Rye Advocates for Historic House Preservation
The Rye Historical Society (RHS) and three town government boards, the Rye Heritage Commission, Rye Historic District Commission, and Demolition Review Committee all share an interest in preserving and protecting Rye’s older buildings, and each group volunteered two representatives to form the Rye Advocates. This is not a town government committee, but a group of committed town residents whose purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of historic houses throughout the Town of Rye, and to support their protection andpreservation. In addition to documentation, the Rye Advocates are interested in supporting historic house owners through some new efforts, such as:
- To promote a sense of community among owners of older houses to exchange ideas and provide support as we care for homes.
- To connect homeowners to preservation resources (whether it’s people or just information)
- To recognize efforts of homeowners who preserve and embellish the historic nature of their homes
The Rye Advocates first effort is to identify, and document what we know to be the history of these houses. In April, those who live in houses built before 1901 will receive a letter from the Rye Advocates describing its purpose and requesting historical information about their houses to add to what the historical society already has on file.
