The Sidney Museum and Art Association (SMAA) needs a new roof so that it can be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kitsap Bank presented a $1,300 donation on Jan. 7 to the SMAA as part of the bank’s annual Community Partner Program contributions.
The donation is the first installment of a matching contribution agreement between the bank and SMAA.
Kitsap Bank will match funds up to $3,250 raised by the SMAA and the money goes toward replacing the roof at the historic Log Cabin Museum, 202 Sidney Ave., in Port Orchard.
“Kitsap Bank is very proud of our longstanding investment in the community,” said Vice President and Regional Manager Dave Jeffcoat. “To us, being the community bank and the community’s partner go hand-in-hand. This effort is particularly meaningful to us, since we got our start right here in Port Orchard over a century ago. We encourage others in the Port Orchard community to join us in preserving this treasured piece of local history.”
Museum Chairwoman Mary Peterson said the museum needs to replace its asphalt shingles with wooden shingles for national historic status.
“The museum is on its original site and everything in it is fine, except the roof,” Peterson said. “If we didn’t have to get a new roof the application could go in as it is.”
Peterson said the process for having something placed on the National Register of Historic Places isn’t hard, but tremendously detailed.
“When you walk into a door, you have to describe every piece such as molding and window,” Peterson said. “But we learned more about our site than we knew when we started.”
The log cabin was built by Allen Bartow in 1914. It was saved from imminent destruction in 1971, when the association purchased it with funds from Port Orchard business women Hannah Langer and Gerry Howe Bruckart.
SMAA was founded in 1970 to preserve local history and promote the work of local artists.
Numerous volunteers have spent countless hours fixing up the 97-year-old log cabin to preserve the history for future generations to enjoy.
The museum features changing exhibits of home life in South Kitsap during the past 100 years.
Donations can be made to the SMAA account at any Kitsap Bank branch.
For more information about SMAA or the Log Cabin Museum, contact Executive Director Christine Stansbery at 360-876-7726.
