2012 Summer Speaker Series

The Historic Indian Agency House at Fort Winnebago will proudly host Mike Jackson, the head of the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office on Tuesday, July 31.  At 6:30PM, Mr. Jackson, a prominent and influential leader in the field of historic preservation, will present “Greening Your Old House.”  His presentation will focus on the ways in which home owners can apply “green technology” to their home renovation and maintenance projects—including a surprising return to many common practices of 19th and early 20th century households.  Mr. Jackson will concentrate on ways to increase energy efficiency, but he will also foray into other related topics, including the growing enthusiasm for urban agriculture.

In addition to his role as Division Manager of the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office, Mr. Jackson is also a visiting professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his alma mater. He also holds a degree from New York’s Columbia University. Additionally, Mr. Jackson is a founding member of the Association for Preservation Technology Committee on Sustainable Heritage and has played an integral role in the development of green building standards and preservation policies. He has been active in the field of historic preservation throughout his career and is a leader in the areas of Roadside Architecture, Sustainability, and Main Street, the highly successful, downtown business core-focused program overseen by The National Trust for Historic Preservation—a program that includes local entity Main Street Portage.

HIAH is very pleased to be able to bring this particular featured speaker to Portage, a city filled with historic homes and their owners who have much potential to benefit from Mr. Jackson’s experience and knowledge. 

Mr. Jackson and his “Greening Your Old House” presentation is the second of four installments comprising HIAH’s third annual summer speaker series, with each installment held on the final Tuesday of the month from June to September. The series, entitled “Saving the Structures that Tell Our Story: The Impact and Importance of Historic Preservation,” will explore the whys and hows of historic building preservation, particularly appropriate in light of the ongoing restorative work now taking place on the 1832 Indian Agency House.

For the third year in a row, this speaker series is free to the public and made largely possible by generous grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the City of Portage Historic Preservation Commission and the Great Circle Foundation Inc. of East Northport, with additional financial support provided by Forever Yours Jewelry of Portage.

August’s third installment of the series will focus on the tax credits available to private home and business owners (to be presented by Jen Davel, Senior Preservation Architect with the Wisconsin Historical Society), with September’s final presentation and discussion led by Jen’s colleague and fellow Senior Preservation Architect Mark Buechel. Mr. Buechel will share with us the “Top 10 Way to Mess Up Your Historic Home.” 

The museum and visitor’s center exhibits, always free to the public, will be open 5PM until the lecture begins at 6:30.  Take this opportunity to catch one of 2012’s Restoration Tours—exclusive to this season! Trained guides will be available to tell the story of the Historic Indian Agency House site, including tours of the Native American encampment and prairie garden, and a hands-on discussion of the ongoing restoration efforts, including actual artifacts found during the excavation phases of the project. (Minimal fee applies; free for Supporters members). Light refreshments will be provided for lecture guests.

The Historic Indian Agency House hosts a variety of children’s and adult programming throughout the year, including book-your-own Scout workshops! Visit www.agencyhouse.org for a full listing of events, or call 608-742-6362 with any questions. 

.Click Here for a printable flyer.