HOWELL – Last year was an exciting time for the Howell Heritage and Historical Society as lots of restorations were accomplished throughout 2023.
After the organization completed its outdoor repairs to the Old Ardena One Room Schoolhouse in 2022, the Ardena Schoolhouse Committee decided that the interior needed work to “catch up” with the exterior.
At the beginning of 2023, displays were packed up for storage either off-site, or clustered in the center under tarps, in order to repaint the ceiling and walls.
“Repairs were made, priming and painting was done, new lighting was installed, and all the displays have been updated,” according to the Society.
In December, the organization finally showed off all their hard work they put into restoring the interior of the Schoolhouse with seasonal activities like their “Photos with Santa.”
“All of this was accomplished due to very successful fund raising as well as very generous donations from a variety of sources,” the Society said.
As for the MacKenzie Museum and Library, members put in a great deal of work over the past year.
“The cedar shake roof was stabilized by repairs and replacements. The exterior was scraped, sanded, primed and painted after a major repair to the clapboard where the two sections of building connect was completed. Drainage was improved with gutters and grading of the front brick path area. The north porch was jacked, leveled and connected safely to the path, and stone was added to the parking area,” the Society said.
In addition, the inside of the MacKenzie House received a lot of attention. Details included repairing the original flooring as well as scraping, spackling, priming, and painting every room.
Members had the chance to also decorate the home as it would have been back in the 1870s.
“As exciting as that process was, the fun happened when we were able to start decorating the house to be historically correct to the time when Capt. William Prickitt owned the property,” the Society said.
“Although, his family lived across the street, and the miller lived in our house, we want to share as much information as possible about the two prominent families who owned the mill and miller’s house. The parlor highlights photos of the Prickitt Family and the Prickitt property on both sides of the road.
The dining room has photos of the Nesbit Family, who owned the property on both sides of the road when the Greek Revival addition (1854) was added to the original miller’s house (1805).”
As for 2024, the Howell Heritage and Historical Society is anticipating another successful year of fundraising to continue their restoration efforts.
The public can check out both the newly constructed interior of the Old Ardena Schoolhouse as well as the MacKenzie Museum and Library as they are set to reopen sometime next month.
