Rebel’s Rest Will be Dismantled

In his remarks during an Aug. 26 assembly on campus, Vice-Chancellor John McCardell gave the community an update on the status of Rebel’s Rest.

McCardell said that the requirements of current building codes prevent the University from reconstructing Rebel’s Rest as it was. 

On July 23, fire destroyed the second floor of the 148-year-old house; the first floor suffered smoke and water damage. No cause of the blaze has been determined.

Two structural engineers, each with experience with historic buildings, were engaged to evaluate Rebel’s Rest. Both engineers concluded independently that the damage to both interior and exterior walls makes it unlikely that the University could closely approximate Rebel’s Rest in its old form.

The engineers also agreed that while much of the remaining structure is not salvageable for reuse, the extent to which that is the case cannot be known without taking the structure apart and looking inside the walls.

The University will likely have the building disassembled in the coming weeks. A firm that specializes in historic buildings would conduct the disassembly. The University will strive to save as many materials as possible; these will be labeled and stored in the hope of incorporating them into a future structure.

A decision about that future structure has not yet been made. Once the amount and condition of the remaining material are determined, that information will be among the factors considered. 

“I am persuaded that any decision anytime soon about what might be done as a successor building should not be made in haste,” McCardell said.

“We will welcome and consider many options. The process of sorting through those options and recommending next steps will be inclusive and transparent. … So I ask you to be patient, please, and I promise that we will communicate regularly as we learn more,” he said.

After the remaining structure has been moved, there may be an opportunity for the University archaeologist and historians to do research.

Attention to the site and the former contents of the building continues on several other fronts, as well. The University is exploring the possibility of working with a firm to create photogrammetric data from Rebel’s Rest for archival purposes. These noninvasive measurements will provide the highest level of detail about the building.

In addition to the conservators who are assisting in the restoration process of some of the art and furnishings, an expert in the field is helping determine the monetary value of those pieces. Staff members are working with the University’s insurer to finalize a complete room-by-room inventory of the contents of Rebel’s Rest, down to the lamps, linens and dishes.

Rebel’s Rest has served as a University guest house for many years. It had been closed this summer and was undergoing renovations. Originally built as the family home of Maj. George Fairbanks in 1866, the building was the one remaining campus structure from the re-founding of the University.