News & Insights

Reconstruction Work Underway at Menokin

WARSAW, VA – Work by Consigli Construction Co., Inc. to secure the crumbling foundation of the Menokin House in Warsaw, Va. is underway, the Menokin Foundation recently announced. Once the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, revolutionary and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Menokin is now in a state of severe disrepair. Work this summer will entail documenting, disassembling and reconstructing the southeast corner of the home to the top of the water table stones.

“It is a glorious time to be part of Menokin,” remarked Menokin Foundation President, Hullihen Williams Moore. “As a result of the efforts of our staff, trustees, past presidents, volunteers and donors, much has been accomplished. The foundation of the northwest corner of the house was dismantled and reconstructed last year, and we are progressing well with the southeast corner this summer. Meanwhile, our team is preparing final construction drawings for the remaining stabilization and glass enclosure.”

The goals of the work this summer include:

  • Uncovering the southeast corner of the foundation buried beneath rubble that collapsed in and around the home’s perimeter;
  • Reconstructing the two wall sections using in-place and fallen stones that will be reclaimed from the rubble pile; and
  • Fully reestablishing the southeast corner of the house foundation.

Ultimately the project intends to use structural glass to recreate an abstract memory of an 18th-century house as it once stood while protecting what remains of it today. The Menokin Glass Project (also often referred to as The Glass House) will serve as a centerpiece for the surrounding grounds which will also be transformed in future phases of the plan for Menokin.

Across all phases, the innovative programming and educational opportunities will ensure that the Menokin has something valuable to offer people of all ages and from all walks of life.

Work on the house will be completed by Consigli Construction, the owner’s project manager Skanska USA, project architects Machado Silvetti, archaeologists from DATA Investigations, Inc., with restoration and preservation work by Oak Grove Restoration.