Carroll Cabin in Fayette County subject of preservation planning award
The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards will include a Fayette County entity among 23 people and projects being honored in a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. today at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.
Preservation Pennsylvania, which is dedicated to the protection of historically and architecturally significant places, is hosting the awards. Frances Wolf, Pennsylvania’s first lady, is special guest.
During the ceremony, a Preservation Planning Award is being given for work concerning Carroll Cabin, located in Forbes State Forest, honoring Katherine Peresolak, as a student in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Archaeology Program, and Forbes State Forest/Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Peresolak, now an archaeological field director with McCormick, Taylor Inc. engineering firm in Harrisburg, worked on the project as her thesis for a master’s degree in applied archaeology at IUP.
“This is a log house built in the late 1700s with some alterations in the early 1800s,” said Peresolak, who explained it’s not obvious who built the home.
“William Carroll moved into it in 1866. His descendants owned it for more than 100 years,” remarked Peresolak, who said the Carroll Family had roots in Ireland.
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy purchased the property in 2007, and then DCNR purchased it in 2008.
While part of Forbes State Forest, the exact location of the home is not being made public at this time as a preservation measure, Peresolak said. The house is not open to the public.
The Preservation Planning Award was given for planning for the future of Carroll Cabin, “trying to be a steward of the resources,” Peresolak said.
In addition to her work, Peresolak said someone from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has prepared a short-term plan to stabilize the property.
Preservation Pennsylvania released a statement about Carroll Cabin, saying, “It was selected for the Preservation Planning Award for the way it has helped spearhead agency-wide planning at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources toward more thoughtful and effective heritage stewardship”
According to the Preservation Pennsylvania website, “The annual awards recognize significant contributions in the field of historic preservation made by both individuals and organizations. Recognition encompasses the categories of preservation initiatives, construction and archaeology projects. Pennsylvania’s highest honor, the F. Otto Haas Award, is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to preservation made by an individual or group.”
The F. Otto Haas Award is being given this year to Westmoreland County for the Progress Fund, which a press release explained is a Westmoreland County community development lender.