Tri-County Community Action Program launched a $755,000 capital fundraising campaign in May to restore the historic Ashland Graded School. The school building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1878 and has been called the best example of second empire architecture in the state.
The building was vacated by the school district in 1990 and in 2000 the Ashland school board voted to demolish it. With hope that the then fledgling N.H. Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) would provide seed money for saving the school, town voters overruled the board's plan.
LCHIP has pledged $300,000 to the effort, and the Community Action Program has also obtained a $10,000 grant from the Hunt Foundation and about $30,000 raised by the Ashland Historical Society. The Community Action Program has until December 2006 to raise the balance of funds needed for the $1.2 million restoration. The school building will become home to Head Start, Community Action Program offices and other programs sponsored by the agency.