The Heritage Commission in Francestown has accumulated more than half of the total funds it needs to begin renovations on its historic town hall.
Renovations are estimated to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million, Brad Howell, a Francestown selectboard member, said.
“It’s a lot of money for a small town to raise,” Howell said, adding the commission is a little behind where it would like to be on its fundraising goals.
He said the commission fell short of its fund raising goal last year.
“It has been a lot of work and it’s taking a little longer than expected, but it’s a good project,” Howell said. “It sits at the head of the town common and it’s a pretty building. It’ll be a great place for the town and surrounding towns to gather when it’s complete.”
As it stands, the commission has raised more than $600,000, which was accumulated through a combination of town support, grants, individual donations and community events.
“We would definitely like to start the project this year,” said Elly Miles, one of two alternate members on the Heritage Commission. “We are trying to get that money in hand.”
She said a $200,000 grant hinges on completing renovations by December 2017, which puts a time crunch on the fundraising and renovation process. “We are hopeful we will be able to meet that deadline,” Miles said.
Built in 1847, the Town Hall and Academy building was constructed to accommodate two uses; the first floor hosted special town meetings and other community events, while the second floor housed a private Academy.
As many as 100 students were listed as attending the private school. Prominent figures from history, including 14th President Franklin Pierce and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Levi Woodbury, are both said to have attended the academy.
“This building is full of history,” Howell said.
The district – which also includes a dormitory called the Beehive, an 18-stall horse shed, platform scales used to weigh hay and a granite watering trough – were all placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May.
The Town Hall hosted selectboard meetings and community gatherings in the space until the structure became uninhabitable in the early 2000s.
In 2010, an engineering survey showed the entire building needed to be structurally repaired.
“A really heavy snowfall probably would have done the roof in,” Miles said.
The town raised the appropriate funds to fix basic structural issues, and reopened the first floor for public use, although selectboard meetings are still held elsewhere. The second floor remains closed.
Right now, the building needs “essentially everything.”
“We kind of envision it as a center for community functions,” Howell said.
In the past, he said, town meetings, square dances, and civic events were held at the Town Hall, events the commission hopes to be able to offer once again.
“My children were raised in Francestown and were lucky enough to have the Town Hall as a very big part of their lives,” said Carol Brock, director of the George Holmes Bixby Memorial Library. “It was and still is the heart and soul of our town”
She said her family has “wonderful memories” of children’s plays, talent shows, dances, and adult plays and readings, which were all held at the hall.
“My biggest wish is that we are able to complete the renovations in a timely manner so that the children growing up in Francestown will have the same amazing experiences that my children had,” Brock wrote in an email. “It is a beautiful building, so full of history and love.”
A second annual community Halloween dance and costume party will be held on Oct. 29. All proceeds will benefit Town Hall.