Historic preservation defines a place and inspires deep thinking. When a group of teens visited the National Register-listed 1878 Kimball Jenkins Mansion in Concord, NH, they were inspired by the High Victorian Gothic architecture. It reminded them of buildings in the popular video game Minecraft.

Seventeen year old Clark Todd and a group of friends took the lead. Clark studied every inch of the landmark building and used the architect's original floorplans to create an interactive online replica of the mansion in Minecraft. Over the course of more than 100 hours, Clark used keen observation to capture architectural detail. He noticed the front staircase was wider and less steep than the back stairs, which made him think about the original inhabitants and their servants. It also led to some creative math as he calculated angles to keep both stairwells to scale. Clark and his friends kept coming back, looking more carefully at the place, and developing a deeper appreciation of history and craftsmanship.

The nonprofit that owns the mansion was raising money to rehabilitate the slate and copper roof with its nine hip and gable dormers, preserving in place nearly all the original Munson slate and restoring the ornate woodwork. The teens noticed these features and captured them in their replica. One rainy day in the attic, they also noticed water slowly dripping into two large basins on the floor. They were drawn to the mansion because of a video game, and had grown to care about preserving an important historic landmark.

The Kimball Jenkins Minecraft video has been shown at multiple events and fundraisers.