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A stately setting for sounds of music
Ossipee Historical Society
holds benefit concert at courthouse
BY LARISSA MULKERN
Editor
OSSIPEE — For decades, the sounds of justice permeated the chamber at the historic Carroll County Courthouse in Ossipee Village – banging gavels, closing arguments, witness testimony. This past weekend, the sound of live music filled the air in the majestic building, which is destined for use as a regional museum and safe haven for irreplaceable public documents and artifacts.
On Saturday, March 22, the Ossipee Historical Society was finally able to host a concert at the courthouse, with performances by local Native American artists. Performers at this fundraising event included Dale Dragonfly Martin, who sang songs from her new CD, Richard Soaring Owl, the Bluegrass Country Boys & Company, Kim White Feather, and David Searching Owl.
Organizers had twice tried to hold the concert, but snow and bad driving weather thwarted previous attempts. White Feather, an OHS member, said the concert raised more than $200. By way of background, the Ossipee Historical Society purchased the courthouse from the county for the sum of $1 on condition that the building be preserved as an historic landmark and maintained by the society for all the citizens of Carroll County.
It began a Capital Campaign Fund in 2006. According to materials available on the project’s Web site the courthouse will become a cultural center and a museum, a repository for historically significant artifacts from around the county. In addition, it offers a venue for cultural performances, such as lectures, discussions and debates, music, films, theater, and poetry readings.
The museum will provide educational support for area schools, and future plans call for the development of a computer research center. Money raised through the capital campaigns can only be used for designated purposes, according to the OHS.
The society’s goal is for the old courthouse to eventually be self-supporting. Until that becomes a reality, the historical society must pay the day-to-day expenses of keeping the building and its contents.
“The event you are attending today is just one of these fundraising events aimed at revitalizing this
building for future uses, including special visitors, meetings, receptions, and special events,” stated White Feather.
According to the society, “The Ossipee Historical Society’s Capital Campaign Committee is hard at work to raise funds to fulfill our dreams of revitalizing the Historic Courthouse in Ossipee, and making it a center for Cultural and Historical events. We are a long way away from making our goal of $500,000.We are currently making personal calls and mailings on selected individuals and businesses to explain our plans and seek donations.”
The first priority must be roof repairs. Mother Nature has taken its toll on the slate roof since the courthouse was built in 1916. OHS President Carol Puffer said the group has raised $100,000 thus far, including the $30,000 required for the slate roof repair; they’ve signed a contract for the repair project,
and have also signed to have an $8,000 security system installed. The system is a necessity, Puffer said—if they want people to donate their artifacts and items that may be of value, those collections
need to be protected. Another feature of the alarm system is that it will alert in wet or freezing conditions (so pipes don’t burst, etc).
In a pre-concert tour, Puffer pointed out some of the items that have been collected to date, including volumes and volumes of old county records, like log books with fairy tale penmanship listing fees and taxes paid. And then there is an old ballot box, where jurors popped in their verdicts, and a restored set of shackles with notably small holes for prisoners’ wrists.
Puffer said another priority is keeping the building weatherized to protect against water damage.
The present building was erected in 1916, but there has been a courthouse at that location in Ossipee Village since 1839, said Puffer. In the meantime, two previous buildings burned down, one during a major fire that destroyed most of the village. In the near future, Puffer said the group is collecting artifacts that pertain to the area’s many summer camps– anyone with old photographs to share or stories to tell should contact the OHS to become part of the exhibit.
Website now being maintained by Historical Society Board Members - 2008
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