Hoping to draw participants from around the state and around the country, the workshop "can be viewed as a week-long work project, not unlike an old-fashioned barn-raising," explains Judith Broeker, HCN's program director. Participants will be working primarily to assess and repair the roof truss system, though some work will also be done on the interior of the house.

According to the Alabama Historical Commission, the Hudson Allen House is one of the most significant early houses in the Choccolocco Valley area of Alabama. Constructed in the late 1830s by Hudson Allen, a settler originally from Georgia, the 2-story, extended I-house features sophisticated interior Federal Period woodwork that may have been produced by Lev and Griffin Borders, known slave artisans from the area. The Allen House is one of approximately only sixty known houses of its type remaining in the state.

A fire of suspicious origin caused extensive damage to the house in the fall of 2002. To date, little repair work has been done, but a clean-up project coordinated by the Alabama Historical Commission has cleared the interior and also revealed that the damage, while severe, is not as complete as originally believed. The goal of the project, therefore, is the full restoration of the house, but the goal of this particular workshop is to make the house weather-tight before the winter weather can cause any additional damage.

All interested parties are encouraged to attend; no special skills are required, but participants must register in advance. The cost of attending the workshop is $925, which includes lodging, most meals, insurance and workshop materials. For those not requiring lodging, the fee is $350, and members of the Choccolocco Heritage Society may register for $150, which covers lunches, insurance and workshop materials. Registration information can be obtained from the HCN web site at www.heritageconservation.net/workshops.htm, or from the HCN office by calling +1 303 444 0128.

Heritage Conservation Network is a non-profit preservation organization that coordinates building conservation workshops around the world.