LIVERMORE — Washburn-Norlands Living History Center has been awarded $3.5 million from the federal government to restore the 140-year-old library and the meetinghouse and create an exhibit about the Washburn family on the 400-acre working farm.

The grant includes adding a small welcome center in the storage barn that will have bathrooms, a gift shop and an exhibit about the Washburn family, Ashley Heyer, Washburn Norlands Foundation/Living History Center president, said Sunday.

“People get so overwhelmed by the story, there is so much to it,” she said.

The brothers had many accomplishments, there was a huge antislavery advocacy, reconstruction, securing rights and liberties in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, she said.

“It’s a story we haven’t had the space to tell, that is so important today,” she said.

“We are looking forward to being able to use that space to tell a richer version,” Heyer said. “A more detailed version of the Washburn story, their accomplishments in a way that hasn’t been seen before.”

The money is from a bill recently signed by President Joe Biden and only covers construction costs. An annual appeal is underway to help fund other expenses for the project and continuation of programs, Heyer said.

She described the library as ‘structurally inefficient. The interior needs a lot of the walls painted, the exterior is crumbling.”

In December 2022, it was announced the history center was at risk of dissolving if it didn’t get $3 million by spring.

In March 2023, a Congressionally Directed Spending application was submitted, Renee Bonin, then-president of Washburn-Norlands Foundation, said.

Washburn descendants and community members came together and over $140,000 in donations was received.

In October 2023, Bonin said Norlands had been selected by Sen. Susan Collins for a $3.42 million grant to restore the 1883 Washburn Memorial Library and the 1828 Meeting House.

The steeple has been secured and the meeting house has been painted, Heyer said. With the federal money they plan to do more.

“The money will go to restore the walls, stained glass, shutters outside and redo the beautiful painting that Elihu Washburn had done there during the Gilded Age in the 1880s. We are excited to reimagine what the library can be, how we can make it available to the community,” Bonin said.

Plans are to fully restore the mansion, Heyer said.

The goal is to once again make the buildings accessible for the community, she said.

“So we’re excited about where this will take us as an organization, to follow our mission and to imagine our future with everything that matters to us and that we love to do, and then sharing so much more of our 400 acres,” Heyer said. “My family intended this to be forever … with no names, heirs but rather all descendants to maintain … for the good and use of the people of Livermore.”

“It is a really exciting moment,” she said. “The story of the Washburns is just the tip of the iceberg. So many leaders came from the Livermore area.

“This is a catalyst for a story that made America better,” Heyer said. “I can’t think of anything better.”

“The chamber was certainly thrilled that this money has been allocated to the Norlands,” Joel Gilbert, Jay/Livermore/Livermore Falls Chamber of Commerce president, said Monday. “We feel that the Norlands especially will attract many people from out of state and just tourists to come to this area. It’s interesting, I feel like a lot of things are happening in this town that are going to have input, implications for the future. It is a very exciting time in the Tri-Town area.”

The center tells the history of Israel Washburn and his wife, Martha, and their 10 children who lived on the property. Their sons were most prominently known for being senators, foreign ministers, a war general, authors and successful business owners.

The working farm also tells the history of the common person in Livermore and life in rural New England in the 1800s through costumed characters, tours and hands-on programs for all ages year-round.

Among its buildings are a five-bedroom mansion, a meetinghouse, a library, a schoolhouse, a farmer’s cottage and a barn.

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