Taylor House in Moultonborough treasure worth saving

To The Daily Sun,

At their work session last Thursday, the Moultonborough Board of Selectmen discussed the future of the town-owned Taylor House in Moultonborough Village. Rather than working to find a solution for the property consistent with defined planning, economic development, and heritage goals, the board is poised to demolish this character-defining historic building at the center of our village.

This is a matter for the community to decide, and should go to Town Meeting. In 2014, the town voted to purchase the 5-acre Taylor property “with structures thereon” as an investment in the future of Moultonborough Village. The town took on responsibility and stewardship of the property, and has done little to protect this investment. It is unusual indeed for a municipality, particularly one as wealthy as Moultonborough, to engage in the "demolition by neglect" of a significant property.

There is not a single Moultonborough planning study that recommends demolition of any community landmark. Instead, recent studies and public opinion demonstrate that Moultonborough residents value historic buildings, and support finding active new uses for them. Eighty-four percent of respondents to our Village Vision survey supported preserving and repurposing historic buildings; the Village Vision Committee’s report was endorsed at Town Meeting in March 2015. We should not ignore this.

The Taylor House is an irreplaceable historical asset, a building contributing to Moultonborough Village’s streetscape and unique sense of place. Significant for its architecture and community history, the house was added to the N.H. Preservation Alliance’s "Seven to Save" most endangered properties list in 2017. In 2018, the Plan N.H. Charrette Report specifically recommended that the Taylor House be sold and returned to the tax rolls. It should be listed for sale with a commercial agent.

This past summer’s UNH First Impressions program matched Moultonborough with Derry, identifying downtown assets and opportunities for improvement. Derry participants called Moultonborough Village’s historic buildings and quaint small town atmosphere “a gift” and urged us to “sell what you have,” to leverage those very assets in order to attract investment and new businesses. The full UNH report with recommendations will be presented to our community on October 29th.

Demolition of a significant historic building just for the sake of expediency is a failure of vision and planning. Moultonborough Village needs reinvestment and a success story like those we are seeing in other Lakes Region communities, not an unsightly hole or vacant lot at the center of town. The Taylor House is a community asset, and it is well worth making the effort to find a solution for its future.

Cristina Ashjian

Moultonborough