Story
Sangerville Town Hall was completed in 1902 at a cost of just over $11,000. The National Register-listed building is remarkably intact and serves as a symbol of the town’s prosperity at the turn of the century, driven at the time by woolen mills along the Piscataquis River.
The Colonial Revival-style building incorporates striking Queen Anne features, most notably multi-colored, geometric windows that dominate three sides of the structure, illuminating the assembly space inside. The design of the two-and-a-half-story building is credited to local architect and contractor C.L. Smith. The Town Hall was built as a multi-use structure, which included storage for a hearse and fire apparatus on the ground floor, a Selectman’s Office on the first floor, and an auditorium with a stage on the second and third floors. A library space was incorporated later. The auditorium welcomed both concerts and shows by performers from across the country, as well as more locally driven events like dances, graduations, public suppers, basketball games, and town meetings.
Threat
The last significant building repair campaign was completed in the early 1990s, which included a fund to enhance accessibility to the upper floor spaces. However, that fund was instead put towards periodic repairs, leaving the upper floors unusable and triggering their perception as unneeded community space.
Deferred maintenance and dwindling use of the building led the Select Board to pursue sale of the building in 2021, but resistance from residents kept any actions at bay. The situation worsened the following year when the town’s insurer dropped coverage due to structural concerns with the foundation and balcony in the auditorium and other code and life safety deficiencies. Preliminary assessments from engineers estimate the repairs to the foundation alone could be upwards of $500,000. The town staff were forced to rent temporary space down the street.
Local reporting highlighted that the closure of Town Hall was part of a larger trend, with Sangerville having lost its masonic lodge, American Legion Hall, school, Catholic church, public library, and a local restaurant.
Concerned residents, with the support of the Sangerville Historical Society, pushed for the formation of an ad hoc committee to explore the building’s future. They successfully added a question to the town warrant and voters overwhelmingly supported preserving the historic building and investing public funds in its rehabilitation.
While the revived support is a win that should be celebrated, it comes at an enormous price tag and there are limited funding resources available to give the building the attention it needs. Town leaders and residents have taken an important step toward bucking the trend of closures and disinterest, but they will need to work hard to overcome the financial hurdles. In the meantime, the brick foundation continues to shift, mold is proliferating, and the town is left without a physical space for carrying out its most basic functions
How to get involved
Residents from every corner of the state can “Vote Yes on 3” to create a funding source for the preservation of historic community buildings like Sangerville Town Hall. The third referendum question on this November’s ballot asks Mainers to support a $10 million bond that would create a state grant program administered by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission to fund repairs on National-Register listed buildings owned and stewarded by nonprofit organizations or local governments. For the Town of Sangerville, a successful grant could mean critical repairs to the foundation and life safety upgrades to make it safe for public use.
Photo Credits: Sangerville Historical Society; Maine Preservation
