Holley House Sale Signifies Larger Problem

It was with a sense of sadness that we learned last month that the Salisbury Association will attempt to sell the historic Holley-Williams House in Lakeville.

The two museums inside are a treasure of local history, but the financial weight of the 18th-century structure, its property and outbuildings have put a heavy burden on the association’s resources. And since fundraising efforts and museum attendance were lagging, it appears the eventual unloading of the property was inevitable.

It’s unfortunate, for as Journal op-ed columnist Tom Shachtman points out on the opposite page, historical societies and historic homes open to the public engender a sense of civic pride. In the Northwest Corner it is especially important that we not lose sight of our industrial heritage.

Many part-time residents and even some of our younger natives are woefully unaware that only 100 years ago this area was mostly denuded of trees and dotted with ore pits, smoke stacks and blast furnaces servicing the ubiquitous iron industry. The air quality was poor and, for obvious reasons, wealthy Manhattanites fleeing the city during the summer did not often look to the Northwest Corner.

The sale of the Holley-Williams House will no doubt relieve the Salisbury Association of the fiscal responsibility of the upkeep of an aging property and it will allow the association to refocus its energies on other interesting projects. But the more important issue is whether the association and its broker can find a private buyer willing to abide by a fairly stringent preservation easement limiting alterations not only to the facade but to the interior as well.

There has been talk of approaching the town of Salisbury about a possible purchase. But as the recent experience with the Rudd property attests, there is little public sentiment for sinking taxpayer funds into a potential money pit. The recently approved Upper Housatonic National Heritage Area will include federal funding of up to $1 million per year for many uses, including preserving the region’s industrial history. That funding, however, will not start until next year, too late to help here.

The Salisbury Association’s need to sell the Holley-Williams House is symptomatic of the challenges many historical societies and small museums face — not only here but across the country. As their buildings age and maintenance costs increase, the competition for charitable dollars and grants increases, forcing these institutions to make tough choices.

It may also compel municipalities to take a hard look at whether they need to either begin subsidizing these institutions or increase the subsidies if they already exist. Northwest Corner towns routinely support public libraries and child-care centers, for example.

And voters in Falls Village recently approved a $25,000 donation to a children’s theater company toward the purchase of a downtown building. Indeed, observers think it’s likely the Board of Selectmen will make a yearly grant to the theater company that will subsidize its operating budget. Since precedents have been set, preservationists might plausibly ask whether conserving our heritage is just as important.