Minutes of the Princeton Historical Commission
October 17, 2013
Town Hall Annex, 7 PM
Attendees: Joyce Anderson, Sheila Dubman, Alex Fiandaca and Mickey Splaine.
Members unanimously accepted meeting minutes from September 19, 2013.
Redemption Rock Road Marker
Sheila provided a draft of a thank you letter to the Worcester Technical High School for restoring the marker. Mickey indicated that two teachers were involved in the projected (Rick Torres and Larry Collins) and suggested that thank you letters be sent to each teacher at their homes. Members decided to send the thank you letters before pursuing a plaque or certificate of appreciation. Rick Torres lives in Princeton and Mickey will obtain Larry Collins’ address. Joyce suggested sending a story about the marker to the Mass Historic listserv. Members also discussed contacting the Trustees of Reservations who maintain the Redemption Rock site.
House Plaques
Alex has reviewed Glennie Eden-Kilgour’s deed research which supports a construction date of 1780 for her house at 90 Hobbs Road. Alex will place an order with Robert Leonard of Ould Colony Artisans for the David Geary House, built in 1780. Members discussed raising the price of the plaques to around $150. Joyce will check to see what Preservation Worcester charges for their house plaques.
Public Education
Members briefly discussed a town-wide mailer (in newsletter form) to highlight the Commission’s activities. Announcements would include the revised house plaque program as well as future informational sessions regarding National Register Historic Districts. An article about National Register listing was featured recently in the Landmark and Alex will forward the article to members.
National Register Historic Districts
Joyce suggested the Commission consider offering incentives to owners of eligible homes in Everettville and Boylston Villa for listing on the National Register. Anne Forbes indicated that the cost of writing the nomination for Boylston Villa would be $2500 and Joyce proposed an incentive of $1000 to be paid by the Commission. There was some discussion about Everettville’s eligibility as a whole, based on the number of non-contributing houses in the area. Depending on Everettville’s boundary, however, there could be more contributing houses than it appears. The overlap of school and postal service between Everettville and Westminster suggests a boundary that extends beyond Princeton. The Commission will pursue further research.
Joyce suggested making copies of the Wachusett Mountain National Register nomination for the library, Historical Society and Historical Commission. Members voted to approve spending PHC funds for this purpose. Joyce also reminded members that the Historical Commission has a filing cabinet of documents in Town Hall which includes information about the sale of the Town Pound to the Town.
Next Meeting: Next meeting November 21st, 2013 at 7 PM in the Town Hall Annex.
Respectfully submitted, Alex Fiandaca
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