Gilmanton gets LCHIP grant to help pay for restoration of academy windows

GILMANTON — The New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) has awarded the town a grant of $32,750 toward the restoration of the windows at the historic Gilmanton Academy building

The funds will be added to the $56,585 appropriated by the 2011 Town Meeting for energy conservation measures at the Academy, which will enable all 51 wooden windows in the building to be fully restored.

The Academy was built in 1894 and all the original windows remain, though many are in dire need of repair. Glazing compound is cracked or missing altogether. Paint has deteriorated. And many windows are askew and drafty, allowing cold air to enter, which increases the cost of heating the building. The restoration will include re-glazing and repainting the windows while retaining the original glass.

Winn Mountain Restorations, LLC of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire has been chosen to do the work, which is expected to begin late in January and be completed by October 1.

The Board of Selectmen expressed their thanks to John Dickey and Steven Bedard, who volunteered their time and effort to securing the grant and serving as project managers for the project.

The Academy, a fine example of the Colonial Revival, was designed by Bodwell & Sargent, a architectural firm in Concord, and built by Gardner Cook & Son of Laconia. It graduated its last class in 1910 and between 1916 and 1966 served first as a high school and later as an elementary school. The building was converted to house the town offices in 1989. The Academy was listed on the National register of Historic Places on September 8, 1983.

CAPTION: On a winter's day Old Glory is framed by the globe window that graces the front of the Academy, one of the 51 windows in the building that will be restored in the new year.