| Home | The Center | History | Plans | Maps/Drawings | Progress | Funds | About FWMH | Contact |
The Monterey Community Center is under way.
Since the Town voted to accept Edith Wilson's bequest in 1996, citizen committes appointed by the Select Board have been at work on ideas for preserving the house and land. In the fall of 2004, the current committee adopted the plan of forming a private, non-profit Massachusetts corporation which could raise funds privately from donations and grants to create the Community Center without requiring town funds raised through taxation, which had always been the major stumbling block. The Friends of Wilson McLaughlin House, Inc., was born, secured its IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status, and received a unanimous vote of approval at the May 2005 Town Meeting. At the meeting we requested and received town support for leasing the property while we raise the required funds to rework the building into a Community Center and to create a maintenance endowment for the center's ongoing support.
Please check the Progress page for the latest news.
Since the Town voted to accept Edith Wilson's bequest in 1996, citizen committes appointed by the Select Board have been at work on ideas for preserving the house and land. In the fall of 2004, the current committee adopted the plan of forming a private, non-profit Massachusetts corporation which could raise funds privately from donations and grants to create the Community Center without requiring town funds raised through taxation, which had always been the major stumbling block. The Friends of Wilson McLaughlin House, Inc., was born, secured its IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status, and received a unanimous vote of approval at the May 2005 Town Meeting. At the meeting we requested and received town support for leasing the property while we raise the required funds to rework the building into a Community Center and to create a maintenance endowment for the center's ongoing support.
Please check the Progress page for the latest news.
THE CURRENT PLAN
At present our plan is to "rescue" the existing 23' x 30' farmhouse exterior, restoring it to sound and lovely style without being restricted to colonial-era materials but retaining the colonial-era design and look. The foundation will be replaced with a modern reinforced concrete foundation which would be faced and capped with stone so that it looks just like the existing one, which was built around 1850. The new basement will be of modern height so that its space will be fully usable for the center.
As for the interior, our design will be to remove all the interior walls and floors, replacing the two low-ceilinged floors and many small rooms with one large room with a cathedral ceiling. We hope to retain Edith's fireplace but move it to the southern end of the room, so that entry to the room will be from the north by way of the addition we have designed. The addition will include handicap-accessible bathrooms, storage rooms and a kitchen, as well as the entry way mentioned.
Repairs and construction will be "green". The house will demonstrate materials and methods that are protective of our natural environment and of the health of those who use it. It will be energy-efficient, free of toxic substances, employing, as much as possible, construction products that minimize waste and that utilize renewable resources and recycled materials.
At present our plan is to "rescue" the existing 23' x 30' farmhouse exterior, restoring it to sound and lovely style without being restricted to colonial-era materials but retaining the colonial-era design and look. The foundation will be replaced with a modern reinforced concrete foundation which would be faced and capped with stone so that it looks just like the existing one, which was built around 1850. The new basement will be of modern height so that its space will be fully usable for the center.
As for the interior, our design will be to remove all the interior walls and floors, replacing the two low-ceilinged floors and many small rooms with one large room with a cathedral ceiling. We hope to retain Edith's fireplace but move it to the southern end of the room, so that entry to the room will be from the north by way of the addition we have designed. The addition will include handicap-accessible bathrooms, storage rooms and a kitchen, as well as the entry way mentioned.
Repairs and construction will be "green". The house will demonstrate materials and methods that are protective of our natural environment and of the health of those who use it. It will be energy-efficient, free of toxic substances, employing, as much as possible, construction products that minimize waste and that utilize renewable resources and recycled materials.