LINCOLN — By the time the museum at the Homestead National Monument reopens, visitors should see no trace of a New Year’s Day water main break that splashed and soaked books, artifacts and furniture.
Mark Engler, superintendent of the National Park Service facility near Beatrice, Neb., said he did not have cost estimates for repairs to the Heritage Center museum and its contents. The museum could reopen this week.
The $4.7 million building opened in May 2007. The award-winning structure houses exhibits and a collection in its below-ground lower level. The upper level features a scenic overlook, theater, information desk and bookstore.
Situated at the site of the first homestead claim in the United States, the monument highlights the history of the Homestead Act of 1862, which gave settlers free land if they lived on the property for a required number of years.
Engler said he heard a dismaying sound after he and a Gage County sheriff’s deputy responded to a New Year’s Day alarm. It was the sound of running water.
The alarm sounded at 5:33 p.m., only a few hours after Engler and his staff had completed a holiday inspection and saw no signs of trouble.
Engler ran to shut off the building’s water supply, using a pole extension to reach the valve in the ceiling. But the water kept running.
He and the deputy then ran to shut off the water at the meter, digging through drifts of snow to clear a manhole cover, and reaching down to shut off the valve.
The water main had broken outside the Heritage Center. Water seeped through the mud and entered the building through two fiber and phone line conduits that also had broken.
Engler said muddy water poured into the lower level, soaking carpets and drywall, spraying exhibits and artifacts and splashing museum display cases.
He estimated that the water had been running into the building for less than 15 minutes before the alarm sounded.
Engler said Homestead staff members responded without question when he telephoned for help, even though several were out of town for holiday celebrations with family.
Plumbers, excavators, phone company workers and volunteers also quickly arrived and went to work on repairs and cleanup, he said.
The facility’s rarest and most precious books were sealed in water-tight locked cabinets and were unharmed, he said.
But many other books — family Bibles, school books, local history books and similar items that homesteading families carried with them — were doused with water.
Staffers used shims to lift heavy exhibit cases off the wet floor and quickly wiped them dry before water soaked in. Wooden artifacts like tables, desks, other furniture items and hand tools also were wiped dry.
Wet-dry vacuums were used to remove water from the floor. Dehumidifiers were needed to drop humidity levels in the building, which had reached 77 percent. Some drywall will be replaced.
Engler said 785 items were rescued from the collection room, including 425 books.
Of the books, 255 received water damage, with 165 getting wet enough to require drying in a freezer or book press. Some wooden objects, including a table and dresser, will be treated to eliminate mold before they go back into storage.
“It appears all damage will be reversible,” Engler said.
It is not clear why the water main broke, although cold weather and frozen ground were factors in the incident, he said.
The building won’t reopen until water service is restored, and that has been delayed because of the frigid weather. Contractors are installing utility vaults and sheathing on the water main and conduits to prevent a recurrence.
“We worked passionately and we worked hard to minimize the damage on any objects and books,’’ Engler said. “These were treasures to the (homesteading) families, and they are treasures to the American people.”
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