$25,000 goal set to fund major repairs
“Step Up!” is the capital campaign slogan that describes both the project at the Morgan-Manning House in Brockport, and the supportive community action needed. The cantilevered staircase leading from the second to the third floor is separating from the wall where it is attached. It has been slowly pulling away from the wall over many years with widening gaps and cracks. The stairs lead to the third floor attic and to the “belvedere” on the roof, commonly misnamed a “cupola.” The belvedere, with its commanding view for visitors and its shining light at night, is an iconic part of the stately structure at 151 Main Street, built in 1854.
Step Up! also presents the challenge from the Western Monroe Historical Society (WMHS) trustees to its members and the community to help repair the stairway structure and preserve the historic family signatures on the walls of the belvedere. The goal for the campaign is $25,000 which includes the staircase stabilization as well as painting it and extending the painting and wallpapering on the third floor.
Handwriting on the wall brings historic family members into the present
Part of the preservation will be the family messages and signatures written on the belvedere wall in the 1900s. Among the many writings and signatures, “Christmas 1933, Sara Morgan Manning” is significant. She was the last remaining Manning when she died at age 96 in the 1964 fire that severely damaged the house. And, her son, Arnold Morgan Manning, recorded his visits to the belvedere: “This our old house, May 6, 1900; December 10, 1904; June 4, 1911.” There are many other signed mementos on the walls.
It was customary for family members to write on the wall when visiting on various holidays. Charles Garlock, Town of Sweden resident and a current trustee on the WMHS board, is related to the Morgan-Manning family. “I am the great-grandson of Gifford Morgan, who was the second youngest of the seven Morgan children,” Garlock said, reckoning that Sara Morgan-Manning (Gifford’s sister) was his great aunt. “My memories of the Morgan-Manning House as a child are very sketchy. I could not have been any older than five years old when my family visited Sara Manning for Christmas. When my family members’ names were put on the belvedere wall, I suspect they were written by my father (Fletcher Garlock), while my mother watched my brothers and me downstairs.”
The personal handwriting of historic family members makes them very much present today in the Morgan-Manning House, as visitors peruse the messages on the wall. The capital project aims to preserve the original writing as much as possible and to photograph them for posterity in archival files.
A challenge to emulate founding WMHS members as models
The Step Up! challenge comes in the 50th Anniversary year of the founding of the WMHS by volunteers who restored the home after the disastrous 1964 fire. The anniversary theme “Out of the Ashes” uses the Phoenix mythology to celebrate the founding volunteers who saved the home from destruction to a destiny as a preserved landmark for future generations. Today’s board members challenge Western Monroe Historical Society members and the wider community to take the same initiative and pay forward the benefits received in the treasured home for fifty years. “Like our predecessors, we are called upon to preserve the Morgan-Manning House,” said Alicia Fink president of the WMHS board.
Fink would like more local citizens to become familiar with the Morgan-Manning House and support the capital project. “This house is so special,” she said, “unfortunately, many people in Brockport have never seen it.” Board members recently entertained members of the Brockport Chamber of Commerce in the house. “The visitors were awestruck at seeing it the first time,” Fink said. To acquaint the public with the house, last years’ 33rd annual “Old Fashion Fourth of July” event included tours of the first floor. Citing the “surprisingly long lines” waiting for the tours, Fink said the tours will continue this year and the second floor will be added, allowing a view of the stairway to the third floor.
The capital campaign looks to the end of July as the deadline for raising the $25,000. That deadline means that repairs can be completed by the fall, allowing the belvedere to continue to fascinate children in the public schools’ annual fourth grade tour of the home.
