10/16/2023
The Friends of Upper Rock Creek Fall work party occurred Monday Oct 2 through Friday October 6, 2023. The Friends had 15 volunteers including Emily Swett from the Bitterroot National Forest and Kate Peresolak from Pennsylvania State Forests attending as a training opportunity in historic preservation. We had intended to replace the deteriorating valley flashing on the main building at Morgan Case Homestead however, rainy weather for the week precluded opening up the roof for an extended period of time. Rather, the Friends took on a variety of other tasks at the Upper Rock Creek historic properties. The tasks completed follow:
Rock Creek Cabin:
For years water has been deteriorating the seams in the ceiling sheetrock in the east bedroom. We had always suspected it was due to flashing failure around the chimney allowing water to pe*****te onto the ceiling thus causing the sheetrock failure. Kirby Matthew opened the ceiling only to find no trace of water migration from the chimney or upper roof. Rather, the problem appears that since the building is not used in the winter the normal condensation never dries out and eventually collects in the sheetrock seams eventually causing failure. The solution is to remove the sheetrock and replace it with a 1 X 4 bead board ceiling similar to that in the main living room/kitchen at Rock Creek Cabin. Hopefully the bead board will be milled in the HPT shop over the winter and installed in the Spring of 2024.
Hogback Homestead:
The Friends removed the window screens and installed storm windows at the Hogback Homestead. Likewise, the windows were washed and toughly cleaned. The bottom surrounds for the front porch posts are deteriorating and several were removed and taken to the HPT shop for re-construction and painting. They will be installed in the Spring of 2024. Currently, the Friends are consulting with Solar Plexus, a solar energy company in Missoula, to look at the possibility of installing a LED solar lighting system at the Hogback and possibly Rock Creek Cabin. The Friends looked at the possibility of solar lighting ( to get rid of the ugly plumbing and propane lights at the Hogback 12 years ago. At that time it was not really feasible and the idea was abandoned. However, today LED lighting has greatly improved as well as maintenance free batteries so we believe a solar light system deserves another look.
Morgan Case Homestead:
The Friend’s volunteers began burning the debris piles from the barn re-construction project on the North and South ends of the barn. The rainy weather made ideal burning conditions for this task. The Friends also initiated construction for the renters tool shed between the shower room and the SST at the MC homestead. The HPT believes they have a readymade door and it will be installed in a frame this winter and the room completed in the Spring of 2024. Also, Kirby Matthew, Gene Thompson and Al Fix conducted a walk around inspection for the buildings at Morgan Case as well as the Hogback and created a “punch” list of tasks needing completion in the coming year. This was an excellent training opportunity for Kate and her future work on the Carroll Cabin in Pennsylvania.
Pete’s Cabin:
On Thursday October 5 the Friends traveled down Rock Creek to the Confluence property owned and administered by Five Valleys Land Trust to complete the roof on Pete’s Cabin. The Friends began rehabilitation at Pete’s Cabin last May and replaced the rafters, purlins and roof sheathing as well as several wall logs etc. Ice and water shield had been installed over the sheathing awaiting arrival of the order for green rolled roofing. The roofing arrived and was originally scheduled to be applied in the Spring of 2024. However, since the rain foiled our plans for roofing at Morgan Case it was decided to apply the roofing at Pete’s Cabin. Likewise, it would be a good opportunity for many folks to visit and work on another historic property.
Conclusions:
Although the Friends work week did not go as originally planned we did accomplish many other tasks that need completion. Likewise, we can now fix the leaking issue at Rock Creek Cabin and have a prioritized list of projects to complete at both the Hogback and Morgan Case Homestead. However, to undertake and complete the valley flashing project at the Morgan Case homestead we will need at least 2 – 4 weeks of good weather without rain. In the meantime the shingles, scaffolding and lead flashing are currently stored in the Morgan Case barn which is currently locked with a Yale (Forest Service) lock. Currently the 2024 Friends project is scheduled for May 13 – 24, 2024.
