Watson Farm Resiliency and Preservation

Completed in March 2024, this project was a successful, multi-year effort to preserve historic farm structures and mitigate severe drainage problems at Watson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island. The project balanced traditional preservation with innovative adaptations and translated the results of our own research on resiliency into action.

Project accomplishments:

• Wood shingle roofs on the farmhouse, main barn, sheep barn, and spring house were replaced in kind
• A gravity-based stormwater management system was installed to manage runoff and prevent washouts
• Non-historic, v-trough wooden gutters were replaced with round copper gutters, outlets, and downspouts to better accommodate modern-day precipitation events and integrate with the drainage improvements
• The project was awarded a Doris Duke Historic Preservation Award by the Newport Restoration Foundation for its thoughtful balance of preservation priorities with the realities of climate change

About Watson Farm

Watson Farm is a sustainable working farm, managed using practices that continue the tradition of pastoral husbandry, including raising heritage breed livestock. The site has been actively and continuously farmed for more than 220 years, and its 265-acre landscape, c.1796 farmhouse, and historic outbuildings convey and maintain the community’s agricultural heritage.

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This work was supported by generous grants from:

• van Beuren Charitable Foundation
• Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission
• Preserve RI and the 1772 Foundation

Become a member of Historic New England or donate to the Preservation Maintenance Fund to support the ongoing care of Watson Farm and all Historic New England sites!