BOSTON (WWLP) – The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is seeking a curator to rehabilitate and maintain the historic Superintendent’s House at Beartown State Forest in Monterey.
The two-story Federalist-era farmhouse is a 2,300-square-foot structure with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The original section of the house, a post-and-beam structure built in 1799, includes a full basement with a concrete floor and mortar fieldstone walls. A one-story rear wing was added when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) converted the former farmhouse into a forest headquarters in the 1930s for CCC Forest Superintendent John Lambert.
DCR, through its Historic Curatorship Program, issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to preserve the building. The program offers outside parties the opportunity to restore a historic property in return for credit toward a long-term lease.
The curators are chosen through a competitive process based on several factors, including compatibility with the surrounding community and the ability to enhance the visitors’ experience of the park where the property sits.
DCR will hold two open houses for applicants to assess the interior of the building, tentatively scheduled for September 30, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and October 4, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Information on the program and the application are available on DCR’s Historic Curatorship Program webpage. Applications for the Beartown State Forest project are due by December 8, 2023.
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