Educated Rabbit - April 2, 2009

Review of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training Website

by Sheri Fenley

I recently found out that our government does care about historic preservation. Surprised? I know I was, but pleasantly

The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) has a website that all Rabbits should take the time to explore.

It is part website, part blog and filled to the brim with useful information.

Their mission statement describes the purpose of this organization perfectly:

“NCPTT advances the application of science and technology to historic preservation. Working in the fields of archeology, architecture, landscape architecture and materials conservation, the Center accomplishes its mission through training, education, research, technology transfer and partnerships.”

Under the Research tab you can find information about the workshop entitled "Prospection in Depth" that is held every year. In 2006 and 2007, the workshop was held at The Coincoin Plantation near the town of Natchitoches, Louisiana. It is the home of the Cane River Creoles and of the Melrose Plantation. This is where the love story of Marie-Therese, known as Coincoin, the grand matriarch of Melrose, took place. Raised as a slave in the household of a Louisiana military commander, Marie-Therese was later sold to Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer, a French merchant. The two fell in love and she eventually bore him ten children. Marie-Therese and her children eventually gained their freedom and became wealthy landowners in their own right. Elizabeth Shown Mills’ book Isle of Cane is based on her extensive research of Coincoin and her family. In 2008 and again for 2009, the site of the workshop moved to San Francisco where the historic Presidio military post is located.

If you click on the Product Catalog tab you will see a list of many useful topics that are free for the taking. Some of my favorites are:

• Wooden Artifacts in Cemeteries: A Reference Manual


• Simple Book Repair Manual

There are training videos:

• Resetting a Stone Grave Marker - Excellent video for basics on cleaning.


• Application and Preparation of Limewash - This video is so interesting. It shows the restoration of an above ground burial vault that looks like a little house.

Free online training courses:

• Essentials for Cemetery Monument Care - This course emphasizes sound maintenance techniques for cemetery and commemorative monuments that are sustainable, cyclic, non-invasive, and do no harm.


• Basics for Iron Fencing Care - This course emphasizes sound maintenance techniques for historic iron fences. These resources could be located around cemetery markers, commemorative monuments, or architectural features.

Be sure to check out this website, rich with valuable information for us Graveyard Rabbits.