When the Wood River Land Trust began a hunt for staff housing near their National Register-listed headquarters in Hailey, they recognized that land conservation and historic preservation were simply two sides of the same coin, and acquired a historic home to renovate.
Though the historic specifics of this particular house are lost to time, it is believed that the building is the result of the combination of at least two early structures?one of which may date to the 1880s. Various additions and alterations to the house over the intervening century had left it a shell of its former self.
The Land Trust undertook a sympathetic renovation that replaced the non-historic stucco wall treatment, reconfigured roof lines, replaced inappropriate windows, and opened up the front porch which had been unattractively enclosed.
As they continue their legacy of stewardship in the Wood River Valley, the Anderson House?named for the generous donors that made its renovation possible?will allow the Wood River Land Trust to enhance and grow that legacy.
Preservation Idaho is pleased to honor this project with a 2012 Orchid Award for Contribution to Historic Preservation.