National Park Service: Preservation Grant for Repairing Wind Damaged Adobe Building at Cow Creek

The 320-square-foot building is constructed of adobe brick walls with a concrete floor and a corrugated metal roof. It originally housed a hydroelectric generator; and the stand for the Pelton wheel is still located on the south end of the interior. The Pelton wheel was later replaced with a gasoline-powered generator. The west wall originally contained a bank of five windows with wooden louvers below. The windows were replaced with louvers to provide additional combustion air for the generator.

In 2016, a high-wind event ripped the roof off of the structure leaving the adobe walls exposed to the elements.

Using a field school format, this project will train a mix of students, interns, and volunteers in the basic concepts of historic preservation, as well as in specific methods of assessing and repairing damaged adobe walls. The new work will also incorporate seismic retrofits to better protect this historic structure from earthquake damage, and it will be designed to better tie the roof structure to the adobe walls to help prevent future wind damage to the new roof.

Various proposals for the seismic retrofit will be developed by engineering students at the New Mexico State University, and will be presented to park staff who will decide which proposal to implement.

Upon completion of the project, the walls of this historic structure will be returned to good condition and will be prepared to receive a new roof. Once the roof is restored (through a separate project) the building will returned to good condition and will continue to contribute to the National Register historic district.