Renovation Plan

We are excited to inform our plans for the renovation and expansion of our beloved Town Library are underway. United, these two valuable buildings with rich histories can serve as an expanded Town Library and a new active and accessible Community Hub on the beautiful Hebron Common. Both buildings are listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places.

The project envisions the rehab of the Grange Hall and Memorial Chapel. The entire property can be revitalized to meet the community's needs by restoring historic finishes, reinforcing structures, rebuilding the connector between the buildings as a new entryway, upgrading systems, and installing an ADA-compliant access ramp and bathroom.

It updates and expands the function of the library into the old Town Clerk building, provides an additional reading room with reference book stacks and local exhibits and a meeting room for library programs and community functions. The project restores the concealed but intact magnificent, tin-pressed ceilings, crown molding and walls in both buildings at a moderate cost.

To offset the cost -- and to show respect to our taxpayers -- we have applied for a $100,000 grant from the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). We secured letters of support from Congresswoman Annie Kuster, Executive Counselor Joe Kenney, State Representatives Rick Ladd and Glenn Cordelli, Lakes Region Planning Commission Executive Director Jeff Hayes, the Friends of the Hebron Library, and our town selectboard.

Since both buildings are listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places, we applied for and were awarded a $6,000 matching grant by the NH Preservation Alliance to hire a preservation consultant to perform a Historic Building Assessment. The Assessment is a comprehensive report that documents the history, evolution, character-defining features, and existing conditions of both buildings to identify needs and preservation priorities. It contains a detailed list of structural conditions, various drawings, photographs, evaluations, recommended repairs and a preliminary cost estimate.

Both the Assessment and a presentation we made to our selectman are available for public review in the library. We encourage you to stop by and read them. Digital copies of both are also available below. Public support for this project is paramount. So, we will keep you fully informed through letters, emails and public meetings as we move forward. You can also show your support by donating to a modest fundraising campaign we intend to kick off this fall.

Our small but mighty Town Library is a bustling hub of community activity on the Common. We believe this project will produce significant community gain for a very moderate cost. It maintains Hebron Village center as a vital hub of the community. And it keeps repurposed historic town buildings integral parts of the community. Perhaps most exciting, it provides an attractive setting for citizens of all ages to gather and interact with one another.