Bennington Battle Monument study finds heavy moisture; multi‑year drying and repair plan proposed

State Historic Preservation Officer Laura Trisham and Jamie Duggan, director of preservation at Vermont State Historic Sites, told the Senate Institutions Committee on Feb. 11 that a multi‑year preservation effort is needed at the Bennington Battle Monument after a multi‑year technical study found the structure heavily saturated with water and continuing to shed stone.

Trisham said the monument is “stable” and “not going to tip over,” but engineers estimate the masonry could be holding as much as 66,000 gallons of water and the team has documented about 1,300 instances of failed mortar requiring repair. Trisham said those conditions make drying the monument before any exterior or interior repairs essential: “Drying out the stone interior and exterior is a priority prior to any repairs because they will fail if we do not dry out the monument first.”

Why it matters: The monument is Vermont’s tallest man‑made building, draws thousands of visitors and supports a busy gift shop; the site also carries FAA lighting and public access considerations. Officials said failing to begin a comprehensive program now will increase future repair needs and costs.

What the study found and the next steps Jamie Duggan described the technical work: coring, crack monitoring, petrographic analysis of the Hudson Falls (Sandy Hill)…