proud Accomplishments & preservation NEWS:

Total number of project Volunteer Hours August 2018 through November 2024:  7,195 hours​

​2024

• The Royal Little Family Foundation awards $30,000 grant to the building preservation project, October
  
• The bell rings once again!  The restored bell was ringing at the Effingham Annual Street Dance on October 19th at the Effingham Library
• Charter Oak Masonic Lodge #58 donation of $1,000 to the preservation project, August
• Friends of the Effingham Library Bake Sale - $425 raised for preservation! July
• NH GIVES online statewide fundraising - $3,004 raised!  This year, Effingham Preservation Society and Charter Oak Masonic Lodge #58 jointly raised funds to renovate bathrooms for ADA accessibility, June 11 - 12
• ​Effingham Preservation Society Annual Plant Sale Fundraiser - $884 raised! May
• Conger & Son Metalworks and Valley Restorations, LLC, hired to fabricate new Masonic symbols for the bell tower, May
• Grant Letter of Intent to NH Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources - ARTS Conservation License Plate Grant Program, April
• Valley Restorations, LLC, hired to perform repairs of cupola water leaks and restoration of cupola railings, April
• Rooster Productions hired to repair and restore exterior and interior double doors, February
• L&P Electric, LLC, Ossipee, NH, hired to do bell tower electric work, February
• Talis Historic Restoration hired to restore 2nd & 3rd floor double hung windows, February
• Northwood Sash & Joinery, LLC hired to fabricate and restore the bell tower one-of-a-kind design clover leaf windows, February
• The Verdin Company hired to restore the bell tower cupola bell - let the bell ring again!, February

2023

• Anonymous large donor grant for $23,000, December
• NH Governor Chris Sununu media event announces 2023 Land & Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) grant awards.  The HTH project received $172,000 in matching funds for Phase 2B preservation work.  December 11th
• Royal Little Family Foundation grant for $30,000, November
• Historic Significance!!  NH Preservation Alliance announces 1790's Lord's Hill Tavern, Lord's Hill Historic District, Province Lake Road, Effingham, has been nominated to the 2023 Seven to Save, October - watch the video to see and listen to part of Effingham's early history
• Charter Oak Masonic Lodge #58 A&FM donation of $600; matched by NH Grand Lodge Charity Fund for $600, October
• NH Community Finance Authority (CDFA) - Clean Energy Fund Grant awarded $3,900 to complete a Level II Energy Audit of the building, August
• Friends of Effingham Library donate $500, August
• Effingham Public Library receives $5,000 grant towards rehabilitation of ADA bathrooms, July
• NH GIVES 2023 charitable fundraising campaign raises $1714.62 for helping to restore the 1863 bell atop the 6-story tower. June   Henry N Hooper & Co.  (former Paul Revere Foundry, MA)
• Susan Slack, Esquire and Chairperson, Effingham Historic District Commission, joins the Historic Town Hall-Library Preservation Project Team, May
• Jacobs Glass​ awarded contract to complete restoration of front double doors, sidelights and transom windows, April
• Effingham Taxpayers appropriate $10,000 for project at 2023 Annual Town Meeting, March
• Effingham Free Public Library reopens February 1, 2023 after 5-months of preservation construction, February
• Phase 1 of Historic Town Hall-Library Preservation Project completed January 18, 2023.  Report is here:  Phase 1 Final Summary_18Jan2023
• Historic Town Hall-Library 15-year Stewardship Plan filed with LCHIP at the completion of Phase 1 preservation and rehabilitation work. 

