ROCKINGHAM, Vt. – Kicking off with the Aug. 6 and 7 Old Home Days and the Meeting House Pilgrimage weekend, nominations are now open for Rockingham Old House Awards 2022.
“During our Awards Silver Jubilee year, we want to celebrate with property owners their on-going restoration and renewal of historic homes and commercial buildings,” said John Leppman, Chair of the Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission (RHPC). The awards program is sponsored by the commission.
There are multiple award categories with multiple awardees. Categories include awards for best private residence, commercial building, and apartment building.
“Since the first Old Home Awards program organized by the Our Town group in 1997, owners of over 160 homes and commercial buildings have been honored for conservation of their properties,” noted RHPC coordinator Walter Wallace.
Eligible properties are older homes that have been renovated, painted, or otherwise enhanced on the exterior, usually in the past five years. Properties must be located within the Town of Rockingham, including the Villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River, the hamlets of Bartonsville, Cambridgeport, Brockways Mills, and the town’s rural areas. To qualify, properties must be at least fifty years old and may be residential or commercial.
Nominations may be made by calling the Rockingham Development Office at 802-463-3964 Ext. 1112, by sending an email to clg@rockbf.org, or writing to Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission Coordinator, Town of Rockingham, P.O. Box 370, Bellows Falls, VT 05101. All nominations should include the property’s address and, if possible, the owner’s name.
Deadline for nominations will close over the Labor Day weekend, Monday, Sept. 5, 2022, at 5 p.m. The Awards will be announced Sept. 30, with a presentation ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Meeting House in Old Rockingham Village during the Southern Vermont Flannel Festival.
The Old House Awards program is supported in part through funding from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service through the Certified Local Government program.