Media Contacts
Shannon Konvicka, Communications Director
Department of Housing and Community Development
Shannon.Konvicka@vermont.gov
Jamie Duggan, Director of Preservation
Department of Housing and Community Development
Division for Historic Preservation
James.Duggan@vermont.gov
Bennington Battle Monument to Undergo Preservation Assessment
The Division for Historic Preservation has begun a year-long assessment of the Bennington Battle Monument for repairs and preservation.
Media and the public are welcome to view the engineers repel down the Monument on May 11.
Montpelier, Vt. – The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation (VDHP) is undertaking a year-long comprehensive assessment of the Bennington Battle Monument in Bennington, Vermont, to better understand its condition and needs for repair and preservation. The assessment will include an analysis of the stone, steel staircase, electrical systems, and elevator.
On May 11, 2022, engineers and materials conservators will repel from the top of the Monument to examine the stone and mortar, providing a live feed of information that will result in advanced imaging of any structural issues directly onto preservation plans.
“The Monument is not an easy building to measure or examine. We can see that some stones are cracked on the outside but do not yet understand how they relate or tie into stones on the inside of the walls structurally because a study like this has never been done,” said the State of Vermont’s Director of Preservation Jamie Duggan.
The investigation team brings together structural experts with national expertise and is focused on identifying root causes of distress in the Monument. The data collected will provide detailed plans of the areas in need of repair and an accurate project budget. These repairs will ensure the long-term stability of the Monument as a destination for visitors both in-state and out. Working in collaboration with the VDHP and the Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services (BGS) will be renovation specialists from Stevens & Associates, Silman Structural Engineers, Vertical Access, Atkinson-Noland & Associates, Dubois & King, Allegrone Construction, and Lerch Bates.
“We are proud to bring together a team with such a high level of expertise in historic masonry of monuments. The team is focused on identifying and providing a path to long-term performance and to properly plan for the future,” said Peter Hack of BGS.
The assessment will not affect visitation to the Monument for the 2022 season, which begins on Saturday, May 28th. The public and media are welcome to come and watch the engineers repel down the 306-foot Monument on Wednesday, May 11th.
Interested media can email Jamie Duggan (James.Duggan@vermont.gov) and Shannon Konvicka (Shannon.Konvicka@vermont.gov ) to arrange a time to visit.
The Bennington Battle Monument was constructed to commemorate the 1777 Battle of Bennington, a pivotal victory for the colonial forces on the New England front during the American Revolution. Completed in 1889 to a height of 306 feet, the Monument is the highest manmade structure in Vermont. The exterior of the stone Monument is Sandy Hill dolomite, a blue-gray magnesian limestone quarried in New York.
The Monument is operated by the Division for Historic Preservation, which is part of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
For more information about the Bennington Battle Monument click here.
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