LEBANON — The federal Department of the Interior has added 40 buildings and features to the Colburn Park Historic District’s listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Meanwhile, the Orfordville Congregational Church and the East Village School in Croydon were added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places this month.
Those who own properties listed on the state and national register can apply for state preservation funding through the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, or LCHIP, and Conservation License Plate funds, also known as the Moose Plant program, according to the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, which is part of the N.H. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.
They are also “offered special consideration in the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act, building, energy, and fire codes, the state lead poisoning prevention law and administrative rules, and the state floodplain ordinance,” according to the state.
Lebanon
When first listed in the National Register in 1986, the origins of the buildings, objects and other elements that made up the city’s Colburn Park Historic District dated from 1792 to 1925. The newly added properties were constructed as late as 1971, the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources said in a Wednesday news release.
In 2021, Lebanon received a Certified Local Government grant, administered by the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, to resurvey and evaluate the Colburn Park Historic District as a first step in updating the original National Register nomination, the news release said.
Included in the 40 new properties on the register is the former service station where Lucky’s Coffee Garage is now located. Constructed of red brick in 1952, the building was ineligible to be included in the 1986 listing due to its age at that time.
Orford and Croydon
The Orfordville Congregational Church and the East Village School in Croydon were two of eight properties the State Historical Resources Council added to New Hampshire list this August, according to a different news release from the state Division of Historical Resources.
The Orfordville Church, located on Route 25A, was built around 1895, according to the release. It replaced a previous church on the same site that was damaged by a fire.
It is an “eclectic Victorian building with influences from the Queen Anne, Romanesque, and Arts and Crafts Styles,” the release said. “Its simple gable-front design is embellished with a steep and low roofline as well as a three-story bell tower.”
The church is still used to this day and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. this Sunday, organists Kyle Washburn, Mary Musty and Eli Mansur will perform on its antique pipe organ.
Croydon’s East Village School was built in 1835 and is the oldest one-room schoolhouse still operating in the state.
It is located on Route 10 and was constructed “prior to the shift toward gable-front Greek Revival schoolhouses, the single-story building has no framework and is constructed of load-bearing brick,” the release said.
The East Village School, referred to as the Croydon Village School, serves children in kindergarten through fourth grade. Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, the school will be for preschool and kindergarten, and students in first grade and up will be tuitioned to other districts.
At Town Meeting in March, voters approved a $353,000, 30-year bond for renovations to the schoolhouse.
In addition to upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the roof and classroom flooring are set to be replaced, the brick repointed, insulation added to the basement and there are plans for the insulation in the attic to be abated and replaced.
The renovations are expected to begin next summer.
