GOSHEN — The historic Williams House hosted a large crew of visitors last week, as students from Four Rivers Charter Public School took samples and tested paint in the home for lead.
Part of the Williams House dates back to the 18th century — the rest having been built in the early 19th century — and it contains Goshen’s first post office and first general store, and still has an ice house attached to it.
Last year, Kam Oborne bought the property from the town at auction for $60,000, a move that was hailed by those seeking to preserve the house.
Oborne and her husband, Tom, plan on donating the house to the Williams-Boltwood House Trust sometime later this year. The trust is looking to transform the house into a museum, a goal the Obornes support.
Before donating the house, however, the Obornes are looking to make improvements to it.
“I don’t want to donate something they can’t take care of,” Kam Oborne said.
It was with this in mind that the Obornes reached out to Four Rivers Charter Public School in Greenfield. The school is where all three of the Obornes’ children went, and she asked the school if it was interested in having students come test the house for lead.
“It’s a school that really believes in expeditionary learning,” Kam Oborne said. “They were all over this.”
“Our school puts an emphasis on field work and finding authentic connections,” said Four Rivers science teacher Andy Patari. “This is a chance for them to help the community by doing labwork, which we can connect to our study of lead and chromatography and looking at the chemical effects of lead on our brain.”
He also said Kam Oborne did a lot of the legwork regarding looking up the best practices around safety, and that the school follows the experts and best practices.
In addition to Patari, Four Rivers Acting Head of School Zevey Steinitz was also present at the house last week.
“We want to provide students the opportunity to have hands-on experiences where they are acting as scientists, not just studying science,” she explained.
On Thursday morning, 36 high school juniors were busily moving about the house as they collected samples from its many rooms. A number of these students also expressed appreciation for the home.
“Its history is absolutely amazing,” commented TJ Lamere, who lives in Goshen and knows the Obornes. “I want to build it up. I want to help it out.”
Lamere said he loves both science and history.
“If you put those two together, it makes it even better,” he said.
Pearson Franz, daughter of Greenfield Recorder photographer Paul Franz, has an interest in chemistry and is thinking about becoming a forensic scientist.
“I get to actually test actual things,” she said of the lead testing exercise.
Franz also said she likes old houses, and that the Williams House was “a whole bunch of things mashed together.”
After samples were collected, smaller samples were taken from them and assayed with lead testing kits procured by Kam Oborne. The kits, which are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, involve putting a sample in a vial of liquid and agitating it. If the liquid turns black, the presence of lead is indicated.
A number of the paint samples tested positive for lead, something Oborne said she wasn’t surprised by.
She was very happy, however, that tests didn’t show the presence of lead on the shutters of the house, as she is interested in having people “adopt” and refurbish the shutters before returning them to the house. That wouldn’t be possible if they were painted with lead paint.
Oborne said samples that didn’t test positive for lead will be sent to a lab to confirm they don’t have lead in them. One of the positive samples was taken by Zayne Appel, who took it from the bachelor’s quarters.
“It was pretty cool,” Appel said, noting that there was no way to tell about the presence of lead until it was tested. “Which is kind of scary, honestly, being in a room full of lead paint.”
He also said seeing the house was a good experience.
Kam Oborne’s husband, Tom, noted that a lot of time has been spent cleaning out the house and landscaping its grounds since it was purchased.
“It’s a great challenge,” he said. “We’re very excited about the fact that we have a piece of history here.”
Kam said they’re interested in the community getting involved with the renovations, and Tom noted volunteers have helped with the landscaping work. Kam also said the community helped them to purchase the property, which is why they want to donate it.
A tag sale fundraiser of items from the house is also planned and one of the students, Jaida Barry, got a head start on the fundraiser when their friend, Innis Bakey, bought them a small ceramic goose for $1.
“I really like geese,” Barry said.
Those wishing to volunteer on the house or donate to it can contact the Williams-Boltwood House Trust at wbhousetrust@gmail.com.