historic Preservation.
For more information
on Hardman Farm, contact David Freedman at
404-656-2770 or
davidf@mail.dnr.state.ga.us.
To learn more about
The Georgia Trust and the Preservation Awards,
visit
www.georgiatrust.org.
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