Restoring a Relic, Without the Mortgage

Hazelwood, an 18th-century mansion in Prince George's County, is being restored by county residents living there rent-free through the historic property curatorship program run by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The house was once occupied by Revolutionary War Maj. Thomas Lancaster Lansdale. (By Charles Cohen For The Washington Post)

For about a year, the Coopers volunteered to work on the mansion to scope out what they would face as curators. They also wanted to assess the stress the project would place on their family and whether their basic home-repair skills would suffice.

After building a support system of experts, in April 2005 the Coopers signed a lease with the park commission. "Some of the things that looked bad weren't as bad as we thought and the things that were worse off, we had the right people around to tell us how to do it," Pam Cooper said.

Besides, she said, she had always wanted to experience the adventure of restoring a historic home.

Under the curatorship program, the Coopers will be able to live in the mansion as long as they actively restore the structure and maintain the 11-acre grounds.

In 1996, the county did a study that estimated it would cost $1.6 million to fully restore the structure. However, based on consultation with her own inspectors and a historic architect, Pam estimates the cost to make the house livable at about $600,000.

She points out, though, that the number is arbitrary -- it's based on a five-hour inspection done by flashlight while the house was still boarded up.

Some projects have been surprisingly less expensive than they first guessed, she said -- for instance, she's saving a lot of money by doing the masonry work and painting herself. But there could be other big bills ahead. For instance, the roof may have to be replaced.

"For someone looking for a cheap place to rent, this is not it," she said.

As far as Wagnon is concerned, the county has made out on the deal, saving a landmark at no cost to taxpayers.

"It's a big challenge for the curators," he said. "They are the ones that have the risk. They have to do the work."

After two years of scraping paint, jacking up beams and gingerly replacing windows one antique bubbled pane at a time, the Coopers still live in their farm house five miles away. And they just keep finding themselves immersed more deeply in the devilish details of preservation.

"It's like protecting art, like protecting the masters," Pam Cooper said. "There's art to these houses, especially a house like Hazelwood."