BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The Town of Rockingham was recently granted a prestigious, historic preservation grant, to be utilized during the restoration of the Rockingham Meeting House Preservation Project. Rehabilitation of the Rockingham Meeting House is being supported in part by a Semiquincentennial Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior. The estimated cost of the entire restoration project is $3 million.
According to Rockingham historic preservation coordinator Walter Wallace, these Semiquincentennial Grants are given in honor of the country’s upcoming 250th birthday. The 19 grants given in 2024 were awarded in nine different states, with the grant awarded to the Rockingham Meeting House Preservation Project being the only in Vermont, equal to the largest grants ever awarded by the NPS.
“The project breathes life into our towns’, our regions’, and our states’ remembrance of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026,” Wallace said in a recent interview. “Rockingham had a ‘committee of correspondence’ keeping in touch with Sam Adams in Boston. There was a ‘Liberty Tree’ located near the first meeting house, where letters were posted to keep up with news of events that led to the Declaration of Independence.”
Essentially, the restoration construction of the meeting house is divided into three phases, with Phase 1 focusing on foundation, drainage, window restoration, and roof work. Phase 2 will then focus on the exterior, interior, plaster, and pew restoration, with the final phase concentrating on ADA-compliance and life-safety.
“National Parks Service has approved above-ground construction plans for Phase 1, including the foundation, window, and roof work,” Wallace continued. “We need to complete an archaeology review of the site before NPS greenlights our moving forward with contractor bids, because they want to make sure that what we do follows the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for Historic Preservation.
“There is optimism that construction can begin in the summer of 2025 and continue through 2026. The project is ambitious, and we are moving forward with deliberate speed tempered by various historic preservation and environmental reviews at both the state and federal levels.”
Funding for the restoration project will be coming from a variety of sources, including the aforementioned Vermont Division of Historic Preservation, NPS’ Save America’s Treasures Grant, as well as town funds and select philanthropy.
When Phase 1 work begins, the workers will build a new foundation under the building to stabilize and keep the structure from shifting further. The shifting of the building has been mostly responsible for the interior plaster, woodwork, and window damage that will be restored following the building of the new foundation.
“Bids for the restoration work cannot go out until NPS gives final approval of the construction plans,” Wallace added. “We are waiting on the reviews of the submitted archaeology surveys, and bidding will follow through the Town of Rockingham’s procurement policy and the National Park Service for bidding. For this work, we would like to tap into as much local talent as possible.”