2022

• ​In memory donations, $3,500, for Susan "Sue" Regal. Long-time Effingham Preservation Society active volunteer, Effingham Library Trustee and very active member of Historic Town Hall-Library Preservation Project Team recently passed away after a short illness. December
• 2022 Moose Plate Grant ($20,000) awarded, December
• Charter Oak Lodge #58 of Freemasons and NH Grand Lodge Charity Fund each present $600 checks ($1,200 total) to Effingham Preservation Society for the benefit of the Historic Town Hall Project, December
• Royal Little Family Foundation grant for $35,000, November
• Powder-post Beetle repair & rehabilitation project, 1st floor of Effingham Library Main Room starts September through December.  Cobalt Construction Management, contractor.
• Carriage style shed erected on the property to be used for library storage, August
• All new reproduction window shutters hung on building by project team volunteer labor, July
• 2022 LCHIP ($155,000) and Moose Plate Grant ($20,000), completed applications accepted, June
• Charter Oak Lodge #58 of Freemasons co-sponsored the NHGIVES fundraising event with Effingham Preservation Society and raised $600 for a matching grant, June
• Effingham Preservation Society participated for the 3rd year in NHGIVES state-wide fundraising event raising over $1,572, June
• Friends of the Effingham Library sponsored a Garden Cart Raffle fundraiser for the HTH Project raising $1,000, May
• 2022 LCHIP Letter of Intent submitted for $155,000 matching grant and approved, May
• Timberdoodle Farm_Specialty Sawmill, Strafford, NH, hired to cut Town-owned timber into lumber for Powder-post Beetle Repairs, May
• 2022 Moose Plate Grant Letter of Intent accepted, May
• LCHIP approves Program Agreement changes in Phase 1 project scope in May, July and Sept.
• Powder-post Beetle repair & restoration contract awarded to Cobalt Construction Management, Effingham, NH, May
• Consolidated Communications Inc. installs upgraded 100/100 fiber internet & phone service in library, April
• 2nd HTH Project Annual Aluminum Can Recycling Fundraiser begins, April
• Powderpost Beetle Repair/Rehabilitation construction repair bids come in over $100,000, April
• Effingham Board of Selectmen approve using Town-owned logged timber for the Powder-post Beetle repair & restoration project, April
• Effingham Annual Town Meeting appropriates $60,000 for the restoration and preservation of the building, March
• Beech River (Shutter) Mill begins and completes fabricating reproduction window shutters for building exterior, Ossipee, NH, March
• November 2021 through President's Day, 100% donor-match fundraising drive, $2,480 raised, February
• ​Olde Window Restorers, Warner, NH, 1st floor storm windows installed, February
• ​Effingham Preservation Society donation for temperature and moisture control monitoring system for Masonic Temple room from CSA Data Loggers, Chesterland, OH, January 

2021

• NH Division of Historical Resources award to the Town of Effingham for the HTH Town Hall-Library Project $10,000 under the NH Moose Plate Program, December 
• Christopher P. Williams Architects, PLLC, completed architectural plan for building's 1st floor, December
• On-line Bake Auction sponsored by Effingham Preservation Society raised over $800, November
• Article - NH Municipal Association - NH Town and Country Magazine, page 41, November-December 2021
  
• 2nd year Aluminum Can Fundraiser running April through October removed 2,230 lbs. of aluminum from going to a landfill, October
• Eversource's Commercial & Industrial Retrofit Program supporting NH SAVES program has awarded a 50% grant of $8,350 for building insulation, October
  
• Effingham Preservation Society hosts online 'Lilly plants' sale to benefit HTH Project
• Olde Window Restorers, Warner, NH, restored 1st floor windows, September
  
• RPF Environmental Inc., Northwood, NH, completed asbestos abatement. 
  
• EnviroVantage, Epping, NH, provided asbestos project air quality monitoring, September
  
• Yankee Thermal Imaging, Rochester, NH, installed 2nd floor insulation.  An Eversource Grant has been applied for to offset 50% of the costs, September
  
• Jim's On Call Painting, Manchester, NH, is preparing and painting the building exterior with a special lead encapsulating paint, July-August-September
• JP Pest Services provided remediation efforts for Carpenter Ants found in the HTH-Library bell tower, August. 
  
• Lost Valley Home Repair & Remodeling, Effingham, NH, provided building exterior clapboard repairs, July
• Conger & Son Metalworks, Madison, NH, custom created and installed new copper window caps and roof returns, July
  
• Phase 1 preservation construction begins under the construction project management of Cobalt Construction Management, Effingham, NH   July 8, 2021
  
• NH Gives June 8th-9th online fundraiser, raises over $2,000!  June
• JP Pest Control performs Powderpost Beetle spraying in building crawl space to stop future infestation, June
• Restoration work has started!  First up, removing remaining window shutters (lead paint), May
• Town of Effingham Town Meeting raised - appropriated $10,000 to expendable trust fund, May
• Powderpost Beetles - recent discovery in the first floor beams.  New floor beams and floor work will now become part of Phase 1 restoration work.  April
• RFP Environmental performed asbestos testing and confirmed the presences of asbestos, May
• Asbestos - recent discovery hidden by suspended tile ceilings.  Testing and removal will become part of Phase 1 restoration work.  April
• 1st 2021 Effingham Preservation Society On-line Bake Auction - a success, $500+ raised, 50% donated to HTH-Library Project.  April
  
