GILL — The newly established Riverside Municipal Building Use Committee and the Historical Commission are interested in using the three-room building at 54 French King Highway for a municipal museum and cultural heritage center following repairs.
The proposal, presented by new Historical Commission member Holly Grosvenor, is an idea for what the building can be, with Grosvenor emphasizing that “no rubber has hit the road.”
She explained that the building, constructed in 1926 as a former schoolhouse that now stores the Historical Commission’s collection, is “uniquely positioned” on land with historical significance, framed in three eras: the town’s prehistoric period and its dinosaur prints; Indigenous tribes, their traditions and findings from archaeological studies from the Great Falls Massacre of 1676; and Gill’s development in early New England.
Grosvenor provided a packet of information that details the way the museum would be laid out between the three rooms, along with funding options and a timeline of implementation. Within the timeline, there are “immediate” recommendations for the town to fix the roof, protect the historical items inside, complete building assessments, document the building’s historic nature and create an emergency maintenance plan.
“The guiding principal should be stabilize first; restore selectively; interpret intelligently; expand only when justified,” the packet reads.
This presentation came during the second meeting of the Riverside Municipal Building Use Committee, which was established to review ideas for use of the historic building. This committee complements the work of a separate board that was formed to oversee repairs of the roof, which has been damaged and leaking since last winter.
Both committees were established after town officials and residents met in late July to have a community discussion on what the future of the building should be, as the town seeks to decide on whether funding should go toward repairs amid the leaking roof and the work being done by the Historical Commission to explore its reuse.
The commission made progress earlier this year on assessing the state of the building through a visit by the building inspector. A negative asbestos test cleared a hurdle toward reopening the space to the public.
At the Riverside Municipal Building Use Committee’s meeting last week, attendees discussed the specific touchstones for the museum in the three eras of Gill. One idea is to find a way to get some of Gill’s dinosaur fossils back to town for display, as these are currently held in collections of other museums, such as the Hitchcock Ichnology Collection at the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College.
“It would be quite a substantial thing to not just talk about these fossils, but to have them,” Grosvenor said.
As for Indigenous history, Grosvenor noted the building’s location at the site of the Great Falls Massacre of 1676, where 300 non-combatant Native Americans, namely women, children and the elderly, were massacred by English forces led by Capt. William Turner.
The idea would be to have display items from the archaeological findings associated with the yearslong study of the May 1676 massacre that was completed last year. The space could serve as a cultural center, providing opportunities for education on Indigenous traditions and history from guest speakers, and it could host a garden for planting crops that would have been grown by Indigenous tribes.
As for Gill’s local history, the venue would offer a space for the collection the Historical Commission has amassed, and space could be reserved for private research for those interested in learning about their family history in Gill.
Given the historic nature of the building, its location on land involved in two historic eras and its proximity to Route 2 that would allow for regional access, Grosvenor said the site would be adequate for archiving, but also for being a multi-use community space.
The list of potential funding sources that Grosvenor put together includes a mix of federal and state options, with mention by Gill resident James Asbel that private philanthropies could also be a source of funding.
As for what the Historical Commission would like to see happen immediately, member Robert Perry, reading from a prepared statement, detailed having items from the collection on display, maintaining a multi-use room with some of the larger collection items and having an appointment-only room where the museum is currently.
Jenn Waldron, who chairs the Riverside Municipal Building Use Committee, explained that she was putting together information to pass on to the Selectboard, along with Town Administrator Ray Purington and Ray Steele, who serves on the Roof Committee. She pointed out that the Selectboard on Aug. 24 approved a motion to get a Wi-Fi connection established in the building as soon as possible.
While this discussion on a future use continues, members of the Riverside Municipal Building Use Committee and Historical Commission emphasized a need to work together and have open communication. Waldron noted there needs to be a level of community trust and involvement to continue this progress.
