Future Maysville Museum now ‘weatherproof’
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With the installation of nine new energy-efficient windows complete, the future Maysville Museum is now “weatherproof” and volunteers will be able to begin renovating the inside of the facility in the coming months.
The museum is located at the corner of U.S. Route 1 and the Brewer Road.
According to Kimberly Smith, secretary/treasurer of the Presque Isle Historical Society, the organization recently received a $25,000 grant from the Davis Family Foundation.
“We received the grant in early October, and immediately ordered the new windows, which were put in last Thursday and Friday,” she said. “The asbestos siding was also abated, so those two components used up much of the recent grant money.
“We’re also going to purchase insulation for the inside with the money,” said Smith. “We have siding for one wall that’s been donated, so we’re hoping to use the rest of the money to buy the additional siding.”
Smith said the window replacement project cost more than originally expected.
“There’s a small window on the south side, two small windows on the west side, which is the front of the building, and there’s a big bank of five windows on the north side. We were hoping that all we would have to do is some repairs to the small windows and just replace the glass on the big bank of windows,” she said. “As it turns out, the most recent fire that happened out there in 2004 damaged the window sashes so much that they’re not salvageable, so we had to put in all new windows. Plus we added a window. Fortunately some of the asbestos abatement was donated, and we were able to find windows that were less expensive.”
Rick Nadeau, owner of A&L Construction, who is also a member of the historical society board and in charge of the restoration committee for the Maysville Museum, said the new windows match the original windows “to the T.”
“They have the same drill patterns and are the same size,” he said. “Most of them are 8-feet tall by 4-feet wide. We wanted to keep the original look [of the building]. We’re trying to restore it as close as possible. When they’re actually in the hole, you’ll never know that we changed them.”
In addition to installing the windows, crews also wrapped the building with Tyvek. With the building winterized, Nadeau said he’ll now turn his attention to the inside.
“I’ve got a guy who will come and blow the attic full of insulation, and we’ve got heat in the basement and we’ll turn it on, and work all winter on it,” he said. “I’ve been involved since the beginning — the roof, the foundation, and now the windows. I’m very happy with the progress that’s been made.”
Among the inside work still to do, Smith said, is “insulate, put in the electricity, the drywall and refinish the floor.”
“All that can be done over the winter,” she said. “What we’re doing now is trying to get the building to the point where we can open on a seasonal basis, and we’re hoping to have that done by some time next summer.”
Work on the renovation project was broken down into three phases.
“Phase I was — for the most part — last year. We picked the building up, put in a brand new foundation, put in a furnace, we set the building back down so it was completely square, and we put on a new roof,” Smith said. “That was about $40,000 worth of work, most of which was donated.
“Phase II is pretty much what we’re working on now, and the third and final phase will be to put in the ADA-compliant restrooms, a well and a septic tank, so that’s down the road,” said Smith, noting that the engineer’s cost estimates to do all the renovations were $259,000.
Smith said seeing the project move forward is “exciting.”
“For years I would drive by that building and it was sitting there empty and starting to deteriorate, and I knew what an amazing history it had,” she said. “It served simultaneously as the Maysville town hall, Maysville Grange and Maysville School, so it’s historically significant that way.”
Maysville, Smith said, is not only important to Maine history, but also to international history.
“When the American Revolution ended, no border was established between what’s now Maine and Canada. It wasn’t that important because it wasn’t a heavily populated area. It wasn’t until Maine got statehood in 1820 that it really became an issue because that’s when the state started giving out land grants for free land,” she said. “People started arriving here thinking they lived in Maine, and Canada said, ‘No, this is Canada.’ There was about 12,000 acres of land in dispute, and if Canada had its way, Maine would have ended at Mars Hill.
“There were a couple of skirmishes that took place in northern Maine; one of them in Madawaska and one of them in Maysville. Those skirmishes eventually led to the Aroostook War, and it’s the Aroostook War that finally determined the border between Maine and Canada, so some historians actually say that the Aroostook War was the last battle of the American Revolution,” said Smith.
Maysville is also noteworthy in that the first acre of potatoes in Aroostook County was planted and harvested there.
“Maysville is very historically significant, and to me, that building is the icon for Maysville and it epitomizes Maysville and all that history. To be able to say that the historical society is saving a building with that much history is really exciting,” Smith said. “It means a lot to us because it’s going to give us a location to display some of our exhibits and collections. It will give us a place to meet, a place to offer some field trips for local schools, and a place to give some of our presentations. It’s also going to help us satisfy the criteria for another large set of grants that right now we don’t qualify for, and that grant money will enable us to do some more work on the historic fire station.”
Anyone interested in working on the museum or making a monetary or in-kind donation can contact the historical society at 762-1151 or email pihistoricalsociety@hotmail.com.
