Shriver House to hold Restoration Tour

Tour will give inside look at the restoration of a historic home in Gettysburg

(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 12/10/2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE �

 

CONTACT:

Nancie Gudmestad

Shriver House Museum

(717) 337-2800

[email protected]

 

 

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania � December 10, 2008

 

In honor of the restoration of the David Wills House in Gettysburg, the Shriver House Museum is offering restoration tours the Shrivers� home at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13-14, 2009.

 

Located just a few blocks south of the David Wills House, the Shriver House Museum was restored in 1996. The two-story brick house was built just months before the Civil War began, but 136 years later, the house had missing window panes, no electricity, no water, no heat and a serious leak in the roof. At one time, nearly 30 cats lived in the abandoned house. The house was restored to be used as a backdrop to tell the stories of the civilian side of the Battle of Gettysburg.

 

While the house was undergoing a major restoration, many questions arose. Who built the house? What was the owner�s occupa­tion? And what happened to the residents of the house during the battle? It was difficult to find anyone who knew much information about the house or its original owners, but after countless hours of arduous research, George and Hettie Shriver�s story gradually began to unfold.

 

Restoring the house began on Jan. 2, 1996. The work was a grubby, back-breaking, eight-to-ten-hour-a-day, six-day-a-week undertaking. That winter brought record breaking low temperatures, more than a hundred inches of snow and two major floods that made national news. But the rewards far outweighed the obstacles, because each day brought about new discoveries. In addition to learning more and more about the Shriver family, countless treasures were found within the house - inside walls, underneath fireplace hearths and under floorboards. Among the artifacts discovered were six Civil War cartridges, a number of percussion caps and Civil War medical supplies which had been hidden inside the house.

 

The Shriver House Museum has earned numerous awards including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission�s Historic Preservation Award. The Museum has been used as a filming site for PBS, The Discovery Channel, A&E, HGTV, CNN, BBC, The Travel Channel and The History Channel. For additional information on the Shriver House Museum or to make reservations for a Restoration Tour, call (717) 337-2800 or visit www.shriverhouse.org.