LEWISTON — Dozens of people from both sides of the river showed up Saturday evening to support Museum L-A as staff and board members burned the mortgage to the museum’s new home at the former Camden Yarns Mill.

“We wanted to celebrate tonight with the community because paying down a mortgage in one year and four months is pretty amazing,” said Rachel Desgrosseilliers, executive director of the museum that features the Twin Cities’ mill history.

Burning the mortgage marked the hard work and determination it took to retire the $206,000 debt in record time, Desgrosseilliers said. In addition to a $100,000 state grant, more than 40 percent of the remaining $106,000 was paid by the museum’s Board of Directors; the rest was donated by businesses and individuals.

Desgrosseilliers told the crowd that the mortgage-burning represented a big step forward for the museum and the community. The event was held at the museum’s future Beech Street location, next to Simard-Payne Memorial Park, formerly known as Railroad Park.

“I want to thank you all. We own this building now, but we still have a long way to go,” Desgrosseilliers said. “This is going to be one of the biggest connection points to our future. We’re not just a museum of the past, and we don’t plan on being a museum of the past.”

The centerpiece of the evening was a massive bonfire that warmed the chilly air. Organizers burned a large replica mortgage. The bonfire was built with the help of Abenaki District Boy Scout troops as part of their community service requirements.

Museum L-A has just completed a structural evaluation of the Beech Street building. Selected demolition and stabilization work will occur throughout the summer and fall. The plan is to preserve as much of the original structure as possible and plan enough space in Phase I of the project to transfer existing museum activities.

“Having a museum in L-A is significant for our past and knowing where this community came from,” said Amanda Winslow, 35, of Auburn, who brought her children to the event. “I want my kids to know what is going on in their community.”

Other activities included a candlelight walk across the nearby trestle footbridge to celebrate a bright future for the Twin Cities and Museum L-A and the unveiling of a sign marking the site as “Future Home of Museum L-A.”

The museum will now focus on raising money to move into the next phase of development of the property, which is the Interpretive Plan of the Exhibits and the Schematic Design of the new Museum L-A. The museum continues to exhibit and maintain offices at Bates Mill 1 on Canal Street. 

“In celebrating our past, we can look to our future,” Lewiston Mayor Laurent Gilbert told the crowd. “This museum will give us directions to where we’re going.”

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