Historic Paint Colors Make Their Debut On Foster-Tufts & The Jones Farm

Foster-Tufts New Look

This year we are making great strides in returning some of our buildings to their original and authentic paint colors.

Wonder how we determine what colors to use on the buildings?

Steve Jordan, our conservation specialist and historic paint expert takes small pieces from the houses where paint would have accumulated over time and then studies the layers of paint under a microscope. Along with the sequence of paint colors he is also able to tell us approximately how long a building was bare wood before being painted as well as if a certain sections have been replaced with newer wood.

Once the original colors are determined a decision needs to be made on what color to use. Many factors are weighed when making the decision such as the paint colors popular for the time period that the building is being interpreted as, as well as the current use of the building in the village. For instance, at one point in time our town hall had been a red tavern. It's use as a town hall necessitates a color other than red!

Jones Farm

One of the most notable changes is the dramatic color change to the Foster-Tufts house. You may also notice that the large hinges on the sliding door to the left have been painted over. This is not a mistake but what would have been the norm in the 19th Century! The Jones Farm has also been given a new (old!) look and the Brooks Grove Church is currently being painted.

In addition, this season we will be changing the shutters on many of the buildings in the village square to bright green, a popular color in the Mid 19th Century. These shutters are already visible on St Feehans Church and the Romulus Female seminary.

Green Shutters On The Seminary

For those interested, the paint colors used on Foster-Tufts and The Jones Farm are:

Foster Tufts:
Main Color-Grand Teton White-Benjamin Moore

Jones Farm:
Main Color: Edgecomb Gray-Benjamin Moore, Historic Color Collection
Doors: Spiced Berry-Dunn-Edwards Paints
Trim: Alexandria Beige- Benjamin Moore, Historic Color Collection