• Approve contractors for preservation Work: construction project management, exterior building painting, repair exterior window trim & clapboard rot, historic window restoration, window shutters, adding copper window & roof return caps, March
• LCHIP Approval to hire historic architect to create rehabilitation plans, February
• Scope of Work Phase 1 document submitted to LCHIP for review and approval, January

2020

• Launch Phase 2 fundraising campaign to raise $145,000 by November 2022 on November 15th​
• Land & Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) awards matching grant for $165,000, to the Historic Town Hall-Library Project, November 19th during live webcast.  Chuck Fuller, Lead Project Sponsor, was a guest speaker about the project.
• Major Milestone - successfully met the $165,000 Phase 1 fundraising goal - 100% of the goal! mid-November
• AmazonSmile - automated fundraising at no cost to you.  20 total households have joined this fundraising effort so far.  November
• Beech River Mill, Center Ossipee, NH, (ca 1851) produces 8 pair of historic reproduction window shutters for 1st floor of building, November
• Volunteer work crew trimmed overgrown landscaping bushes and trees on property, October 
• Freedom Charitable Foundation, Freedom, NH, $650 grant award, October
• Aluminum Can Fundraising Drive final tally for 2020 was 2,460 lbs. of aluminum recycled (about 78,700 cans not going to a landfill) and also reduced Town waste management costs.  Raised over $1,200.  April 15th into October
• $10,000 donation from Freemasons of Charter Oak Lodge #58, Effingham, NH, October
• Jacobs Glass Inc. removes 8 large historic windows, completes restoration at their workshop in Winslow, Maine, and reinstalls them in building, October
  
• Effingham Preservation Society Online Bake Sale Auction raised $720+.  July
• Article: Historic Meeting Place Once Masonic Boarding School, published by Masonic Services Association, Maryland, July
• ​NH GIVES June 9th-10th 24-hour online fundraising; $3,862 in donations to Effingham Preservation Society on behalf of the Historic Town Hall-Library Project, June
• Memorial Day Weekend Plant Sale at Effingham Preservation Society - exceeded $1,000 goal! $2,318 donated to the Historic Town Hall-Library Project, May
• Town of Effingham Town Meeting raised and appropriated a total of $9,500, March
• Applied for The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Grant for Historic Interiors Grant, March, funding was denied
• Applied for Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation Grant, March, funding was denied

2019​​

• Obtained 17 different written vendor proposals for repair, restoration & rehabilitation work during year.
• Created new Facebook page for The Historic Town Hall of Effingham NH, December
• Created new logo and business website with fundraising donate 'buttons', December
• Applied for Northeast Heritage Economic Program Grant, December
• Volunteer efforts demolished the 2.5 story unused chimney, November
• NH Preservation Alliance Board of Directors building tour, November
• Historic Town Hall building added to the Effingham Capital Improvements Plan, October
• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, September
• Awarded $10,000 NH Conservation License Plate (Moose Plate) Grant, September
• Christopher P Williams Architects, PLLC, creates Historic Building Assessment with Preservation Guidelines Report, May
• Submitted Letter of Intent to the Brown Foundation, Inc., May
• ​Application to the National Register of Historic Places, April 
• Town of Effingham Town Meeting raised and appropriated $20,000, March

2018

• Awarded $4,500 NH Preservation Alliance matching grant, October
• Formation of Historic Town Hall-Library Project Team with Board of Selectmen support, August

2017

• WMUR News 9 - New Hampshire Chronicle - New England Masonic Charitable Institute

          with Fritz Wetherbee             

Fritz Wetherbee (click picture)

2006

• Awarded $400 NH Preservation Alliance matching grant
• Created historic preservation building assessment report

2002

• Listed on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, April 29th
• Awarded $150,000 LCHIP matching grant for building repair and restoration including the Masonic Temple.  Charter Oak Lodge No. 58 donated $75,000 on top of the grant.

You can Help raise $222,000 by November 2023

Your donation will help ensure this historic building is preserved and utilized by the community.  ​The funds raised this year will be used towards 2021-2023 matching grant applications.  ​Please join our efforts.  Small donations like $18.58 help!