Hartford Village
Instead, the historical society will allocate funds toward making its current quarters at the nearby Garipay House handicapped accessible.
Judy Barwood, the historical society’s chairwoman of long-term planning, announced the change of plans this week while citing a lack of timely and sufficient fundraising to acquire the 14,000-square-foot Elks Lodge, a two-story Victorian structure built in 1884 that also is known as the Horace Pease House after its original owner.
The historical society, a 31-year-old nonprofit dedicated to fostering interest in local history and encouraging preservation of its material culture, had hoped to acquire the property from owner Richard Daniels, a former member of the disbanded Elks Club, for $592,000.
That price has proved too steep for the historical society, which has raised under $200,000 since fundraising began in 2017.
“We didn’t get as much town support as we’d hoped, from citizens,” Barwood said. “We did receive quite a few smaller gifts, but did not get much interest from large donors.”
Pease, an affluent owner of several businesses including the Pease Hotel, purchased the land for $2,800 in 1883, according to literature posted on the Hartford Historical Society website. He built the home, known as Summeracre, as a wedding gift for his bride, Seraph Pease. Today, the building is part of the Hartford Village Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The building had housed Elks Lodge No. 1541 since 1981, but the chapter disbanded a few years ago.
Aside from its interest in preserving the house itself, a lofty example of Queen Anne-style architecture in the heart of the village, the historical society had hoped to shift its headquarters there. The organization currently maintains a meeting area, museum and artifact storage space at the much smaller Garipay House on Maple Street — and space is running out.
“We have no place to put things,” said White River Junction resident Pat Stark, the volunteer curator at the historical society’s museum. “We recently had to refuse two antique typewriters, a desk and a trunk because we just didn’t have space for them.”
Daniels, who is the owner and president of RSD Transportation in White River Junction, was a member of the Elks Lodge and purchased the building in 2014 for $500,000. Although he could not be reached for comment, he previously told the Valley News that he was willing to sell the property to the historical society, but that it was not otherwise on the market. That could change now, according to Julie Lyford, Richard Daniels’ daughter.
“He’s disappointed it didn’t work out with the historical society,” said Lyford, executive assistant at RSD. “He intends, at this point, to find another buyer, probably to put it on the open market in the near future. It’s not really a building that he needs for his business.”
After an original purchase agreement with Daniels expired last November, the Hartford Historical Society revamped fundraising efforts, hiring a consultant and scheduling special events.
One such event came last summer at The Engine Room, a presentation and concert featuring voice over artist Susan Bennett, a cousin of Barwood’s who is the voice of Siri, Apple Inc.’s virtual assistant.
Bennett’s father, Everett Cameron, is a White River Junction native, Barwood said.
“That was a great event, a lot of fun, but we only raised around $1,000,” Barwood recalled. “Most of the donations were under $100.”
Donors from throughout the campaign were given the option of retrieving their contributions or allowing them to shift to efforts to make the Garipay House compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, including wheelchair-accessible ramps and other accommodations. Most allowed their donations to carry over to the new cause, though “six to eight” people wanted their money back.
“They specifically wanted it to go toward the Elks Lodge (purchase),” Barwood said.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.