HEBRON — A year after a vehicle traveling on Route 119 took out the Hebron Historical Society’s front porch, it has been replaced with a new entry that includes an ADA-compliant access ramp.

The new porch is the latest structural change to the building, which dates back to the early 19th century and has stood on possibly three different sites over more than 200 years.

According to Jim MacDonald, president of HHS, the building was Hebron’s original village schoolhouse and was moved to its current location at 358 Paris Road in 1893.

Before that, the building was across the road and utilized for two years by Hebron Academy for classes after the school building had burned in the early part of 1819. Researchers have not been able to pinpoint where it may have stood before being part of Hebron Academy, but believe it dates back to the 1790s.

Accident and red tape

MacDonald and his wife Ruth got a call from the fire department about the accident at about 10 p.m. on January 15. The scene was quite a spectacle.

“You’ve got snowbanks from the town plowing the road,” MacDonald said. “The driver came through the banking, across the lawn and up onto the porch. She took out everything on it, and the porch roof was hanging by just one post.”

The accident started months of insurance red tape, some of which has still to be sorted out. The settlement the driver’s insurance company provided was nowhere near enough to replace the porch, which has yet to reimburse the historical society for its deductible.

“Our insurance company issued a demand letter, months ago,” he said. “But then it’s a legal issue and who knows how much longer that will take.”

HHS was also limited to rebuilding due to the building’s closeness to Route 119. It has grandfathered setbacks, but is so far into the right-of-way that Maine Department of Transportation and the town of Hebron rejected early replacement plans.

“We wanted space for the ramp,” he said. “The town gave its okay [as it was presented] if DOT said okay, but then we would have had to appeal up to a meeting with the commissioner. So we reconfigured where it would go, more to the side.

“We really wanted it so that anyone who is disabled will be able to come in.”

Rebuilding

Insurance and setback constraints aside, the building process went very well. MacDonald could not say enough about the contractor, Jon Stansel of Oxford.

“We used CJ’s Custom Carpentry for the work,” MacDonald said. “They worked right through the cold weather. They came in December when it turned bitterly cold, and they toughed it out.”

The insurance payout was $4,300. The actual cost was about $20,000, which left HHS with close to $15,000 to make up.

Luckily, its members and community were willing to bridge that considerable gap. Ruth MacDonald organized a yard sale to raise money. HHS held prize raffles and members stood at Hebron’s Town Office during election day collecting donations.

Many people made individual contributions, including a “an extremely generous” donation from former Hebron resident Richard Glover.

With its new porch and improved access, HHS is resuming its operations and activities for the 2025 season.

Its board of directors next meet April 8, across the road at Hebron Town Office, at 4 p.m.

Agenda topics include organizing an open house to celebrate the completed porch as well as a renovation project to improve the building’s second floor.