MVP purchased this significant property in 2019, more than three years after a damaging fire in January 2016. Read an abbreviated history of the property here.

1) Acquire the building - DONE!

The building’s sale is complicated. We won’t bore you with the legalese, but there were back taxes owed and a court-ordered lien on the property, We negotiated with the past owners and the selectmen to arrive at a solution that worked for all.

2) Stabilize and study the building - DONE!

Once the deed transferred, Mascoma Valley Preservation cleaned up the property, added a temporary roof, dried out the interior, and commissioned an historic building assessment.

That study - paid for with support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the NH Preservation Alliance - provided a road map toward rehabilitation. The study included input from an engineer, architect, timber framer, and historic preservationist.

3) Phase the rehabilitation - IN PROCESS

The building will require structural repairs, foundation work, mechanical systems, code improvements, and new historically-appropriate windows - just to name a few big ticket items.

Our ambitious goal is to have the building’s exterior restored in 2023 - its 225th birthday.

Grafton needs a general store/marketplace to fill the void left by the closure of the Grafton Country Store in 2018. We’re excited to return the building to use, add it to the Grafton tax rolls, and build a whole new base of supporters for the building’s restoration and maintenance.

2021:

-selective demolition (rear additions, vinyl siding and windows, interior layers, fire damage)

-repair the timber frame

-dig and pour a new foundation

2022:

-install permament roof

-enclose exterior with sheathing, clapboards, windows, doors

-paint exterior

2023:

-interior work: gallery columns, structural finishes, subfloor

-construct rear addition

-design septic system

2024:

-bell tower restoration

-complete exterior painting and installing windows

-interior work: new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing; insulation; plaster; flooring

-install septic system and drill new well

-landscaping

2025:

-finishing touches

-landscaping