George Washington slept here? Perhaps.

Students in Cornell's Historic Preservation Seminar are scouring the hills and valleys of the Town of Ithaca in search of historic and architecturally significant homes and buildings.

"This is important information to have, especially as the town considers more and more applications for new development," said George R. Frantz, assistant planner for the Town of Ithaca.

Currently six graduate students in city and regional planning are surveying buildings and residences on the town's southern edge. Having identified those structures that are 50 years old or older, students complete a detailed survey form by undertaking a thorough examination of the structure, as well as researching property deeds, abstracts and census reports.

"Everything is analyzed in the process," said Barbara E. Ebert, visiting lecturer in the Historic Preservation Program in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, who oversees the survey team. "We'll examine whether the buildings retain their original features, whether they've been moved or altered in any way and whether there are any facts associated with their importance."

Graduate student Will Stark has already spent more than 75 hours researching documents and examining nine homes in the Town of Ithaca, ranging from Greek revival houses from the 1840s to those built in the 1930s.

Conducting the survey has been good practice for Stark. "The more homes you view, the better you are at spotting a home's historic or architectural significance," he said. "You begin to learn that a certain window style is an indication of when the home was built."

But the best way to analyze a home is to check out the basement. "By examining the basement you can see the home's original foundation and very often you can see where additions were added," Stark said.

So far Stark has been able to peek inside many homes on the invitation of the homeowner. "They're very excited about the survey and eager to find out more information about their home."

Students in Cornell's Historic Preservation Seminar have conducted similar surveys over the years for Corning, Newark Valley, Morrisville and the Village of Port Byron. The survey for the Town of Ithaca will be completed by Fall 1999, when students will have surveyed more than 450 residences and buildings in the town.