The Rumford Center Village Improvement Society is hosting an open house Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Rumford Center Meeting House at 1352 Route 2.

Scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., it also commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. 

Built in 1828, the Meeting House is a historic timber-framed, gable-front building. It served as the town’s original joint political and religious hub, hosting local government sessions and town meetings until 1897 before transitioning into a vital social and community hall.

Society member Linda Russell said an expected highlight is a traveling exhibit about Frances Perkins, a part-time Mainer who served as U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, and is responsible for the creation of Social Security.

Activities will include playing games, enjoying other elements of the colonial period, wool spinning, and a display of old tools. 

Russell said there will be an explanation of the physical transformation of the Meeting House to a secure and safe building, from lifting it off its foundation several feet in the air to strengthening and stabilizing its walls and ceiling.

The society hopes to receive photographs and documents of events held at the Meeting House from people whose families have participated in them. Dressing in period garb is encouraged.

EXCITING YEAR

Russell said this has been an exciting and productive year for the Rumford Center Meeting House.

The attic and walls of the Meeting House were stabilized, a new heating system was installed, the front steps were rebuilt using the original granite, a ramp was built, the bathroom is fully functional, and all of the electrical systems have been updated.

The society has a bottle shed, built by Region 9 School of Applied Technology, to collect and return bottles for a new source of revenue

Over the past year, the society has received grants from Poland Spring Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation and Maine Community Foundation, as well as the funding from the town, in addition to their fundraising. Ralph’s Market assists with the bottle drive.

Russell said the society has more than 80 members who pay $25 or more per household.

Formed in 1924, the nonprofit Rumford Center Village Improvement Society stepped in to coordinate community activities and oversee the long-term maintenance and preservation of the aging structure.

Voters in Rumford approved a lease agreement Jan. 24, 2023, allowing the town to lease the historic 1828 Rumford Center Meeting House on Route 2 to the nonprofit Rumford Center Village Improvement Society. The lease gives the society legal control to apply for preservation grants and raise funds for restoring the building.

LEARNING OLD WAYS

On July 25, the society hosted carpenter Seth Gallant and Meeting House historic consultant Jonathan Hall on a four-hour clapboard workshop outside the Meeting House. Ten participants learned how to prepare with hand tools and install clapboards, replicating the historic ones that are there and the techniques used in the 1800, when the current clapboards were put on the Meeting House. Most of those clapboards are still sound after almost 200 years.

“I am not a member of the (society),” Gallant said. “However, I grew up in Rumford and am a carpenter specializing in timber framing and historic building carpentry. Through my work, I’ve researched and learned historical ways to work on older buildings.”

He added, “We discussed the history of clapboard siding, and how clapboards are made and installed. We talked about the differences between how clapboards were made historically and how they are made now.”

For hands-on work, Gallant said they did demonstrations of installation of wooden clapboards and did the historical method for joining clapboards, known as skiving. “We used hand tools such as draw knives and planes to work and join the clapboards. We also primed clapboards to be used on the Meeting House.”

Hall was at the workshop to share his knowledge and answer questions.

Work will begin in September to repair or replace the damaged or missing ones. Once this happens, the Meeting House can be painted and insulated.

UPCOMING EVENTS

In addition to its yearly yard sale and wreath-making in 2025, the society added new programs, including an Apple-Pumpkin Day, and a Holiday Party, both of which will be repeated this year.

The Apple Pumpkin Day, where people can make scarecrows and cider and enjoy Volkernick’s Food Truck, will be at the Meeting House on Oct. 10, and the wreath-making will be Nov. 14. The date for holiday party date is yet to be determined.

“Help us restore this historic gem, both structurally, and functionally, as a place for people to gather,” Russell said, noting it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

For more information, check the RCVIS Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/rumfordcentervis), or email [email protected].