The first step would be to look for historic paint by cratering, scraping a hole through all 
layers of existing paint, then sanding out (feathering) the edges of the hole to expose the 
various layers of paint.  You then look at the exposed layers with a magnifying glass, and record 
your findings.  Generally you do a series of samples, both on the walls and on the trim, in 
several if not all rooms.

This is a standard technique used by architectural historians and paint researchers.

It was common to allow plaster walls to age before painting, but typically that was a one  year 
delay, not years.

There are better modern historic paint chip sets than the Sherwin Williams set… they were once the 
leader but their colors have drifted as paints have been reformulated.  I have been using Benjamin 
Moore, based on their dark colors better matching the deep colors found, without going gray or 
muddy, but they recently dropped a couple of the paints bases I have used…

You may want to get Roger Moss’ Paint in America, the colors of Historic Buildings, John Wiley & 
Sons ISBN 0-471-14411-8, and Roger Moss and Gail Caskey Winkler’s Victorian Exterior Decoration 
ISBN 0-8050-2313-5.  This book, while not about interiors, is a better resource for paint 
sampling…  I believe both are still in print.

My personal thought… If you are preserving the building as a historic court house, its not about 
justifying a color…  It should be about painting the building colors chosen based on researching 
the original colors.  If on the other hand you are using the old building adaptively as a museum 
or gallery space, then chose the best colors for the new use.

You might want to contact the San Mateo County Historical Society in Redwood City 
California…http://www.historysmc.org/  they are now located in the counties old 1910 court house.

Randy Hees
Patterson House at Ardenwood Historic Farm
City of Fremont, California


On Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:15:11 -0400
  Museum of Ashe County History <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> The Museum of Ashe County History is expected to move into a "new" home this
>Fall, the historic 1904 courthouse in Jefferson, N.C.  The preservation has
> proved a long and painstaking process and we are working on the final
> details.  One of the main issues we are trying to sort through is what color
> to paint the interior walls of the first floor.  Based on pictures of the
> courthouse around 1910, it appears that the walls were left as unpainted
> plaster and paint doesn't show up until a photograph from ca. 1935.  So we
> are trying to determine what color they would have painted the walls closer
> to 1904, had they done so.  We don't think that simply leaving the plaster
> as is would be an option, nor is the method of letting people smoke
> cigarettes indoors to achieve that historically-accurate yellowing effect.  
> 
> 
> 
> We have a few paint chip charts from Sherman Williams (Victorian, Arts and
> Crafts) and our historic preservation architect suggested they would have
> painted the walls a dark color (like a terra cotta) and a darker trim.
> However, we think it might be best to go with something lighter and more
> neutral if we can justify the choice as historically appropriate.  
> 
> 
> 
> We are leaning towards painting the walls an off-white or beeswax color,
> with a white (or other light color) trim. Does anyone have any experience
> restoring historic courthouses from the period?  I've looked through photos
> of similar courthouses, and contacted the sister courthouse in a nearby
> county to see if they have any evidence of wall colors, but so far it has
> been to no avail.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> 
> 
> Natalya Hopper, Intern
> 
> MACH
> 
> 
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