Hull House Foundation

Educational program accomplishments the foundation continues to offer several educational programs that are targeted to both students and adults to accomplish our primary mission. We continue to offer several well developed educational programs and are consistently developing new ones. Examples of our traditional programs: "history camp for kids" since 2008, the hull family home & farmstead has organized and produced a series of day camping educational sessions we call "history camp for kids". We invite students entering fourth through eighth grade to spend a full week learning about life on the western new york frontier in the early 19th century. From textiles to native american contributions, to candle dipping , quill writing, archaeological digs, to food preparation, to woodworking and the wars the family was engaged in, and more, campers are exposed to many activities and experiences that enhance their understanding of this important period in american history. In 2024, the camp sessions were attended by 23 students. "meet our past" tours, whereby visitors walk to various stations viewin vignettes, which dramatized historic events. We also conducted twenty-four classes for primary school students from three different public school districts with over 600 children attending. The tours include docent led tours of the restored hull house and the family cemetery, as well as an examination of the hull family tree. Students participate in pioneer games, visited the kitchen garden and learned about medicinal plants, and are introduced to tools and chores of the period. Living history lecture series. During the season, we scheduled monthly lectures by groups or individuals who have expertise in specific subjects, such as the war of 1812, medicinal plants, and period clothing. For example, in 2024, we hosted lectures by: tom schobert, author of "hush the cannon's roar" terry wolf, a quilting expert "hands-on heritage" days. This program series is offered monthly in the summer and fall. Families are invited to participate in themed period activities relating to events such as may day, fourth of july, harvest season and others.

Site development: with the restoration of the historic farm house substantially complete, the organization has shifted its focus on improvements to the farmstead grounds. This includes construction/recreation of several structures that were part of the hull family farming operations but have long been demolished. We made significant progress in 2024 on several important projects: threshing barn project we completed this complex and expensive project in the fall of 2024 following five years of planning, fundraising, and construction. The project included the acquisition of a 200 year old barn in central new york state that was disassembled, transported, and professionally reconstructed on the hull house site. The hull family were grain crop farmers, so this specially designed barn played a major role in the processing and storage of the harvested crops. Root cellar project we also fully completed the reconstruction of the family root cellar in 2024. The foundation was unearthed over ten years ago by our archaeological excavations. The construction materials are a mix of stone and lumber, built partially underground. The family would have stored their root vegetables and other perishables in a naturally temperature controlled environment such as this. Maintenance barn our volunteers completed interior clean-out and renovations to our maintenance barn in 2024. We also had previously installed a new roof, painted the exterior, and replaced and repaired windows. We maintain almost thirty acres of land and five buildings that require constant maintenance, so this is a critical building to help serve those efforts. Grounds improvements significant progress was accomplished on improvement of the grounds surrounding the historic house and new threshing barn, including installation of additional pathways, removal of old damaged fences and a start of the removal of old concrete that a former owner had installed for parking.

The continued preservation and restoration of the home.