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Leverett
Massachusetts
Town of Leverett
9 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
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Assessor: (413) 548-4945
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Historical Commission Meeting

Monday, July 14, 2025, 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm
Online only: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86125147556
A meeting of the Historical Commission

Meeting of Historical Commission

Members: (Quorum)

  • Absent: Edie Field, Honorary
  • Absent: Susan Lynton
  • Absent: Anne Schuyler
  • Present: Ann Tweedy, at 7:00 PM
  • Present: Susan Mareneck, Chair, at 7:00 PM
  • Present: Carole Desanti, at 7:00 PM
  • Present: Eva Gibavic, at 7:00 PM

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 7:05 PM

Meeting closed: 9:01 PM

  1. Meeting Preliminaries

  2. CPA Letters of Support

    • LOS - FONLS request 2024 - CD draft needs to be finalized.

      General Discussion...
      Discussion delayed until September meeting due to changes in plans. Susan L. will present new information to the Commission at that time.

  3. HC membership

    • Update - HC membership/role changes

  4. Reports from Other Town Committees

    • Historical Commission rep on CPC - Discussion of role of Historical Commission representative on the Community Preservation Committee. Changes at the CPC.

  5. Conditions Assessment of Leverett Cemeteries

    • Update - Update on putting together an RFP for using funds from last year's town meeting allocation to estimate costs associated with doing the needed repair work in three of Leverett's historic cemeteries.

      General Discussion...
      Carole has volunteered to take on steering the conditions assessment project. She reported being in touch with Bryan Burlingham (stone cleaning/restoration) but that they were unable to schedule a meeting for July. Ann said that she'd had some recent experience with the issue in another locality and that stone restoration per se was not sustainable long-term. She suggested that another means of preserving the history of the cemeteries might be explored, including online documentation or a physical monument of more durable material or some combination.

      Carole will continue her attempts to schedule a time with Bryan and continue to gather the information from our initial assessment site visits.

  6. Oversight of Historical Assets

    • HPR - Update - HPR for stone features

      General Discussion...
      No progress to date.

    • Ironworks Mapping - Next steps in archaeological mapping at Heritage Park/Ironworks site.

      General Discussion...
      Susan M. reported that additional funding of $2500 has been obtained from the Society of Industrial Archaeology. The previous funding will cover the GeoNav LiDAR survey and the SWCA contract, so the question was raised as to whether to accept the grant, and if so, how to use the additional funding.

      We discussed a number of alternatives:
      1) Not accept the grant
      2) Accept the grant and use less CPA funds
      3) Accept the grant to enhance the goals of the project, including using it to pay for a 3D print of the entire levee and ironworks area, provide honorariums for industrial history experts.

      We decided to accept the funds and hold off on any decisions for use until after GeoNav and SWCA have completed their work.

      We plan to schedule the visit from industrial history experts for late fall (after leaf-fall) 2025 or April (before leaf-out) 2026.

    • Properties - Update on - Slarrow Sawmill (FONLS); Moore's Corner Schoolhouse (LHS); 'Heritage Park & Nature Trail'(FONLS/Town of Leverett); Field Tavern (private); Graves' Ironworks (Town of Leverett managed by FONLS as part of 'Heritage Park' conservation area); Field Library/Museum (Town of Leverett in partnership with LHS)

      General Discussion...
      Susan M reported communication concerning a bill in the state legislature, S.993: An Act Accelerating Housing Production that would override local control of ordinances like demolition delay laws, including a letter from Jennifer Doherty against the measure.

      Discussion of preservation of the Field Tavern included suggesting engaging with an interlocutor to assist in discussions with the owners.

      Structural work on the Moores Corner Schoolhouse is in progress, which LHC will be able to see in its tour of historical assets in August.

      Historical Assets tour scheduled for August.

  7. Embodied History - Timber Industry Program

    • Embodied History - Update on Timber Industry film and program. Embodied History topics?

  8. Historical Signage

    • Industrial History Markers - Update - Signage for Cave Hill, Federal Mill and Roaring Brook Mill

  9. New Business

    • Archaeology - Issues Regarding Archaeological Sites in Leverett

      General Discussion...
      Eversource is planning additional cutting along the power line that runs through East Leverett, over Brushy and the beaver pond east of Richardson Road. They are expanding the cut line to the outer boundary of their legal right of way. Public Archaeology Lab has sent books of maps for the project for the Eversource project that reflect historical resources to be avoided and requested that LHC provide them with additional information of resources they might have missed.

      Eva has reviewed the plans but it is unclear exactly where the boundaries of the right-of-way are and what, if any cultural features may be impacted. Areas of concern include the Stratford barn foundation on the Gutter, features on Brushy and the Fay mill dam in East Leverett as well as identified ceremonial stone landscape features.

      Eva will reach out to PAL to ask for the GIS shapefiles that she can open in ArcGIS Pro and compare her mapped data with their cutting expansion.

    • Public input - Topics brought to HC for future consideration

  10. Meeting Wrap-up

The listing of matters is those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.

Minutes prepared by Eva Gibavic

Minutes approved on Thursday, Oct 9, 2025