Naper Settlement waiting for insurance payment before repairing Pre-Emption House damage from water line rupture

Nov. 10--Final repairs to the Pre-Emption House on the Naperville Settlement property remain on hold until the insurance adjusters determine what damage will be covered from a water line rupture this summer, officials with the historical museum said.

At a recent museum board meeting, Naper Settlement Chief Operating Officer Harriet Pistorio said a time frame on when construction can start will be established once the insurance company payment is received.

On June 24, the water main that feeds into the Pre-Emption House experienced two leaks, causing flooding on the lower level of the Brushstrokes of the Past: Naperville's History permanent exhibit.

The original Pre-Emption House that served as a hotel and tavern was built in 1834 on Main Street and Chicago Avenue and was torn down in 1946. Naper Settlement recreated the structure to serve as the site's visitor center.

Brushstrokes features the paintings of Naperville self-taught artist Lester E. Schrader, who chronicled the development of Naperville from a frontier outpost to a flourishing city.

Pistorio said to fix the broken water line, crews had to pull up the concrete that leads to the entrance of the Pre-Emption House. That stretch of the paved walkway simulates Plank Road from the 1850s when wood planks were used as the roadway that once stretched to Chicago.

The museum also needed work in the mechanical room, she said.

Pistorio said the museum has spent about $40,000 to reopen the Pre-Emption House, though the Brushstrokes exhibit remains closed until construction can be completed.

Chief Program Officer Donna Sack said the timing of the rupture "was really serendipitous" because the curatorial staff was working that day.

"We were able to really reduce any impacts on the collections," she said.

Sack said curators were able to remove some of the collection to the Fort Hill care and storage facility.

"Many of them still remain in Brushstrokes, and they will be taken out so that we will be able to do the construction effectively without compromising any of the artifacts," Sack said.

subaker@tribpub.com

___

(c)2020 the Naperville Sun (Naperville, Ill.)

Visit the Naperville Sun (Naperville, Ill.) at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.