Milestone in Hanley Restoration – Southern Oregon Historical Society’s (SOHS) Associate Curator of Collections, Tina Reuwsaat, a decorative arts historian who specializes in recreating original period furnishing plans for historic interiors, has overseen the completion of the restoration of the Historical Hanley Farmhouse Foyer. Using the probate records from the Michael Hanley estate inventory and other primary research documents in the SOHS collection, Ms. Reuwsaat has completed a three-year project to return the Hanley House foyer back to a c.1875 appearance. The walls and ceiling of the foyer have been repainted in the original color as determined by a forensic paint analysis conducted in 2012, from a grant awarded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors.
During a 2010 clean-up of the old Hanley granary building, Ms. Reuwsaat discovered an old carpet runner fragment. It is highly likely that this remnant represents the original c. 1875 carpet runner, as the old nail holes in the stair treads match the carpet width. Additionally, the palette of this c.1875 Bokhara pattern complements the extant first period carpet in the east parlor.
In September of 2012 the Gold Diggers Guild hosted a silent auction at the annual Evening at Hanley event, and contributed $2000 to kick-off the fundraising campaign. A donation box in the foyer and additional fundraising allowed SOHS to order the carpet for reproduction by the Wilton Company in the summer of 2014. It arrived from England and was installed the second week of December. The grand unveiling of the restored foyer will be showcased at the annual Hanley House Christmas Tours on Saturday, Dec .27th from 11 AM until 3 PM. The tour docents will be dressed in period attire; the cost for the tour is $5.00 person and $3.00 for members. In addition, the rest of the house will be decorated with vintage clothing, decorations and toys representing three distinct periods in the house’s history.
About The Southern Oregon Historical Society: Since its inception in 1946, the Southern Oregon Historical Society has collected, preserved and shared photographs and documents that reflect the lives of Rogue Valley residents. The Archives include many pioneer stories, but also those of later settlers, and of people born and raised in the Valley. The mission of SOHS is to make history come alive by collecting, preserving, and sharing the stories and artifacts of our common heritage. For more information call, 541-773-6536 or www.sohs.org.