Akron’s Victorian lady in process of ‘healing’
Dear Akron Community:
On behalf of the Newstead Historical Society’s Officers and Board of Trustees, I am writing this letter to share important information. Our local Victorian treasure, the Rich-Twinn Octagon House, has been damaged.
On June 11th, some water damage was noticed in the ceiling of the Lady’s third floor bedroom along with plaster pieces on the floor. Emergency service was called and felt the problem would be rectified by installing a condensation pump to prevent further leakage. On the evening of July 28th, another more damaging leak was discovered in the bedroom. This time there was major water flow through the ceiling onto the floor. The water leaked through and damaged a large portion of the ceiling in the Drawing Room below. In addition, some of the furnishings were damaged and carpet saturated.
The Board has struggled with air conditioning problems for years at the Octagon House. I am sure most of you know a capital campaign took place a few years back and numerous repairs were made to the two museums. One of the major purchases was a new AC unit which was installed in September 2019. The Board thought the AC problems were solved. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.
The new unit malfunctioned with the safety trap not turning off the unit when needed and the overflowing of water resulted.
This brief sequence of events should give you an idea of what took place and hopefully, understand the magnitude of damage.
NHS is fortunate to have insurance which will collaborate with the contractor’s insurance to cover expenses. The cost of clean-up, reconstruction work, replacement of objects, and cleaning of the whole house will be immense. A variety of trucks will be seen outside the house for months to come. It will take a great deal of time to regain the beautiful Victorian splendor that she once had.
Most NHS members and community members have strong emotional feeling toward our Victorian Lady. With time and love she will return to her glory once again.
The Board felt it was important that the community understand what has happened. Future updates will be given during the “healing” process. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Patricia Pearce
President
SOUND OUT
Akron’s Victorian lady in process of ‘healing’
August 3, 2020
Dear Akron Community:
On behalf of the Newstead Historical Society’s Officers and Board of Trustees, I am writing this letter to share important information. Our local Victorian treasure, the Rich-Twinn Octagon House, has been damaged.
On June 11th, some water damage was noticed in the ceiling of the Lady’s third floor bedroom along with plaster pieces on the floor. Emergency service was called and felt the problem would be rectified by installing a condensation pump to prevent further leakage. On the evening of July 28th, another more damaging leak was discovered in the bedroom. This time there was major water flow through the ceiling onto the floor. The water leaked through and damaged a large portion of the ceiling in the Drawing Room below. In addition, some of the furnishings were damaged and carpet saturated.
The Board has struggled with air conditioning problems for years at the Octagon House. I am sure most of you know a capital campaign took place a few years back and numerous repairs were made to the two museums. One of the major purchases was a new AC unit which was installed in September 2019. The Board thought the AC problems were solved. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.
The new unit malfunctioned with the safety trap not turning off the unit when needed and the overflowing of water resulted.
This brief sequence of events should give you an idea of what took place and hopefully, understand the magnitude of damage.
NHS is fortunate to have insurance which will collaborate with the contractor’s insurance to cover expenses. The cost of clean-up, reconstruction work, replacement of objects, and cleaning of the whole house will be immense. A variety of trucks will be seen outside the house for months to come. It will take a great deal of time to regain the beautiful Victorian splendor that she once had.
Most NHS members and community members have strong emotional feeling toward our Victorian Lady. With time and love she will return to her glory once again.
The Board felt it was important that the community understand what has happened. Future updates will be given during the “healing” process. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Patricia Pearce
President