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YARMOUTH – The Wayne Masonic Hall restoration problem is one of two in the state that will be supported through a $3,031,769 Congressional grant to Maine Preservation.
The Wayne Masonic Hall and the other building, the First Congregational Church of East Machias were both on Maine Preservation’s 2021 Most Endangered Historic Places in Maine list.
Maine Preservation will support the projects with consultation, project planning assistance, and funding from Congress to take the buildings from imminent danger to become viable reuse projects, providing expanded economic, cultural, and community opportunity. Maine Preservation will also build and foster organizational capacity with each project to ensure the sustainability of these community landmarks and their program offerings.
Cindy Townsend, co-president of Sustain Wayne, thanked Maine Preservation for its advocacy, as well as U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, and U.S. Senators Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R- Maine.
“We are thrilled to be able to move ahead with restoring the historic Masonic Hall so that it can once again be of service to the community in Wayne,” Townsend said.
Tara Kelly, Maine Preservation executive director said the organization is grateful to the state’s congressional delegation for “providing catalytic investment in the adaptive re-use” of the two buildings.
“When stabilized and rehabilitated, these critically imperiled structures are slated to become economic and cultural stimulators in their rural communities, providing much-needed gathering spaces, public programs, and employment opportunities,” Kelly said.
The 1867 Wayne Masonic Hall is the final remnant of the once-thriving industrial complex of Wayne, which spanned both sides of the stream below Mill Pond, according to Maine Preservastion. On July 1, 1863, a fire destroyed the sawmill, grist mill, shovel handle factory, match factory, and the Johnson Woolen Mill. Having a building to house the fraternal order of the Masons was so important to the town that W.H. Burgess, treasurer of Asylum Lodge, commissioned a replacement in 1866, and construction was completed the following year.
The hall was used by local Freemasons into the 1980s. It was mostly vacant after that, and bought by Sustain Wayne in 2016.
The hall needs immediate structural repairs and a secure envelope to protect it from the elements. Sustain Wayne received a $50,000 Community Development Block Grant for roof repairs and has launched a capital campaign to raise the funds to complete the first phase of rehabilitation. Phase 1 will address the most significant threats to the building: lifting the hall out of the floodplain, setting it on a new foundation, repairing the sill, and repairing the roof.
Sustain Wayne says that once rehabilitated, the hall will serve as a vibrant community hub, supporting educational and social opportunity through sustainability programming, local food initiatives, maker space, social gatherings, and office space. It will also provide expanded economic opportunity for at least six established, local artisans.
