UPDATE: Great News from Eversource!

We are thrilled to announce that Eversource has agreed to cover the cost of remediating the dangerous wiring in our museum, and work has already started!

We closed the museum this past weekend so our volunteers could work on cleaning and organizing the building as the electrical work progresses. We hope to reopen to visitors this coming weekend, August 22, and appreciate everyone's patience while this important work is completed.

Work also continues at the Schoolhouse. This year, we have updated the water meter, worked with Eversource to insulated the pipes in the basement, replaced the broken furnace, and made significant progress on the bathroom upgrades, which are now nearly complete.

All of this is particularly good news for the many visitors who come to Ashfield to research their families. We are in the process of transforming two of the downstairs rooms in the Schoolhouse into a dedicated research library, where visitors will be able to explore genealogy and family histories connected to Ashfield.

And we're not stopping here. Once the insulation work is complete, we will be eligible to pursue additional grant funding for interior storm windows and mini-split systems for both buildings. We have also begun the process of reaching out to roofers for estimates as we plan for the next phase of caring for these historic structures.

The Ashfield Historical Society began in 1961, making this our 65th year of preserving Ashfield's history. There seems no better way to mark that milestone than by investing in the largest—and perhaps most important—pieces of our collection: the historic buildings that have safeguarded Ashfield's stories for generations.

Preservation Work Still Ahead

While we are incredibly grateful that Eversource has agreed to cover the cost of the knob-and-tube remediation necessary to move forward with the insulation project in the museum, not all of our building preservation expenses are covered by this funding.

The knob-and-tube wiring that still needs to be remediated in the barn is not covered by Eversource and will be an expense the Historical Society must fund separately.

The replacement of the Schoolhouse furnace was also not covered by the Eversource project. Unfortunately, this was not an upgrade we could postpone. The old furnace was broken and contributed to the freezing and breaking of water pipes in the building. Replacing it was necessary to protect the Schoolhouse from further damage and make the building more reliable and usable year-round.

These unexpected expenses are part of the ongoing challenge of caring for historic buildings. As we celebrate the tremendous progress being made through the Eversource project, we are also continuing to raise funds for the preservation work that falls outside of the grant.

If you would like to support the Ashfield Historical Society's building preservation efforts, your contribution will help us address these remaining needs and continue protecting the buildings—and the history—they hold.

Preserving the Largest Pieces of Our Collection — Our Buildings

Our team of volunteers at Ashfield Historical Society have been busy behind the scenes, working to preserve the largest pieces of our collection—the buildings themselves.

We've partnered with Eversource to begin a multi-year project to make the buildings more energy efficient. This year's goal was to insulate our two main buildings, the museum and the Schoolhouse. While meeting with their electrical inspector, we learned that the old knob-and-tube wiring needed to be replaced. For years, we had operated under the belief that the knob-and-tube wiring within the museum was for display purposes only, and we were shocked to learn that some of it was still live and tied into the modern track lighting.

Before the Eversource contractors could move forward with the insulation project, we needed to ensure that the buildings did not have any live knob-and-tube wiring. After calling many local electricians, we were happy to team up with Jeff Molongoski Electric. Not only does Jeff bring 38 years of professional experience, but he is also local to Ashfield!

While this unexpected hurdle caught us off guard, we remained focused on moving forward with our preservation plan. Fortunately, there were no wiring concerns in the Schoolhouse, allowing insulation work to begin there while we worked to address the electrical issues in the museum.

By preserving the buildings that house our collections, we put ourselves in a much better position to preserve and maintain the photographs, documents, objects, and other collections that help tell the story of Ashfield.

Jenny Burke
Programming and Development
Ashfield Historical Society

Building Preservation Fund