News

February 5, 2010

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Adds Preservation Trades Education

The Mellor Building was the first building on the college campus at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.

Preservation Trades Education recently got a boost with the development of the new Preservations Trades Technology Program at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, PA. Launched in the fall of 2009, it is designed for professionals already working in the trades as well as for the student body at Thaddeus Stevens.

The certification program includes three foundation courses that are taught in the fall: Fundamentals of Historic Preservation, History of Pennsylvania Architecture, and Pennsylvania Building Technology. From there, students take hands-on courses in either carpentry or masonry preservation. The carpentry courses include Wood Repair, Wood Window Repair, Complex Moldings and Porch Preservation and Repair. Masonry courses include Mortars in Preservation, Masonry Repair & Repointing, and Masonry Cleaning.

There are now 12 people in the carpentry class and the spring masonry classes are scheduled to start in a few weeks. Most of the classes last for three weeks and are taught in the evenings. Students get six hours of training per week in two three-hour sessions. There is also a Porch Restoration class that will be held on three consecutive Saturdays.

Students in the Wood Repair class have already taken the foundation courses.

The program grew out of a perceived need for preservation trades education by local educators and officials. “The Lancaster County Planning Commission (LCPC) published a heritage plan calling for a number of initiatives and one was the creation of an opportunity for preservation trades education,” says Barry A. Loveland, chief of the Division of Architecture and Preservation at Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and chair of the preservation trades education committee. “Throughout the country there are only about a dozen programs devoted to hands-on training in historic preservation. We are one of the few programs located in a trades-based school. Some are located within liberal arts programs and some are part of historic preservation programs. This makes it an ideal fit.”

The PHMC worked with the Lancaster County Planning Commission (LCPC), the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board and the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County to create the new program. They brought in a number of experts to develop the curricula, including John N. Fugelso, former chief of preservation construction for PHMC before retiring in 2006, and founder of the nation’s first preservation trades education program at Durham Technical Institute in Durham, NC. Also helping to develop the program is David Mertz, director of the historic preservation program at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, OH.

Loveland points out that some financial aid is available through the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board, as well as through the college.

Repairing wood windows is an important part of the preservation program.

Founded in 1905, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is a two-year residential state college devoted to technical education. It offers programs in topics such as architecture technology, automotive technology and cabinet making and wood technology.

For more information on the Thaddeus Stevens program, call Barry A. Loveland at 717-783-5407, bloveland@state.pa.us, or go to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission website.

Information on other trades preservation programs can be found at the Preservation Trades Network website.