The Preservation of Stoddard’s History (POSH), a subcommittee of the Stoddard Historical Society, was formed during the Fall of 2007.  Its purpose as reflected in its mission statement is as follows:  “The mission of the Preservation of Stoddard’s History is to advocate for the preservation of Stoddard’s historical landmarks, sites, buildings, artifacts, and archives.   We will build community awareness through education and communication.  Accomplishing this mission shall require creative funding.  Preservation of Stoddard History shall foster cooperation with town officials and townspeople”.

This Spring, POSH received a preservation grant to fund an architectural study of our Stoddard Town Hall.  The architectural study was recently completed by Eric Lewtas of Dan V. Scully Associates in Keene.  The Preservation Services Grant was made possible by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance and the NH Division of Historical Resources’ Preservation Project Development Grant Program.  The project was financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service.

For the past 140 years, the Stoddard Town Hall has been the most visible and important government building in our community.  It is one of the key structures in defining the historic character of the village and the town of Stoddard in general.  That historic character contributes to the quality of life that we enjoy in our town and region every day.  Furthermore, it is a fact that historic preservation improves a town’s property values. 

Based on the architectural study, our town hall is in overall good condition and is still useful.  It may no longer be appropriate for annual town meetings and town offices, but it can, and should, be saved and preserved for other public uses.  One only needs to look at the calendar posted in the town hall to see how heavily it is used on a regular basis by many organizations and town committees.

Working with the Selectmen and other town officials, POSH is proceeding with fundraising to seek grants toward the cost of preserving our Town Hall in accordance with the architect’s report. POSH is also working to place our Town Hall on the New Hampshire Register of Historic Places.