WILTON — The Western Maine Play Museum has a home.

The nonprofit organization received and closed on a donated building at 561 Main St. Monday.

The former home of Dr. Albert York and his family, the building is commonly referred to as the York House, organizer Angela McLeod said. The house was last lived in by York’s daughters, Mary and Ruth, locally known as “the sisters,” who never married and remained in the home throughout their lives until their deaths at ages 95 and 96.

The group’s goal is to open the children’s museum during the summer of 2015, she said.

“It’s a chance for a second life,” McLeod said. “Very few people would probably be willing to take on the property, and it would probably continue deteriorating.”

The house, though well constructed, is in need of extensive interior and exterior renovations, she said in a released statement.

The Western Maine Play Museum, incorporated in November 2013, is led by a 13-member board of directors. They expect to start a capital campaign later this year. Although a campaign goal has not been set, they expect the amount needed for renovations to be more than $500,000, she said. Some asbestos remediation work will have to be done, and there is some lead paint throughout the building, she said.

“The house remains much as it has been for the last century with single-pane glass, no insulation, knob-and-tube electric, and so on,” she said.

Contractor Josh Wojcik, owner of Upright Frameworks in Wilton, has volunteered to do the renovation work at cost, she said.

Although the project is large, Wojcik’s company has done work for several nonprofits throughout the area, she said. 

Wojcik had heard of WMPM, knew the York House and immediately volunteered, she said. 

“I can’t think of anything better than helping to revitalize my hometown,” he told McLeod.

WMPM formed with a mission to inspire children, connect families and build community through exploration, learning and play.

Since November, they have been looking for a space for the museum. They were unable to find a commercial lease they could afford and started looking at purchasing a building, she said.

The Downtown Wilton Committee suggested looking at the 561 Main St. property. After reaching out to the heirs of the building, they agreed to donate it, she said.

“The house and town of Wilton meant a lot to Dr. York and his family,” Ken Sawyer of Wilton, the caretaker of the York estate, said. “Their relatives feel that having the house be put to beneficial use is a great way to honor their memory.”

Dr. York delivered and cared for many children from Wilton and surrounding towns. He was assisted by his wife, Maude, who was a nurse, Sawyer said.

The building was constructed in the early 1900s. It housed his family and his medical practice of general medicine and surgery, Sawyer added.

“The relatives feel that Dr. York, his wife and children would have taken great pleasure in seeing their home come alive again as a children’s museum and as a step forward in the revival of downtown Wilton,” he said.

Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments is acting as WMPM’s fiscal sponsor until they receive their own tax-exempt status.

Donations are tax exempt now under AVCOG. Those interested in making a donation should make checks out to AVCOG with WMPM in the notes, she said. These can be mailed to Western Maine Play Museum, P.O. Box 871, Farmington, ME 04938.

Project updates are available at www.facebook.com/WesternMainePlay Museum.

abryant@sunjournal.com