| CAP
2001 Recipients Announced
On April 17, 2001, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced 147 Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) awards. The list of the grantees is available at www.imls.gov/whatsnew/new_imls.htm. CAP grants will help these 147 small museums from 41 states learn how to better care for their collections and historic structures by providing funds to hire conservators, living collection specialists, and preservation architects. The 2001 CAP recipients represent the significant heritage that is held in our nation’s museums. Three such examples are Pond Spring in Alabama, The Chinati Foundation in Texas, and the Johnny Appleseed Museum in Ohio.
"Big House in the Fall" photo by Melissa
Beasley |
Pond Spring is the plantation of General Joseph Wheeler, a Civil and
Spanish-American War general and a long-time U.S. Congressman. The museum is near
Courtland in northern Alabama. CAP will help the historic site "lay the groundwork
for effective management of its collections." The assessment will also assist the
museum in the early stages of a complete restoration which the Alabama Historical
Commission has begun to plan. This summer they will restore an early 1800s slave cabin
used by the first settlers on the property. The museum has also secured funds from the
state and federal Department of Transportation and the Alabama Historical Commission to
reduce the risk of fire at the Wheeler historic home by upgrading electrical systems and
installing county water and a fire hydrant. More information about Pond Spring may be
accessed at 
In the
southwestern desert terrain of Texas stands an unexpected oasis of modern art, The Chinati
Foundation. Located in a former military base (Fort D.A. Russell) a four-hour drive from
El Paso, this unique collection has work by modern artists such as Dan Flavin, Jon
Chamberlain, and Donald Judd, Chinati’s founder. The museum will use their CAP grant
to learn about preventative conservation for its collections, which include metal, wood,
and concrete sculpture; florescent lighting; and other mixed media. One of its largest
exhibits includes 100 aluminum works housed in two artillery sheds. The museum’s
survey will include assessment of these historic artillery-shed roofs and the aluminum
sculpture inside. Although the aluminum sculpture is only approximately 20 years old, they
are still at risk for deterioration. Through CAP they will receive the expert advice of a
sculpture conservator who will help them care and maintain these unique works of art.
Learn more at 
The
Johnny Appleseed Museum is in Historic Bailey Hall, the oldest campus building at Urbana
University in Urbana, Ohio. The museum is dedicated to furthering the positive impact of
John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman, an early 19th century Swedenborgian
missionary who traveled from Massachusetts through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
and Kentucky planting apple orchards. While in Urbana, Chapman befriended two fellow
Swedenborgians—Colonel John James, the Ohio State Senator who donated the land the
university was founded on in 1850, and Milo Williams, the first university president. The
museum owns the largest collection of Johnny Appleseed memorabilia and printed material.
Because of Chapman’s relationships with other frontier Ohioians, the collection
represents the rich historical period of American expansion to the Midwest. In addition to
using CAP to help improve the care of the collection, the museum plans to seek advice
about their historic building, which they plan to restore and apply for historic landmark
status. The history of Urbana University may be found on their Web site at