Jaffrey’s Meetinghouse was one of 35 projects in the state to be awarded a Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) grant.
The $54,600 matching grant will be used to help the town replace the building’s deteriorating wood shingle roof.
Last year, members of the Meetinghouse committee noticed water damage on the ceiling caused by a leak in the roof, which was attributed to heavy snow and ice buildup.
The Jaffrey Meetinghouse is the sole surviving second period meetinghouse in the Monadnock region, according to the LCHIP application.
It has been in continuous use since 1775 as meetinghouse, church, high school, town offices, concert and lecture hall and theater.
A total of $3.5 million in LCHIP grants were awarded this year, throughout the state. LCHIP is an independent state authority that provides matching grants to communities and non-profits, giving them the ability to protect and preserve the state’s natural, cultural, and historic resources.
Additionally, the Monadnock Conservancy was awarded a $100,000 matching grant, which will be used to purchase a conservation easement on 67 acres of fertile fields along the Ashuelot River in Swanzey.
The grant with allow the land to continue to provide corn and hay to feed a herd of 400 registered Holsteins at the Adams’ Windyhurst Farm, a dairy farm in Westmoreland.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.