The American Samoa Historic Preservation Office
(ASHPO) has announced that the two-phase restoration work on the 123-year-old Aasutai monument at Massacre Bay is completed.
The monument, entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, was erected in memory of the
12 French sailors - part of the first European expedition to set foot on Tutuila - who died during a fatal altercation with locals on December 11, 1787.
Because of its distinction, regulations are in place to preserve and maintain the monument, meaning that all work had to be performed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, 1995, and all treatments completed will be documented for future research as per the Secretary’s Standards to be included in a final technical completion report.
The project began last August with an initial Phase I assessment that revealed serious deterioration that included staining from molds and mildews, large concrete spalls, and a lot of cracks.
In addition, the monument’s concrete was “sugaring”
or releasing sand particles from the spall cavities, a condition that made patching difficult.
For those reasons, the Phase II treatment was carried out to slow down deterioration and to re-establish a coherent appearance to the monument, essentially as it was with the addition of a concrete wall and cross in 1948.
The job was meticulous and had to be carried out by professionals who are experts in restoring monuments in Washington DC. The restoration work, which followed Phase I recommendations, was performed by the four man team of Irving Slavid, Norman Weiss, Martin Johnson, and Karl Munson of MCCM, Inc. based in Connecticut.
Historic Preservation Officer John Enright said that he is satisfied with the finish work, and the goal was to get the monument as close to its original condition as possible.
He added that the project was difficult not only because of the remote location of the monument (accessible only by boat or hiking), but also the requirement that the cement used for the job chemically matched the original one used.
The work took six days to complete and was deemed a success by both MCCM Inc. and ASHPO. MCCM’s Irving Slavid said, “This is certainly the most exciting and complex project that our conservation team has ever done.”
Enright added, “This monument is of great historic value both to the people of American Samoa and to the people of France. I was very pleased with the professionalism of its restoration. We have saved it for future generations.”
According to Enright, with regular maintenance, the monument would not have to undergo any major repairs for another 50 years.
The project was paid for with funds from the US Historic Preservation Fund administered by the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office, and a grant from the French Government.
HISTORY
The Aasu massacre occurred on Dec. 11, 1787 when a French landing party under the command of M. de Langle and a group of Samoans gathered on the Aasu shore. The landing party’s sole purpose was to fill their casks with fresh water.
A brief exchange of musket fire and stones erupted, killing a dozen members of the French party, including de Langle, and an unknown number of Samoans.
On October 2, 1882 French missionary Rev. Julien Vidal identified the grave site in Aasu and erected a simple monument with a cross. Two years later, a grander monument, probably closely resembling the one that still stands, was constructed when the French cruiser, Kerguelen, delivered the brass marker.
Between 1933 and 1981, additional modifications and repairs to the monument were made on an incremental basis. |
