News

Fairgrounds building may be listed on Register
Another of many buildings with historical value
By Elizabeth Prata

New Gloucester--New Gloucester citizens approved the purchase of the formerly known Trotter's Park almost three years ago, and ever since, various Town committees have been working to improve the 31 acre site. With 1,200 feet of access to the Royal River, a canoe launch, fairly level grounds and a half mile track, the site has plenty to offer citizens looking for recreation.

The Park now has new white fence bordering it, the grass has been replanted, the site has been leveled, the brush has been cleared, and unsafe buildings taken down by the Fire-Rescue in planned training sessions.

The town has held its annual Community Day at the site, which offers ample space for a show featuring 100 antique autos, a trebuchet launch, and multiple vendors and stages for entertainment- all at once. The Fairgrounds Committee, with help from Fire-Rescue and donations from local businesses, installed a removable ice skating rink this winter. It was heavily used by residents who enjoyed the opportunity to skate in a natural setting for free. The track is used by walkers, and the river has low enough banks to launch a canoe for a quiet paddle.

In addition to the Park's natural and recreational qualities, site has historic qualities as well. The Fairgrounds Committee and the Historical Society have been working together to submit an application to the National Register of Historic Places that would list the remaining barn. The barn was built around 1895, according to NG resident Nancy Wilcox. She, and Historical Society member and Director of the Shaker Library Leonard Brooks, have exhaustively researched the origins of the Park, its buildings, and former uses, up to the 1950s. Ms. Wilcox has compiled a 45 -page book on the subject and it will be available for purchase within two weeks or so.

The Park was originally known as the Danville and New Gloucester Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, renamed to the Royal River park, then the New Gloucester Fairgrounds, changed to Trotters Park, and then back to the New Gloucester Fairgrounds. The barn was the Exhibition Hall and used intermittently ever since, lately becoming a horse stall and then remained empty except for a few stored items. Ms. Wilcox said that the grounds and the barn have a varied and interesting history, and that the barn was and still is made of sturdy wood construction.

Mr. Brooks, Ms. Wilcox, and Fairgrounds Committee Chair Cliff Andrews would like to appropriately preserve the building and the history it represents. Listing on the National Register does not limit the building's use as much as one might suppose, explained Mr. Brooks. Adherence to exterior historical aesthetics within reason is pretty much the only limit, he said. Above, Community Day 2004, the trebuchet

Selectmen Chair Steve Libby was skeptical and wanted reassurance that listing on the Register would not hamstring the town in its desires to use the buildings for other purposes later, like a Snack Shack, Libby said.

Mr. Brooks said that the town can withdraw its application at any time, either during the application process or after the designation is given. The plusses, he said, are that the listing allows the Historical Society, the Fairgrounds Committee, or the Town to apply for grants and other private foundation monies that will help in its restoration and upkeep. As Ms. Wilcox explained," The National Register listing will allow us to have the money to repair things like the roof when we need to, so that we don't have to come to the townspeople."

Mr. Libby again expressed concern that the barn, if it accepted for listing on the register, would not be able to be used for a Snack Shack, for example. Ms. Wilcox said that the Exhibition Hall was formerly used at fairs, "And I am quite sure that refreshments were probably served in there, so the uses would be similar."

The application process takes one year to go through, and Mr. Brooks requested an affirmative vote from the Selectmen so they can begin that process.

Selectmen voted 5-0 to allow the members to complete the application and submit it.

Sidebar: Thanks to Pine Tree Networks for their offer to help the Committee clean out the barn. It's is part of the Pine Tree Networks's community outreach and is quite a generous offer, said Mr. Andrews. The clean up will occur in mid-July.

All photos: The Monument: Prata photos