2005 Conferences

2005 14th Annual TTRAG Conference

March 18-20, 2005, Salt Fork Resort & Conference Center
Salt Fork State Park, Cambridge, Ohio

The annual TTRAG symposium will take advantage of the conference's location in Ohio with its abundance of historic timber frame barns.

The 14th Annual Conference of the Traditional Timberframe Research and Advisory Group (TTRAG) will be held March 18-20 at the beautiful Salt Fork Resort & Conference Center, in the rolling hills of southeastern Ohio, in Ohio's largest state park.

This year’s Conference program is co-sponsored and coordinated by the Friends of Ohio Barns (FOB). Ohio has an abundance of historic timber frame barns including the well-known Pennsylvania Bank barn, but the rugged south central area of Ohio where our conference will be held is more known for its simple homestead barns. This early settlement area of Ohio opened up when Zane’s Trace was established along the route of the earlier Indian trails. Nicknamed the “Crossroads of America,” Cambridge and Salt Fork are conveniently located at the junction of interstates 77 and 70 (also known as Route 40, the historic National Road built in 1827). A unique feature of the National Road, “S” bridges were built to span the county’s numerous creeks and streams. Their stone-arch spans, built at right angles to the stream flow, were less costly and easier to construct. Many still exist, along with remnants of the great glass industry that once flourished in Guernsey County.

19th century Ohio hill country barn: small gable roofed ground (Yankee) barn with cupola. Photo credit: R. Christian Small 19th c. bank barn with pushed up gable roof. Photo credit: R. Christian

Pre-Conference Bus Tour

A bus tour of historical and noteworthy buildings, barns and bridges will begin Friday morning. We will visit and explore one of the few remaining “S” bridges that were built when Zane’s Trace became the National Road, the Skull Fork covered bridge and a Sears kit barn just to name a few.

We will meet in the parking lot at 8:30 AM Friday and leave our cars during the tour. We will return to Salt Fork in late afternoon to check in to our rooms and join others attending the Conference. Rooms are also available Thursday night for those arriving the day before.

The fee for the bus tour is $50 and will include lunch. Details and a map will be sent with your confirmation. Proceeds from the bus tour will go to the Friends of Ohio Barns, http://ohiobarns.osu.edu.

Conference Schedule

View the schedule here.

After Friday’s dinner, we will have presentations to kick off the Conference. Saturday’s seminars are designed to appeal to all, and especially to members of Friends of Ohio Barns. They will focus on barn repair, restoration and reconstruction projects, case studies and an open panel discussion of appropriate barn repairs. On Saturday evening we will include the annual slide show. Everyone is encouraged to bring ten images of their work related to traditional timber framing. Guidelines will be included in your Conference confirmation material for submitting your slides or digital photos. The Conference will conclude with more seminars leading up to lunch on Sunday.

Presentations

• TFG and FOB President Rudy Christian will present ”The Rehabilitation of the Malabar Farm Working Barn.”
• Larry Sulzer will present “Along The River: The Historical Research & Dismantling of the Leavenworth ~ Lang ~ Cole Hay Press & Barns An Agricultural Artifact.”
• Steve Gordon will open the Saturday seminars with “Purlins, Posts and Haymows: Ohio’s Historic Barns, 1800-1950.”
• Jack Sobon will illustrate barn repair and appropriate joinery techniques.
• Arnold Graton will report on his remarkable repair and restoration of St. Helena’s Episcopal Church in Beaufort, South Carolina.
• Brian Mulcahy will give a presentation on “Locating and Documenting Historic Structures Using GPS.”
• Arron Sturgis will show case studies of barn repairs in New England
• Barn Detectives Rudy Christian and Larry Sulzer will investigate mysteries discovered on the Friday tour and offer solutions.
• Don Hutsler is an author and consultant on public and private restoration and reconstruction projects. He served as curator of history for the Ohio Historical Society for 36 years, and will offer two presentations at the Conference. On Saturday he will tell us about log buildings in Ohio, and he will return on Sunday to describe historic sawmills
• Jan Lewandoski will tell us about “The Restoration and Repair of Covered Bridges, Principle and Practice” (Ohio is loaded with historic bridges).
• Michael Burrey is tentatively scheduled to provide a hewing demonstration.
• We also plan a panel discussion on barn repair, giving us a chance to exchange information between our friends in Ohio who have never been to a TTRAG Conference before and the TFG’s own experts on traditional building.

Hotel & Meals

The conference hotel is a beautiful resort and conference center located in eastern Ohio, 100 miles south of Cleveland, 80 miles east of Columbus, and 40 miles west of Wheeling, WV. The surrounding woods offer miles of hiking and horseback riding trails. At the heart of rural Guernsey County is Salt Fork State Park, encompassing the woodlands and fields flanking Salt Fork Reservoir.

Rooms and meals at the TTRAG Conference are NOT included with your Conference fee. Those staying at the Salt Fork resort will pay these fees directly to the Resort and can secure their room with a credit card. Room and board costs are $245 (double occupancy) or $329 (single occupancy) for Friday dinner through Sunday lunch, and include breaks, taxes and gratuity. Two day commuter rates for those staying offsite include all meals, breaks, gratuity and taxes; there is a commuter option for those attending only Saturday’s events. You will receive meal tickets from the hotel when you check into your room, or from the TFG registration desk when you check in as a commuter.

Those going on the bus tour will not be able to check into their rooms until after the tour if their lodging package starts Friday night. Rooms will be available at Salt Fork on Thursday night for those who want to arrive the day before.

To reserve your room, please call Hotel Reservations at 800-282-7275. Alternative hotels for those wishing to commute to the conference are eight miles away in Cambridge. The Visitors Bureau website is www.visitguernseycounty.com.

For those looking to share rides to the Conference or share a room, please visit the Conference Board.