Landmark Trust USA rescues historic sites at risk and returns them to useful life. We take on projects that others will not and make them community assets. For much of the year we rent our principal buildings as vacation homes; this generates funds necessary for their upkeep and offers our guests an unparalleled historical experience.
We practice what in Europe is called "conservative repair." We do not attempt to make our buildings "as new"; rather, we allow the history of the building to direct our work. We save as much of the historic fabric as possible preferring repair over renewal and replacement. Each of our buildings has been sympathetically upgraded to include the conveniences of modern living.
Our buildings are furnished with antiques which in many cases have themselves been rescued. Each property is also provided with books that relate to its history, setting, and general environment; these range from field guides and histories to novels and poetry. For each property we also assemble an album of historical notes that describe the significance of the building, its condition when we began our work, and a description of our repairs along with photographs and plans. We also provide a logbook for guests to add their observations and suggestions for subsequent visitors.
The rental income not only pays for the maintenance of our buildings but allows us to direct our fundraising efforts to new projects and to present educational programs, another important component of our mission. We have over the years offered a diversity of programs including our very popular "Stories at Naulakha" through which 500 school children annually hear the Just So Stories told where Rudyard Kipling first recited them to his daughter, historic masonry repair classes offered during the repair of our Amos Brown House, and so on.
At our Scott Farm we have revived the heritage of buildings and agriculture by bringing barns back into use and converting the McIntosh apple orchard into one with 85 varieties of heirloom apples ecologically grown. We regularly offer classes in orchard management as well as programs on heirloom apples, pie baking, hard cider and tart making. The Trust has recently formed a partnership with The Stone Trust which offers classes on proper methods of stone wall construction.
With this dual mission of education and heritage, our properties are used and enjoyed for most of the year by a wide range of people.
2011 The Landmark Trust USA unless otherwise noted