Help restore the historic Grange Hall in Charlotte

If you live in Charlotte, you have undoubtedly heard about the numerous Grange activities that have been promoted in the last few years. The mission of the Grange is to honor our agrarian roots and help build a resilient future for all.

I like to think of the Grange as our own Charlotte booster and public service club. You do not need to be a member to do any of the activities, and they are all free but donations are accepted. We run events such as monthly walks on Charlotte trails, free coffee and muffins monthly, Poetry at the Grange, the Grange on the Green concert series presented weekly in July, a clothing drive for farmworkers and a different clothing drive for children of clients of the food shelf. There are many other activities which you can check out on the website.

The historic Lyceum Schoolhouse located at 2858 Spear Street has been home to the Charlotte Grange for 67 years. The building was constructed in 1870 as a debating hall but quickly became one of the small, local schoolhouses serving the children of Baptist Corners until 1949 when the local schools were consolidated. The building was ultimately purchased in 1958 by the Charlotte Grange which then gave the organization a permanent home.

Through the generosity of many, and in partnership with the Grange’s 501(c)(3) fundraising arm, Friends of the Lyceum Schoolhouse, work to restore and stabilize the building is underway. The exterior has been painted and repaired, the historic windows in the main hall restored, and the fuel tank and furnace replaced. Yet much remains to be done and we could use some help.

Our planned work for this fall and next spring is to complete the exterior of the building. This includes the construction of an Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible ramp on the north side of the building connecting to a new door. This ramp is critical to ensure accessibility for all and to make sure we have a safe secondary fire exit on the first floor. We also plan to restore the historic front door which is in bad condition, construct new stairs and handrails and remove the old and unsafe wooden ramp that is currently in front of the building. The parking lot will be extended and graded and drainage issues that have plagued the building will be fixed. Once this is all finished, we will have completed most of the pressing issues on the outside of the building.

The estimated exterior construction cost is about $63,000, and more funding is required to finish the project. We have raised $33,000 so far but we are asking community members to consider helping us. Friends of Lyceum Schoolhouse is a nonprofit devoted to raising money for the restoration of this building. Any donation to the Friends of Lyceum Schoolhouse is tax deductible.

We hope community members will want to help the Grange in the restoration of this historic building in East Charlotte. The building is part of the Vermont State Historic Register district known as Baptist Corners and is eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic Places.

To help with this project you can either send a check to: Friends of Lyceum Schoolhouse, P.O. Box 236, Charlotte, VT 05445 or donate through the Grange website via Pay Pal.

For more information, email us or call Frances Foster at 802-343-0633.