Recognizing an opportunity to address the shortage of skilled heritage trades workers, Indiana Landmarks engaged the local high school Career and Technical Education program in the rehabilitation.

Training in Kendallville kicked off in May, when Rhonda Deeg, and expert in leaded glass windows, taught a week-long workshop for 15 students. Through hands-on activities, they learned how to make a colored glass window before applying their newfound knowledge to restore a historic leaded glass window from the Brown-Waterhouse project. Students embraced the hands-on, detail-oriented work, proudly exhibiting their finished projects.

Indiana Landmarks aims to give more high schoolers a chance experience similar lightbulb moments this fall, when students at the Impact Institute in Kendallville will learn preservation trades at the historic Brown-Waterhouse House.

Built around 1880 for prominent farmer Chauncy Waterhouse and family, the Queen Anne exterior of the Brown-Waterhouse House, with a distinguishing heavy granite porch, looks much as it did when constructed, save for aluminum siding to be removed as part of the home’s rehabilitation. Inside, the home’s unaltered Craftsman finishes including original woodwork, light fixtures and kitchen, lend a “wow” factor. For students who are budding historians as well as tradespeople, the home represents a significant era in Kendallville history: In addition to owning 2,000 acres of land in the area, Chauncy Waterhouse actively assisted Underground Railroad efforts, leading to his serving a day in jail and paying a $30 fine for violating the fugitive slave law.

Indiana Landmarks also plans to host a hands-on training designed for adults at the Brown-Waterhouse House, through a developing partnership with Ivy Tech Community College. Look for updates about that session and other heritage trades efforts in the future.