{"id":6330,"date":"2014-06-11T17:08:19","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T21:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitright.pmss.net\/?page_id=6330"},"modified":"2021-05-19T20:19:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T00:19:34","slug":"laurel-house-ii","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=6330","title":{"rendered":"LAUREL HOUSE II"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pine Mountain Settlement School
\nSeries 10: Built Environment<\/h5>\n

LAUREL HOUSE\u00a0II \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(New Laurel House), 1940 – present<\/strong><\/p>\n

TAGS: Laurel House II; built environment; Pine Mountain Settlement School; Harlan County, KY; Mary Rockwell Hook; architects; Laurel House I; Arthur Dodd; Leone Sturgill; Theda Howard; Pine Cone newsletter; dining; fires; construction; rock wool; stonework; Daniel D. Martin;<\/p>\n

\"Laurel<\/a>

Laurel House II. Arthur Dodd photograph.<\/p><\/div>\n

Following the destruction of Laurel House I<\/a> by fire on January 23, 1940, construction was initiated almost immediately for a new Laurel House in the same year and into the following year. The name was retained, but a new plan and a slightly different location was given to the new building by Mary Rockwell Hook<\/a>, the architect for the School. Actual construction began\u00a0in late Spring of 1940.\u00a0History PMSS Summary 1940-1941<\/a> records the following:<\/p>\n

Laurel House — partly of stone and partly of wood construction. The foundation stone and stone used in the first floor were quarried from campus rock formations. The quarrying began in Saw Mill Hollow. Later the workmen hauled stone from the rock ledges beyond the dairy barn, and other parts of the campus. Flagstones for use in the terraces and halls were secured by former student Arney Hall.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An account in the October 1940\u00a0<\/a>Pine Cone\u00a0<\/em>describes a visit to campus by Mary Rockwell Hook to assess the work on the new building. She was accompanied by Mrs. James F. Trimble of Kansas City, Missouri, and by Mrs. “Fanny” Anderson Gratz<\/a>, a member of the Board of Trustees at Pine Mountain. Their visit is described:<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Hook, the architect of new Laurel House, said she thought the building was coming along nicely and the girls, who are now living on the top floor of the Industrial Building<\/a> could move into Laurel House play-room in about eight weeks. The girls are going to live in Laurel House only until the new dormitory [West Wind<\/a>], which is going to be on Pole House Hill, is built.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The new Laurel House contained the elements that were critical to the function of the older building, but the design was altered from the original plan. The plan included a Dining Room, Kitchen and Laundry, but later adjustments to the plan or alterations in later years included space for Worker’s Rooms, a Co-op Store, Kindergarten classroom (1960s) and Audio-visual Room (1970s),\u00a0Gift Shop in the former Co-op Store and in the late 1980s, a Conference Room in the original Co-op Store room.<\/p>\n

The new building was constructed with funds from insurance on the first Laurel House I and reserve funds of the School.<\/p>\n

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“WHY LAUREL HOUSE NODDED A GABLE”<\/b><\/p>\n

During the days of her opening, Laurel House, very primly without seeming to do so, listened to many conversations. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel at home here until the Christmas festivities began.\u201d \u201cI think the garland hanging was the best ever even though they did have to use posts instead of the unfinished balcony to hang it on.\u201d \u201cIt was hard to tell that the minuet dancers were students and not true English lords and ladies, especially with the Yule log in the fireplace, the garlanded balcony, and Boys\u2019 House English Christmas ballads.\u201d \u201cWhy, living here is as natural as anything even though it does smell of plaster, paint, and new wood.\u201d \u201cThe Thanksgiving Ball<\/a> and the dinner seemed about twice as good just because we were in the Laurel House we have so long looked forward to.\u201d \u201cI know all the credit for such corking times can\u2019t be given just to this one new building. But, I guess it seems to be.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

All the while Laurel House was nodding one of her six gables and vowing to live up to those traditions and expectations.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014- Reported\u00a0by Theda Howard, May 1941 CONIFER<\/a>, page 13.<\/i>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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MOST USED BUILDING
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Laurel House II is the most dominant building on the Pine Mountain School site. It sits at the center of the campus and serves as the primary building for group activity and for dining. The current Laurel House II\u00a0is the second Laurel House constructed at the School. Laurel House I\u00a0was consumed by fire in 1939.<\/p>\n

Both buildings are the design of Mary Rockwell Hook, the School’s lead architect. Built in 1940 to replace the destroyed building, Laurel House II was constructed on the same site as the earlier building, but the two structures are very different in design. Theda Howard’s description of six gables captures the more angular nature of the new Laurel House. It is a well-constructed building and the value of the new building and the equipment in 1940 was estimated to be $44,746.00, making the structure, again, the most expensive building at the School. The earlier Laurel House I had a valuation of $17,024.68 in 1926. The new building, like the old one,\u00a0is of stone and wood construction. The ground floor is of natural stone, similar to that found in the Chapel<\/a> and in Draper Industrial Building<\/a>. The second floor is of wood frame construction. A concrete\u00a0enclosure contains the coal-bin and furnace for the building.<\/p>\n

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\"P1040429\"<\/a>

Laurel House II, interior view of main living room, looking north. [P1040429.jpg]<\/p><\/div>\n

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GALLERY OF IMAGES – PLANNING FOR LAUREL HOUSE II\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t