FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HISTORIC PRESERVATION FIELD SCHOOL PLANNED FOR JUNE 10-JULY 3 IN STE. GENEVIEVE

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., April 12, 2002 - The Historic Preservation Summer Field School, offered since 1997 by Southeast Missouri State University and co-sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, will be in session in Ste. Genevieve June 10-July 3.

Students will participate in the documentation of a historic building, archaeological field work, classroom sessions, special lectures and tours of important historic houses and sites in Ste. Genevieve. The field school will provide a hands-on opportunity for historic preservation students to explore archaeology, historical research, photography, dendrochronology and paint analysis. Students will tour the Felix Valle House, the Amoreaux House, the Delassus-Kern House, the Ste. Genevieve Public Library and the Ste. Genevieve County Courthouse. Students will participate in excavations at the Delassus-Kern site.

Students in Southeast's Historic Preservation Program conduct field studies each summer in Ste. Genevieve in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, with support from Les Amis. Research areas include French colonial architecture and culture, African-American culture, and the social history of the antebellum free black community in Ste. Genevieve. The host institution for field school activities is the Felix Valle House State Historic Site in Ste. Genevieve.

The Field School will be under the direction of Dr. Bonnie Stepenoff, coordinator of Southeast Missouri State University's Historic Preservation Program. Under Stepenoff's leadership, students will explore various aspects of Missouri's French Colonial architecture and history as it relates to the preservation and management of historic properties.

Students will receive hands-on field experience in documentation and preservation of the built environment. Authentic 18th and early 19th century structures in the Felix Valle State Historic Site will serve as their learning laboratories. The goal of the Field School is to acquaint students with the broad array of skills and techniques affecting historic preservation issues and historic site management. Students will learn to gather and record architectural data, and how to effectively use library and archival collections in researching history, cultural landscapes and historic structures. Technical sessions will provide an introduction to preservation tools such as historic paint analysis and the use of remote sensing for examining subterranean archaeological features.

Students who participate in the Summer Field School may earn three hours of course credit.

In addition, a series of public seminars is planned.

On June 12, Dr. Eric Clements, assistant professor of history at Southeast, is scheduled to make a presentation on "Gambling with Your Heritage: Casinos Come to Colorado Historic Districts." The presentation will take place at noon in the County Services Building located at 255 E. Market Street in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

On June 19, Stepenoff is scheduled to make a presentation on "Research in the Summer Field School." The presentation also will take place at noon in the County Services Building.

On June 26, James Denny, a cultural resource preservationist from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, is scheduled to make a presentation on the "Lewis and Clark Trail." The presentation will take place at 4 p.m. in the Hotel Ste. Genevieve located at the corner of Main and Merchant streets in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

A dinner is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on June 26, in the Bulduc Room of the Hotel Ste. Genevieve. The cost is $10 per person, and reservations can be made by calling (573) 883-7102. Dr. Walter Schroeder, a geography professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, is scheduled to make a presentation at the dinner on "Land Division in the Ste. Genevieve District, 1790-1820." The presentation will take place at 7 p.m. at the Hotel Ste. Genevieve.

The Historic Preservation Field School seminars are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the Felix Valle State Historic Site at (573) 883-7102.