Editor’s note: This article is by Taylor Reed of the Caledonian-Record, in which it was first published on Aug. 31, 2014.
ST. JOHNSBURY — The St. Johnsbury History and Heritage Center on Friday afternoon purchased a Victorian house on Summer Street for $185,000 in order to establish a new museum to display local artifacts.
“We’re over the moon,” Peggy Pearl, the organization’s director, said Friday afternoon. “We’ve finally reached it. We’re really ecstatic. It has been a long road.”
The history and heritage center at 3 p.m. Friday inked a sale agreement. The Summer Street property was owned by 152 Associates LLC and formerly housed the Primmer & Piper law firm offices.
“We had so much support from the former owners,” Pearl said.
Renovations will begin directly. The property’s carriage barn will be updated and a handicap ramp constructed leading to the house. Some artifacts, which are now stored at Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, may be installed this year.
“It will be bit by bit, piece by piece, when we get shelving and the right atmospheric conditions,” Pearl said.
Proper atmosphere means dehumidifiers in the basement storage area.
The museum is expected to open within a year. Phased opening ceremonies, including one in December, are planned.
Resident Reg Wakeham, a member of the history and heritage center’s board of directors, said Friday’s sale agreement was monumental.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “So we’re very thankful.”
The sale was initially scheduled for Sept. 15 but a bureaucratic snag delayed it when organizers discovered the property was zoned as office space, which is inappropriate for a museum. That meant the property required a conditional use permit as a cultural center before the sale.
The St. Johnsbury Development Review Board on Thursday at a public hearing approved the change of use, paving the way for today’s closing. Zoning administrator Maureen Hennings said it was an easy decision.
“There wasn’t much to it at all,” she said. “Everybody thought it was a valuable facility to have in the neighborhood.”
Nobody protested the change of use but one resident aired minor privacy concerns, Hennings said. The resident will discuss it with the history and heritage center, she said.
The review board also considered issues like lighting, safety and security and determined there were no concerns, Hennings said.
“Everyone involved is very interested in making this a success,” she said.
The history and heritage center had raised about $250,000 following a successful fundraising campaign. Future operating costs will be covered by donations.
