Vampiric Museum side projects

I have mentioned several times the Museum that I worked at before I came here for school, the National Colonial Farm.  There were many things that I have learned about this semester that brings new light to many aspects of the museum that I did not understand while I was there.  But there was one aspect of the farm that I still do not understand.

The NCF was set up to preserve the land across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon so that it would not be developed and ruin the view with houses and a sewage treatment plant, as was originally planned.  They decided that one of the things that they would do with the land was set up a living history museum and for that purpose they moved two buildings from the 1770's to the farm site.  These buildings are unique, they are the only known examples of authentic Colonial Vernacular buildings in Maryland, they are not like the small gentrified plantations like that of Thomas Stone that contain small mansions, there was no historical value to the buildings other than they are old.  But they are unique now, all other similar buildings have been demolished in favor of newer buildings.  These two buildings form the core of the NCF, they are its main draw and around which everything is interpreted.  And yet, when it comes to where the Accokeek Foundation seems to put its money in its general funds, they go to another part of the farm, the Ecosystem Farm.  The Eco Farm is supposed to be a responsible and sustainable farming project; while a project of this type is important it does not have the importance to the Accokeek Foundation that the NCF does, the Accokeek Foundation was formed for the NCF and the Eco Farm is a side project.  I point out that the Eco Farm is a side project because it also draws funds away from the NCF, in significant enough amounts that those two buildings, the unique ones, do not get the proper care.  One of my supervisors talked many times about how buildings would have been taken care of in colonial times, and if they were taken care of properly, they would need very little of the significant repairs that they seem to always need.  Wood buildings like these would have been coated with something they called Witches Brew which waterproofed the building and protected it from the elements and should have been applied every year.  Instead, the buildings are lucky to get it every three to five years, which has led to the wood being grey and sun-worn, warping and falling off of the house and barn.  What I do not understand is why this side project is able to suck funds away from the main project in this manner.

I think for a museum such as the NCF, their main focus should be on the NCF and the governing body should prioritize funds for its main project.  NCF is what brings in the funds for the Accokeek foundation, and yet it gets far less of a focus in the budget than the Eco Farm, which gets far fewer visitors and brings in much less funding.  I simply do not understand this, it seems like the NCF could be better maintained and interpreted and advertised if funds were not going to this other project.