The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, the statewide non-profit organization dedicated to historic preservation, education, and advocacy, celebrated GoodWork’s rescue and adaptive use of Carey Cottage at Creek Farm as a 2021 Preservation Achievement Award winner.

The Preservation Alliance has been giving awards for outstanding preservation projects for over thirty years. Award criteria include the project’s degree of innovation, the quality of work, the extent of challenges and accomplishment, and the level of support for the project. Past winners in the Seacoast have included the creation of the powerful African Burying Ground site in Portsmouth, the development of the gundalow Piscataqua, the revitalization of the Newmarket Mills, and the preservation and re-use of the Boston and Maine Railroad Depot for the UNH-Durham Transit Station and Dairy Bar.

Some key elements highlighted by the Preservation Alliance are:

• Not only is Carey Cottage a premier example of gilded age shingle style architecture in New Hampshire, and the only remaining intact building in the state designed by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. but is also the site of globally influential geopolitical events.
• The scope of work addressed important repairs and improvement to the building’s envelope and systems while protecting and stewarding character-defining elements.
• The Preservation Alliance admires the commitment to supporting non-profit start-ups while continuing residential use in the house on a property brimming with educational and recreational opportunities.
• The award also recognizes the enormous outpouring of public support setting up the rescue and the very generous philanthropic initiative. The project represents a “win-win” for preservation and for conservation of an important cultural landscape and provides an inspiring model for the future.

The award also honors partners in this effort;

• Portsmouth Advocates
• JSA Design
• Chinburg Properties
• Altus Engineering
• Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance works with advocates, investors, and groups like GoodWork all over the state to revive and steward iconic structures, encourage investment in downtowns and village centers, and promote preservation’s benefits. The Preservation Alliance is so pleased that GoodWork sees preservation as an essential ingredient in enhancing the economic vitality of the region and state and the importance of protecting the character of the Seacoast’s communities. The Alliance has provided more educational opportunities, building assessments, and grant funds than ever before this year and is poised to take on new challenges as everyone emerges from the pandemic.

“It is important to look back as we look forward and thank leaders like GoodWork for great work and share their stories to inspire others,” said Rebecca Mitchell, New Hampshire Preservation Alliance Board Member on hand to present the award to the GoodWork Board of Directors and staff.

The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance expressed their delight at being at Carey Cottage and picking up on the themes outlined in the award along with celebrating new commitments and innovations.