The Historic Preservation Barter System

"Why would some people willingly spend decades - and hundreds of thousands of dollars - renovating houses they will never own? For a small but growing number of so-called resident curators living in old and cherished state-owned houses up and down the East Coast, the answers include the pleasure of bringing an abandoned landmark back to life, freedom from mortgage payments and the chance to live in the kind of home that would otherwise be out of reach."

"Programs like the one in Massachusetts have come about because many state governments own more houses of historical interest than they can afford to maintain, mainly on farms acquired decades ago and converted to parkland. Now a few states have begun turning these properties, along with some of the surrounding land, over to live-in curators, who take on restoration responsibilities in lieu of paying rent or taxes."

"More states are looking to resident curator programs as a way to hold onto history, especially since a more familiar approach - opening the old houses to the public as museums - is on the wane, mainly because of a decline in visitors."