The Mason Select Board is seeking a team to lead the process of restoring the historic Town Hall, after completing an assessment of the building earlier this year.
“The building is part of the triangle that makes downtown Mason what it is,” Mason resident and committee member Connie Lacasse said Thursday. “It’s got a lot of history.”
The Town Hall was built in 1848 and underwent a major renovation in 1885, to add a second story and the stage, but its exterior looks much the same as when it was built. Its Greek revival style was popular at the time across the New England states.
Today, the building is used for annual voting, rented as a function hall, to host school fairs and used occasionally for a meeting space for municipal committees during meetings that need more space. In the past, it’s been used as a square-dancing hall, graduation ceremonies, a meeting place for the local Boy Scout Troop, and has served as the town offices, police station, and the meeting hall for the Grange.
Last year, the building was added to the state’s register of historical places.
In 2018, the town approved $5,000 to do an assessment of the building. And it does need work, said Select Board Administrative Assistant Kathy Wile.
Built in 1848, the building is in good condition for its age, Wile said, but does need structural work done.
“There’s three main focuses the assessment review found,” Wile said. “There’s the foundation and multiple drainage issues, there’s the roof, both the sagging in the roofline itself and putting new shingles on, and interior projects.”
Wile said all those issues need to be addressed, and the town is seeking a committee to help steward the restoration, and fundraise and write grants to offset the costs.
Wile said the repairs would likely start with the foundation work, but said she expects the full project will have to be addressed in stages over a period of time – how much time will depend on estimates of what the work will cost and the committee who will lead it.
The Select Board is seeking volunteers for the committee, and is particularly interested in people with grant writing experience or experience with private or corporate donations, or work experience and knowledge related to the trades involved in the restoration are particularly of interest.
If you have any interst in being part of the committee, contact the Select Board office at 878-2070 or email administration@masonnh.us.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.