Wills House Restoration To Start Soon

By Deborah Fitts

GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Restoration of the historic Wills House will begin this fall, with the goal to open the landmark in the spring of 2008 as a museum devoted to Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address.

The National Park Service awarded the $4.3 million construction project in late September to McCoy Brothers of Carlisle, Pa. Work was expected to begin in November.

The project will include restoring portions of the three-and-a-half-story brick building to its appearance when President Lincoln spent the night there Nov. 18, 1863, the eve of his delivery of the Gettysburg Address. The house is prominently sited on the Square in Gettysburg, where it was built in 1816.

The portions to be restored include the building’s exterior, the law office of building owner David Wills, a long-missing central stairway, and the second-floor bedroom where Lincoln slept. A sagging roof and chimney, rotting beams and old electrical and water systems are among the problems to be corrected. The cost of exhibit fabrication is not included in the construction price.

The Wills House and lot immediately around it were brought inside the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park in October 2000. The park purchased the building in March 2004 from the Borough of Gettysburg for $550,000. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wills was the third owner of the house that would bear his name. Among the most prominent citizens of Gettysburg, Wills used the house as his residence, as commercial space, and to house his law office. He was instrumental in establishing the National Cemetery for the remains of Union soldiers killed in the July 1863 battle, and it was he who invited Lincoln to speak at the cemetery dedication four months later.

Park spokesman Katie Lawhon said the park was pleased that McCoy Brothers will carry out the work. The firm has “very good recent experience” in restoring two other local landmarks, Gettysburg’s historic train depot and the Majestic Theatre. Until a year ago the park volunteers manned a welcome center on the first floor of the Wills House, but it was closed down in anticipation of construction.

The work was unexpectedly delayed, however, when a York Street neighbor adjoining the east side of the Wills House would not give permission for the park to shore up a shared end wall.

Lawhon explained that workers required access to the neighbor’s building in order to strengthen the wall and install a fire seal. The owner was unresponsive to the request, she said, and the matter finally ended up in federal district court. The court ruled in the park’s favor last December.

Lawhon noted that modern codes require the park to make the Wills House handicapped-accessible, which will mean installation of an elevator, plus fire-safety measures. But key rooms and areas will be restored to 1863.