Amos Brown :: Restoration

By the time of the Trust’s acquisition of this property in 2000, the house had seriously deteriorated. Inappropriate repairs and alterations in the 1960s and 1970s had weakened the brick walls leading to severe cracking and small areas of collapse. Poor drainage had also caused significant rot.

So serene was the location and so unaltered were the barns and sheds that Landmark determined the Amos Brown House well worth saving. We reversed the later changes and discovered many clues of the house history. These clues enabled us to accurately rebuild the stairway and the 4 chimneys that had been removed

In order to repair the brickwork in the most historically accurate manner, the Trust decided to import a mason from England who was expert with historic mortars. Our master mason worked with local masons teaching them about historic lime mortars instead of the portland cement mortars used today.

The Amos Brown House today tells a tale of 200 years of rural Vermont life and is also testament to careful and thoughtful repair work by dedicated craftsmen.