Historic Johnson Farm, a Henderson County education center and cultural landmark owned by Henderson County Public Schools, will receive $20,000 in grant money to preserve and restore its wooden buildings from the Community Foundation of Henderson County.
The “Preserving the Past, Painting the Future” grant will go towards painting five historic structures on the 15-acre farm: a barn and 11-room boarding house, built in 1923, as well as two smaller houses and a schoolhouse which was also used to store grain, according to an Aug. 27 news release.
The farm has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987, according to the North Carolina Cooperative extension’s website. But the buildings haven’t been painted in at least 20 years and they’ll need to be pressure washed, primed and repainted to protect them against weathering and rot, the release said.
“People may not think of paint necessarily as a preservation technique, but paint serves as a barrier against the elements and can help prevent structural damage and other forms of deterioration,” Johnson Farm’s executive director Mandy Gibson said in the release.
Henderson County Public Schools will provide paint and primer and the Historic Johnson Farm Foundation, which operates the farm, will cover repair work to the wooden structures before they’re painted, according to the release.
The boarding house is occupied by the Heritage Weavers and Fiber Artists, a group dedicated to preserving Appalachian fiber crafts, according to its website.
A brick farmhouse on the property was built in 1876, according to Henderson County Public Schools’ website.
Brothers Vernon and Leander Johnson, who died in 1978 and 1987, left the farm to Henderson County Public Schools along with land to build Rugby Middle School, according to previous Times-News reporting. The farm now sees thousands of visitors every year, including from many school field trips, the release said.
The farm offers tours at 10:30 a.m. every weekday, except for days when there are school field trips scheduled. Entry is $10 for adults and $8 for students, seniors and military.
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George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: $20,000 grant to fund preservation work on Historic Johnson Farm