Historic home reverently renovated
New Gloucester resident Cynthia Plath’s credibility sounds at issue when she contends the colonial home she purchased in Sept. 2022 has been a tavern, a dance hall, a store, a post office, and a courthouse. But, as it turns out, her claims are true.
According to Tom Blake’s book on the town’s history, the Bell Tavern was built in 1773 by Peleg Chandler, and it was sold after he died in 1819. In 1978, the structure was moved a few hundred feet down the hill to 410 Intervale Road, after having resided at the intersection of Intervale Road and Cobbs Bridge Road for more than two centuries.
Plath learned of the home being offered on the real estate market through her sister Jaime Carter, a project manager and an architect who lives within eyesight of the property. “Unfortunately, like any other old home, you don’t realize what has and what hasn’t been done. It was a lot bigger project than I had hoped for. What was supposed to be some cosmetic stuff ended up being a complete gutting of the house from the basement all the way up to the rafters,” Plath said.
In order to get the house up to code, a complete overhaul that involved re-wiring the entire house was just the beginning. New plumbing, insulation, attic floor boards and other intensive renovations were required to overcome her newly-purchased home’s substandard condition.
She wanted to remain true to the character of the house while bringing it up to the 21st century. A modernized feature is smart mirrors installed throughout the house. “They’ll tell you the date, time and temperature, and tell you you’re gorgeous, as every mirror should,” she noted.
In a nod to traditional features, some of the original exposed beams remain and others that have been replicated were added. Original wide pine boards grace one of the bedrooms while new materials provide the flooring for other rooms.
She said every contractor she hired was local, such as the electrician, carpenter and plumber, and she credited her sister and brother-in-law with being instrumental in providing business contacts. Plath summarized the effort by saying, “It took a village.”
As a diplomat with the state department, her career involves world travel. Now that renovations have been completed as of mid-November, she has moved in the first home she has ever owned in the United States. Since her job now can be performed by teleworking, she is thrilled to be reunited with her previously stored possessions.
She plans to write a book about the history of the house, her experience derived from overseeing the renovations and how central the house has been to the community over the 250 years of its existence.
For Patti Mikkelsen’s complete column in the Lakes Region Weekly, go to https://www.pressherald.com/lakes-region-weekly/