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There's a buzz of excitement in downtown, and it centers around the upcoming Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation (LTHP) annual conference set for Leesville today, April 6 through Friday, April 8.
Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office trusties have been out and about the downtown area all week, installing fountains and sod and putting the finishing touches on clean-up projects, while employees with the Vernon Parish Tourism Commission finalize the plans, schedules and events for the conference.
"We're really excited that Leesville was chosen to host this statewide preservation conference," said John Crook, executive director of the Vernon Parish Tourism Commission. "This conference allows us to take our place within the state and show others what we've been doing."
In fact, area preservationists have been doing a lot in Vernon Parish, said Crook, who last year was elected president of the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation. Every year the Louisiana Trust sponsors its 10 most endangered list, those properties and sites in the state that are historic in nature and also threatened by commercial encroachment, demolition, abuse or abandonment. Vernon Parish has had three properties on that list, said Crook, but area preservationists have logged hours of work into restoring two of those sites: the Breastworks at Burr Ferry and the Ferguson house, on 6th Street in Leesville across from the Vernon Bank.
In fact, the theme for the conference reflects the situation in which preservationists in Leesville, and all over for that matter, often find themselves: amid quickly deteriorating historical structures, with much history already lost.
Leesville's historic structures, as in most communities, had already suffered much destruction, said Crook. However, things are beginning to change. "There's been an awakening to what we've lost," said Crook. And that awakening has resulted in a number of victories, including the Ferguson House as well as the Cawley House. "So it is better late than never."
And finding ways to keep the work going is one of the missions of the Louisiana Trust. Next week's conference, open to the public, will focus on ways to communicate how best to preserve historic sites and provide the economic development to revitalize historic districts.
The three day conference kicks off at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 6 with registration at the tourism office.
Crook said that while he's expecting leading preservationists from Charleston, S.C. and New Orleans as well as about 40 main street managers from across the state to attend, local residents are also encouraged to take part in the conference.
Highlights of the conference include ticketed events such as the tours of the Leesville and DeRidder historic districts, cocktail parties, the Main Street Blues and Barbeque and the Preservation Honor Awards Luncheon on Friday.
Also on display at Gallery One Ellleven will be the Vernon Parish POW Paintings. The paintings were made on the walls of a downtown hotel during World War II by prisoners of war. Later, the sections of the wall were cut out in order to preserve the paintings.
Keynote speaker, Kennedy Smith, will speak at Threads Boutique at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Smith is one of the nation's foremost experts on commercial district revitalization and development, independent main street businesses, and economically and environmentally sound community development. After graduate school in architecture, Kennedy directed the downtown revitalization program in Charlottesville, Virginia, where her small business development work led her to create a retail market analysis methodology specifically for older commercial districts that is now used in downtown revitalization programs throughout the US. She joined the staff of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center in 1985, and in 1991 she became its director, a position she held for 13 years. During her tenure, the Main Street program was widely recognized as one of the most successful economic development programs in the US, expanding to a nationwide network of almost 2,000 towns and cities. In 2004 Kennedy co-founded the Community Land Use and Economics (CLUE) Group, LLC, a private consulting firm that blends downtown development, land use management, and historic preservation disciplines into a cohesive approach to solving community development challenges. The CLUE Group helps civic leaders and developers craft dynamic retail development strategies, cultivate locally owned businesses, strengthen community development programs and policies, and improve main street revitalization efforts.
Visit www.lthp.org for more information or to pre-register, or call John Crook at 337-238-0783 for more information.
There's a buzz of excitement in downtown, and it centers around the upcoming Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation (LTHP) annual conference set for Leesville today, April 6 through Friday, April 8.
Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office trusties have been out and about the downtown area all week, installing fountains and sod and putting the finishing touches on clean-up projects, while employees with the Vernon Parish Tourism Commission finalize the plans, schedules and events for the conference.
"We're really excited that Leesville was chosen to host this statewide preservation conference," said John Crook, executive director of the Vernon Parish Tourism Commission. "This conference allows us to take our place within the state and show others what we've been doing."
In fact, area preservationists have been doing a lot in Vernon Parish, said Crook, who last year was elected president of the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation. Every year the Louisiana Trust sponsors its 10 most endangered list, those properties and sites in the state that are historic in nature and also threatened by commercial encroachment, demolition, abuse or abandonment. Vernon Parish has had three properties on that list, said Crook, but area preservationists have logged hours of work into restoring two of those sites: the Breastworks at Burr Ferry and the Ferguson house, on 6th Street in Leesville across from the Vernon Bank.
In fact, the theme for the conference reflects the situation in which preservationists in Leesville, and all over for that matter, often find themselves: amid quickly deteriorating historical structures, with much history already lost.
Leesville's historic structures, as in most communities, had already suffered much destruction, said Crook. However, things are beginning to change. "There's been an awakening to what we've lost," said Crook. And that awakening has resulted in a number of victories, including the Ferguson House as well as the Cawley House. "So it is better late than never."
And finding ways to keep the work going is one of the missions of the Louisiana Trust. Next week's conference, open to the public, will focus on ways to communicate how best to preserve historic sites and provide the economic development to revitalize historic districts.
The three day conference kicks off at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 6 with registration at the tourism office.
Crook said that while he's expecting leading preservationists from Charleston, S.C. and New Orleans as well as about 40 main street managers from across the state to attend, local residents are also encouraged to take part in the conference.
Highlights of the conference include ticketed events such as the tours of the Leesville and DeRidder historic districts, cocktail parties, the Main Street Blues and Barbeque and the Preservation Honor Awards Luncheon on Friday.
Also on display at Gallery One Ellleven will be the Vernon Parish POW Paintings. The paintings were made on the walls of a downtown hotel during World War II by prisoners of war. Later, the sections of the wall were cut out in order to preserve the paintings.
Keynote speaker, Kennedy Smith, will speak at Threads Boutique at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Smith is one of the nation's foremost experts on commercial district revitalization and development, independent main street businesses, and economically and environmentally sound community development. After graduate school in architecture, Kennedy directed the downtown revitalization program in Charlottesville, Virginia, where her small business development work led her to create a retail market analysis methodology specifically for older commercial districts that is now used in downtown revitalization programs throughout the US. She joined the staff of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center in 1985, and in 1991 she became its director, a position she held for 13 years. During her tenure, the Main Street program was widely recognized as one of the most successful economic development programs in the US, expanding to a nationwide network of almost 2,000 towns and cities. In 2004 Kennedy co-founded the Community Land Use and Economics (CLUE) Group, LLC, a private consulting firm that blends downtown development, land use management, and historic preservation disciplines into a cohesive approach to solving community development challenges. The CLUE Group helps civic leaders and developers craft dynamic retail development strategies, cultivate locally owned businesses, strengthen community development programs and policies, and improve main street revitalization efforts.
Visit www.lthp.org for more information or to pre-register, or call John Crook at 337-238-0783 for more information.
