proud Accomplishments & preservation NEWS:

Total number of project Volunteer Hours August 2018 through June 2025:  10,055 hours​
2025
  • NH GIVES 2025 June 10-11th statewide annual fundraiser, 1:1 matching donations up to $3,000 by an Anonymous donor.  This year's goal is to raise $7,500 for 1st floor building preservation, June
  • Grant Extensions: Land & Community Heritage Investment Program grant and the NH State Council on the Arts grant provided 1-year grant extensions through 2026 to complete preservation work, May
  • 2025 preservation work will include restoration and rehabilitation of the 1st floor bathrooms.  Contract awarded to Rooster Pro Designs, Effingham, NH,  May
  • Benevity donation for $2,874.88, April
  • Effingham Taxpayers appropriate $10,000 for the Town Hall Repair & Rehabilitation Expendable Trust Fund at 2025 Annual Town Meeting, March

​2024
  • Roeseland Charitable Fund through NH Charitable Foundation awards $5,000 to Phase 3 of preservation project, December
  • NH State Council on the Arts, Cultural Conservation Grant awards $20,000 to the building project for adding ADA compliance restroom in the Effingham Library, December
  • Charter Oak Lodge #58 and Grand Lodge of New Hampshire Charity Fund each donate $600 to the building preservation project, December
  • 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​​
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             
Picture
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!