The Board of Trustees of the Moosehead Historical Society, the museum's corporate identity, have signed a purchase and sales agreement with the Ready Workers Society, a branch of the Union Evangelical Church in Greenville. The Ready Workers have owned the building since 1931, when it was purchased from the Universalist Church. Once the purchase is finalized (likely in early November), the Community House will become the Center for Moosehead History, and a large-scale renovation project is planned to bring the 5,000 square foot building up to museum standards.

The purchase will provide a "downtown" presence for the museum, which is currently housed in three buildings at 444 Pritham Avenue in Greenville Junction. Additionally, it will create a closer working relationship with Greenville schools, allowing children to walk to the museum for special programs. Renovations will create a large display area, administrative offices and storage in addition to a preservation and conservation workroom, all on the main floor.

Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the project for the local community will be a large meeting area on the building's second floor. Plans call for installation of a handicapped accessible bathroom on the second floor (with another on the main floor) and an elevator from the first to second floor. While the second floor will also house the museum's library, there will be seating for upwards of 100 people, and the large stage area will be kept intact and upgraded.

"The meeting facility should be a major asset for the community," said Dr. Everett L. Parker, the museum's executive director. "It's difficult to find handicapped accessible meeting facilities of any size in Greenville, and we plan to actively market the space for meetings and conferences in addition to stage performances."

The museum is applying for renovation loans and grants. The total project will cost approximately $425,000, including about $275,000 for renovations. As part of the renovations, the current kitchen will be removed to install a new handicapped accessible bathroom, office space and the workroom. Part of the current dining room area will be sectioned off to create storage for three-dimensional objects, and a small kitchen will be constructed. The heating system will be replaced, and air conditioning will be installed.

The museum also will launch a major fund drive to help pay for the purchase and renovations. "It will be practically impossible to complete the entire project without help from the local community as well as the museum's 300 members," Dr. Parker said. This year's annual appeal, set to be launched in November, will focus on the need for donations for the renovations in addition to the general operating budget.

As the museum's operations increased over the past several years at the Greenville Junction campus, the need for expanded administrative space resulted in half of the main floor of the Carriage House building being removed from displays about two years ago. While the number of displays shrunk, perhaps the greatest impact was in the display of Native American artifacts. "The museum has one of the finest Indian artifacts collections in northern Maine," Dr. Parker said, "but we were able to display only perhaps five percent of our holding."

The Community House purchase will allow the entire collection of perhaps thousands of pieces of local Native American artifacts to be displayed and interpreted, something that has never been done before, Dr. Parker said. "While we will have a number of other displays in the new space, the Native American artifacts collection will be the focus."

Even though museum operations will be greatly expanded, staffing likely will remain the same as present, unless additional resources are found. "There's no question we will need more staffing, but our budget at present does not allow more personnel," Dr. Parker said. "We will do our best with available resources to staff all operations."

While the museum is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. year-round (except holidays), winter visits are largely limited at present to reading and research. Each year, over 1,000 people take advantage of docent-guided tours of the Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan Historical House, Carriage House, Lumberman's Museum and more. These tours are offered during the summer months only. It is expected the downtown presence will mean a dramatic increase in the number of people visiting the Center for Moosehead History, and it is likely that even more people will visit the 444 Pritham Avenue campus during the summer, Dr. Parker said.

For more information about the Community House purchase, to make a donation, or to become a member of the museum (members receive four issues of the museum's local history journal each year), contact the office at (207) 695-2909, email to history@midmaine.com, or write to P.O. Box 1116, Greenville, ME 04441-1116.