POLAND — Grayson Noyes is on a hunt and he’s pretty convinced that crowd sourcing is the key to preserving the memory of one of Poland’s most historic structures.

The 16-year-old student at Poland Regional High School grew up on Summit Spring Road, and he and his friends often go to Summit Spring Golf Course.

But it wasn’t until last year that he realized that just around the corner from where he golfs, the once grand Summit Spring Hotel stood. It rivaled the landmark Poland Spring House built in 1856 a few miles southeast on Ricker Hill along what is now Maine Street. It burned to the ground in 1975.

Since last year, Noyes has taken it upon himself to learn more about the hotel with the hope of adding to the limited information available today.

“I walk that road every day and never knew there was a hotel there,” Noyes said. “I’m sure others don’t know it was there as well, and I thought it’d be cool to see what it would look like today.”

The Summit Spring Hotel that stood on White Oak Hill Road isn’t as well documented as the Poland Spring House, which was a few miles southeast. It’s one of the reasons Noyes took on the challenge.

A 2014 Sun Journal article mentions that Amos Knight built the hotel on 540 acres along White Oak Hill Road in 1904, capitalizing on a growing national interest in Poland Spring water.

Knight ultimately found himself foreclosing on the property, which ended up in the hands of several other owners, including Sol and Edmund Kaufman, the last owners of the hotel and founders of Kay Jewelers in 1916 in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The hotel was around for almost 50 years before it was torn down in 1952. It housed 300 guests and charged $18 to $35 a day for one of its 133 rooms. The hotel featured a stunning view of Tripp Pond from its piazza and a large ballroom and a dining room that sat 300 people.

It was also known to feature one of the first elevators in Maine, which was installed after the hotel’s first year.

The Summit Spring Hotel was also known for catering to the Jewish community, which was not welcomed at the Poland Spring House.

Although there is some public history on the hotel, Noyes said he’s looking to fill in gaps, specifically when and how the other owners took ownership of the hotel and if the hotel ever included property near Tripp Pond.

Noyes has been working with Jack Rozos, president of the Poland Historical Society, to create a site map of the hotel, working from old black-and-white photographs and getting some help from artificial intelligence.

Last week, Noyes and Rozos said they were able to create an aerial view of what the hotel looked like based on photos at Poland’s Schoolhouse Museum.

However, the two are on the hunt for more. They got lucky last week when a Poland resident who was related to the Kaufmans walked into the Historical Society headquarters at 1231 Maine St. and was able to connect them to a grandson of Edmund Kaufman.

“I’m not sure if this was by sheer coincidence but it sure felt like it,” Rozos said.

The two talked to the grandson by phone, getting a better glimpse into what it was like owning the Summit Spring Hotel in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

A break like that is what they needed, but they’re looking for other ways to get information, including inspecting the foundation on which the hotel once stood.

Much like the Poland Spring House and its well-known spring, the Summit Spring Hotel also had a spring, and according to Noyes and Rozos, the hotel’s spring house remains intact, though without a roof. The two found some artifacts while walking the property.

“I found an original doorknob of the hotel and some siding,” Noyes said. “I’m sure there’s more there I may have missed, but it’s cool that we have some pieces of history that directly link to the hotel.”

The men said a lot of work remains ahead for them to expand the history of the hotel. It’s a task that’s too big for them, so they plan to ask the public for help.

After the Summit Spring Hotel was torn down, Rozos said, the owners of a salvaging company tried to sell what they could. While he doesn’t know where most of the artifacts ended up, he knows some remain in nearby communities.

He said he believes some radiators from the hotel are somewhere in Auburn. He also thinks some marble from the hotel is owned by an individual along Schellinger Road in Poland. A fireplace from the hotel is believed to be somewhere in the Poland community.

This is where the community can step in.

“It’s like a puzzle. Once you put the pieces together, you learn more about the picture,” Rozos said.

“Getting what we can from not only historical documents but artifacts is crucial,” Noyes said. “It gives us a sense of what was it was like back then and seeing what the hotel looked like. If we can figure this out, we’ll be bringing back a big part of this community.”

The two also plan to reach out to nearby Jewish communities, including the Maine Jewish Museum in Portland, to see what they can find.

Anyone with artifacts or documents relating to the Summit Spring Hotel can reach the Poland Historical Society at 207-998-5268.