SPRINGVALE— When you’re preserving history, it’s not just about exhibits and shows ”“ though those will come. Sometimes, it’s about making sure what you’re perserving has the foundational necessities to move forward.
And so when Sanford-Springvale Historical Society earlier this year acquired the Edmund E. Goodwin house adjacent to the museum on Main Street, some basics came to the forefront, said historical society president Harland Eastman: The home needed exterior paint; it needed heat on the second floor, which is to be used for storage of historical artifacts; and its electrical system needs an upgrade.
The 1899 home built by Edmund E. Goodwin, a prosperous businessman who was able to retire at 48 years old, is typical of the late 19th century. It has remained in the same family until it was sold to the historical society and sports the original woodwork and some of the original wallpaper. It has an original pocket door, a mantel and the original staircase and balusters, and more.
This summer, the exterior paint was completed, through a gift from David and Linda Pence.
This fall, the heating system was altered to provide heat on the second floor ”“ previously only one room was heated there, Eastman said ”“ and provide an authentic look to the heating system on the ground floor. Through a $10,000 gift of the Gerard and Gertrude Genest Charitable Trust, the society was able to remove the white baseboard heaters from the ground floor to the second floor to provide heat there, where they won’t been seen by the public, and install a forced hot air system, complete with new decorative iron grates true to the period on the ground floor. The furnace itself was relatively new, and just needed adapting to provide both forms of heat, said Eastman.
Eastman said he was delighted with the gift. Children will be able to see how people lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s when they tour the home, said trustee Marguerite Herlihy. Schoolchildren regularly visit the adjacent museum to get a glimpse of Sanford and Springvale history.
Eastman said there are interor rooms that need paint and some associated projects society members hope to complete this winter. That will begin once the electrical work is done and as funds permit, he said.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
