Structural work on the early nineteenth-century kitchen house at Kingsley Plantation will begin on February 23, 2005, according to park superintendent Barbara Goodman. The project will necessitate relocating the bookstore and exhibit area, both of which are now housed in the kitchen house, to other historic buildings.
The historic Kingsley Plantation is located on Fort George Island near the mouth of the St. Johns River. Its main house, also slated for repairs later this year, is the oldest standing plantation owner’s house in Florida.
Repair of the kitchen house will begin with raising its upper story with jacks and replacing the badly deteriorated sill beams. Once the sill beams are replaced, repair of other structural members will begin.
Kingsley Plantation’s facility management team will be assisted by teams of experts from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center.
Project updates will be posted at this website.
