MASCOMA VALLEY PRESERVATION

In this fiscal year, Mascoma Valley Preservation (MVP) welcomed new members to the all volunteer board and board of advisors, adding valued expertise to our group. MVP's Grafton Center Meetinghouse also saw significant improvements. After acquisition in 2019, the building has undergone substantial work to repair the damages left by a catastrophic fire and subsequent water damage in 2016. This year, the exterior envelope of the building was completed, closing out phase two of our project. We celebrated the completion of this chapter and the start of new phases with an open house. Donors, board members, contractors, and more signed the reverse side of a panel that will be installed in the walls of the meetinghouse, honoring the work of so many people that helped save this historic site, and to perhaps be discovered in another 200 years. The 175-acre Kimball property also saw improvements during this fiscal year. MVP started site work, selective demolition, and foundation replacement for the small house on site, which will become a unit of affordable housing. Elsewhere, property and building cleanup continued with the removal of tons of scrap metal, trash, and tires. The other two buildings on site - a former shingle mill and a c.1820 barn - were readied for rehabilitation in FY 26 and 27. Those buildings will serve as incubation and workshop space for rural businesses. MVP continued property maintenance at the 1905 Cheever Chapel, an historic property acquired by MVP in 2021. Several dangerous trees encroaching on the building were safely removed and truckloads of brush were hauled away and/or chipped on site.