WILTON — A state-of-the-art fire protection system has been installed at Grant Cottage to safeguard the landmark and its contents, the state Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation said this week.
Located on the slope of Mount McGregor in Wilton and Moreau, the historic site is where President Ulysses S. Grant died in the summer of 1885. The system — supported by $1.5 million in funds from the State Parks Capital Program and the Friends of Grant Cottage nonprofit — will detect and suppress any fires at the cottage.
According to a statement by Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid, the equipment will better protect the site and its collection of historic furniture, floral arrangements and Grant’s personal items from a potentially devastating loss.
The fire protection system boasts a high-end detection system that will deploy a mixture of nitrogen gas and water mist in the event of smoke or fire. The nitrogen will displace oxygen in the room, making it harder for a fire to keep burning. At the same time, the mist will lower fire temperatures without inflicting significant water damage, making it well-suited to protect the artifacts. The nitrogen-mist system is the first of its kind for a historical site in New York’s parks system.
Tim Welch, president of the Friends of Grant Cottage, noted that fire could threaten the cottage.
“Fire has been our greatest worry for this 140-year-old wooden Cottage, and now we can rest easier as we preserve this time-capsule from the summer of 1885 where the man who saved the Union died in Saratoga County,” Welch said in a statement.
The installation comes less than a week after smoke from Canadian wildfires covered much of New York state in an orange haze. Although wildfires in the Mount McGregor region are uncommon, dry weather and strong winds can raise the risk of one happening.
The cottage is temporarily…
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