The Grange as it appeared in the summer of 1970.
The portico is not original to the structure and it is being
held up by tree logs.
Lucy C. Carnegie built The Grange probably around the late 1890's. The estate manager William E. Page and his wife lived in the structure until his death.
The Grange is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Dungeness Historic District. The residence was built just behind the neglected and ruined Pool House.
An old slide of The Pool House in 1970.
The house and it's few acreages are in a Reserved Property Agreement (RPA) with Carnegie descendants. The family has maintained the structure throughout the years and appears to be reasonably sound. I believe that they have learned that keeping a maintained roof helps to preserve a structure.
The RPA lease will expire in a few months and become property of the NPS. Once the ownership is taken, the NPS will be responsible for maintaining and renovating the historic significant structure, forever.
The problem, and everyone knows this, no additional funding will be available for this home or any of the other 100 or so structures to be maintained on the island, especially during the state of the present economy.
I believe that the NPS should consider extending the present RPA to the present owner so that the building will be preserved for generations to come. We are learning now that some property is deteriorating in the NPS hands because of lack of funding. The current owner has stated they would upgrade the structure to NPS standards.
For the record, I do not know any previous or current owners of The Grange. I'm just a concerned citizen.
Please check out these sites:
Please comment on your concerns here about The Grange and The Stafford Beach Cottage and how they need to be preserved and maintained.
http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/summary.asp
The National Park Service List of Classified Structures for Cumberland Island National Seashore.
http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/summary.asp
The National Park Service List of Classified Structures for Cumberland Island National Seashore.
