DUNGENESS — The once-all-white historic Dungeness Schoolhouse will have a new, more historically accurate look come this fall — off-white with dark red trim.
“We think that’s probably really close to the original color,” said DJ Bassett, director of the building’s owner, the Museum & Arts Center in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley.
The new paint seems to bring out the intricate features of the schoolhouse at 2781 Towne Road.
“I’ve been getting a lot of feedback in the community that it’s going to have more style. It was kind of benign the other way,” said Josh Gloor, who works for the Dungeness-based Nash’s Organic Produce and lives within sight of the schoolhouse.
“You could never see all that fine gingerbread woodwork when it was all the same color.”
The final west exterior wall of the nearly 120-year-old building is now being repainted by Northwest Inside Out Painting of Port Angeles, owned and operated by Pam Boyd.
Boyd and painter Ricky Amundson were high atop a “cherry picker” about 30 feet up Thursday, spraying and brushing the wall’s old wooden planks.
The date of completion is unknown, but Bassett said it will prompt a MAC celebration, perhaps by September.
A cold, wet summer has not only delayed the growth of lavender and other farm products in the Valley, it has also slowed painting the schoolhouse.
“In a perfect world, it would have been a three-week job, but it’s not,” Bassett said of the project that started with scraping old paint off in mid-June.
Boyd, in addition, discovered that many of the window panes need to be reglazed, which could further delay work.
A professional window company will be hired to work on the panes, she said, adding it would be costly.
Work to fortify the building’s foundation also has been done.
“The Dungeness Schoolhouse is an 1892 building, and it is a building that requires ongoing maintenance,” Bassett said.
“We’re always fundraising for the schoolhouse.”
The building operated as a school until 1951.
Bassett said the facility’s long-term strategic plan calls for making it “more usable as a community center,” such as serving as the perfect setting for Valley history classes and Peninsula College programs in conjunction with the MAC.
The majority of project funding has come through private contributions and several years of grass-roots campaigning by the MAC by way of event fundraisers, such as the Christmas Tea & Bake Sale held annually at the schoolhouse, the MAC Nite fund-a-need special auction and the Readers Theatre Plus benefit dinner theater production of “Murder Most Fowl” in February.
“Seeing how exceedingly generous and giving the public has been toward preserving such a rare gem of historical importance as the Dungeness Schoolhouse has been very moving,” Bassett said.
Rodda Paint in Sequim is donating the dark red paint for the trim, which will include two coats on all window and door casings, fascias and the building’s concrete base, which will restore the schoolhouse’s original color scheme.
Previous maintenance projects include repairing the building’s distinctive belfry and building an ADA access ramp in 2006, and performing fire code and safety upgrades earlier this year.
“This project is part of an ongoing effort to maintain the structure to its highest possible levels so we can preserve it for future generations,” Bassett said.
“Doing so is in line with our mission of serving as the steward of Sequim’s cultural heritage.”
Additional information about the Dungeness Schoolhouse, including its history and event rental details, can be found on the MAC website at www.macsequim.org.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.