South Hero Foundation presents donation for meeting house restoration
SOUTH HERO – Organizers from the South Hero Foundation presented earlier this week a $105,000 donation for the restoration of South Hero’s historic Old White Meeting House.
On Monday, representatives from the fundraising organization, the South Hero Foundation’s president Sarah Kjelleren and its secretary Sandy Gregg, met with South Hero’s selectboard during the board’s regular meeting to formally present the donation to South Hero officials.
According to a statement from the South Hero Foundation, funding raised through the foundation had been collected as donations from “generous residents, full-time and seasonal alike.” The awarded funds, according to the South Hero Foundation, were intended to support the ongoing first phase of the Old White Meeting House’s long-planned restoration.
“This building has stood as a symbol of community for generations,” read the South Hero Foundation’s statement. “Work has begun to make it possible for future generations to continue to gather, connect and create memories here.”
For years, South Hero officials and volunteers have sought to restore South Hero’s Old White Meeting House for use as a community space. Town officials formally contracted with a Huntington-based firm in November to begin the first phase of the building’s restoration and, since then, some offsite renovation, including the restoration of the meeting house’s windows, has been ongoing.
According to South Hero officials, work on the building’s foundation, including the temporary lifting and relocation of the meeting house to the north of its current footprint, was expected to begin this month.
South Hero has funded the Old White Meeting House’s restoration through both private donations, state and federal grants, and in funding allocated locally under a Town Meeting Day article from 2022.
Built in 1816 as a meeting house and church, the Old White Meeting House has served as both a public gathering space, a school building and a municipal garage. Prior to being vacated in anticipation of the building’s restoration, the Old White Meeting House doubled as the longtime home for Granny’s Attic, a popular thrift store and charity.
The building is believed to be Grand Isle County’s oldest municipal building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of a larger historic village district in South Hero.
