We believe that Historic Preservation is synonymous with sustainable design and development. We also believe that the greenest building is the one that is already built. Older buildings, which often represent unique local or regional design, are durable and site sensitive. Maintaining the historic buildings at Two Rivers Center not only preserves them as cultural connections to our past, but also speaks to our core mission of sustainable living.

The restoration process of this historic local landmark includes volunteer internships supervised by experienced local craftspeople in the building trades. Traditional post-and-beam design and construction, refinishing 19th-century-style woodwork and window trim, preserving traditional lath-and-plaster interior walls, and restoring old brick facing around the foundation are a sampling of building projects undertaken in 2006 and 2007.

Using recycled content preserves the embodied energy already within a site. Use of natural materials that won't off-gas ensures human and environmental health. Insisting on local materials promotes community vitality.

Historic walking tours of the completed farmhouse and property will showcase how early settlers lived and farmed highlighting their building materials and methods, agricultural practices, and how they met their energy, fuel and transportation needs.

Rendering, South Elevation

The 1836 Farmhouse and Barn are being rehabilitated to house a visitors' center, community teaching kitchen, living history museum, community root cellar, resource library, meeting rooms and offices. A proposed new "Living Traditions Barn" will house a Localicious Eatery serving fresh local foods featuring a Quebec-style bread oven and a General Store selling Vermont-made food products and crafts.

Rendering, South and East Elevations

Central Vermont Folklife Studio and Living History Museum
The Farmhouse will contain designated rooms for seasonal rotating exhibits featuring hands-on demonstrations in age-old skills such as wheat grinding, hand-building pottery and heirloom seed-saving. The studio will include a library to serve as an archive to preserve local stories, legends and memorabilia.