Restoring history

BRANDY STATION — After 150 years of sustaining history, the walls of the Graffiti House are getting some much needed support of their own.

On Wednesday, the first of several phases of anticipated restoration and repair work began to stabilize the upstairs walls of the modest landmark.

“Today, we are taking the first step to preserve and protect an amazing Civil War artifact in Culpeper County,” said Della Edrington, a volunteer with the Brandy Station Foundation, a nonprofit preservation group.

Built in 1858, the house was used as a Confederate hospital following the cavalry battle at Brandy Station on June 9, 1863. Union troops later occupied the building, strategically located at a major rail depot.

After the war, homeowners whitewashed and wallpapered over the graffiti.

The house was set for demolition in the early 1990s, but those plans were halted when the writings were uncovered.

The foundation purchased the building in 2002 and has worked to preserve it since.

Frederick Ecker and Gregory Cowan of Fredericksburg-based Tidewater Preservation Inc. are handling the restoration work, which is expected to continue today.

Cowan said the work must be performed with painstaking care to prevent further damage to the horsehair plaster walls that are covered with charcoal and pencil graffiti from Union and Confederate soldiers.

The walls were formed by pressing wet plaster into a wooden lath, creating “keys” that held up the plaster.

But time and 150 years of vibration from passing trains has put much of the plaster in need of immediate repair to prevent collapse. Edrington said the removal of a chimney has also caused the house to shift.

“Some of (the sections) are literally hanging by one horsehair,” said Cowan.

Cowan and Ecker will restore smaller areas by removing dust and debris, then injecting a custom adhesive behind the plaster to rebind it to the lath.

Larger areas will be strengthened by drilling holes into cracks and injecting the plaster-stabilizing materials.

“We have to be super careful not to slop any of these chemicals,” Cowan said.

Total restoration of the house is expected to cost about $1.2 million, with funding from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources defraying some of the costs.

The work is slated to include replacing the missing chimney, repairing the foundation and installing a heating and cooling system.

Ecker said maintaining a moderate interior temperature and humidity will help preserve the plaster.

Edrington said earlier this year that more than 400 square feet of historic writings and drawings may still be hidden under 19th-century whitewash.

Nate Delesline III can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 110 or .