The General Wait House is the first house constructed in Waitsfield, built by the founder himself. It has been moved, modified and added to in a way that reflects the growth and development of Waitsfield as a town and a farming community. It’s unique in Vermont as a building that has existed since the town was established.
SETTLEMENT STRUCTURE
It was built as a small one-story frontier settlement structure on Old County Road, and later moved to what is now Main Street as the town grew and traffic patterns changed. It was modified to become a two-story structure, reflecting growing prosperity in Waitsfield. Later, a cow barn, carriage shed and outbuildings were added. It served as a homestead and farm for many years before falling into disuse and neglect.
This neglect had one benefit: over the years it has only been gently modified to meet modern expectations. The basic structure from the mid- 1800’s is still intact. The cow barn has been left as is, and the carriage shed is still attached. This makes the Wait House a one-of-a-kind historical, educational and cultural resource, and a valuable part of the town’s heritage that deserves to be preserved.
Preservation of the Wait House was initiated when the Waitsfield Historical Society started raising funds for its restoration, allowing the town to purchase the farmstead. Waitsfield has been able to keep the building repaired and functional by making a few small modifications with the assistance of state grants and fundraising. A visitor information area was added along with a bathroom.
SMALL, PART-TIME
The Mad River Chamber of Commerce previously occupied a downstairs office. The Waitsfield Historical Society has exhibition space downstairs and storage for its collections upstairs. Space upstairs is rented to community not-for-profit organizations including the Mad River Path, Friends of the Mad River, and the Mad River Planning District. This has been functioning fairly well up to now.
The space that the town rented in the Wait House started small, for part-time, essentially one-person spaces with minimal impact on the building or its historical character. That is no longer the case. The organizations have grown significantly in personnel, function and importance. They need more space than they have, and they need spaces commensurate with the valuable job they are doing. This should not be in the Wait House. The Wait House needs to be saved and preserved. Its value as a historical and cultural icon should not be destroyed or restructured.
Unfortunately, the town has not always respected its historical assets. A few examples: Waitsfield started out with a village plan on Waitsfield Common. A few years later, a religious dispute arose about where to build the church. The village won out, once roads improved. The village center soon followed despite the restricted area for growth. At that point, a small town green was established. This was soon filled in by a new library.
KILL TWO BIRDS
What were they thinking? The town needed both a green and a library but did not really have to destroy one for the sake of the other. Similarly, when Waitsfield decided to build a new fire station, it was built on the town’s baseball and recreation field between the Waitsfield High School and Wait House. This managed to kill two historic birds with one stone since not only was the baseball diamond destroyed, Waitsfield’s oldest and most iconic cemetery was blocked by the building of the ugliest fire station in Vermont.
There’s more when it comes to rash decisions. Waitsfield built a recreation area at the Couples Club field but neglected to secure the existing driveway to the field and instead needed to build a steep, erosion-prone drive that has been problematic ever since. Later, when Waitsfield recognized that the growth potential at the corner of Bridge and Main was limited, a decision was made to build a commercial center in Irasville. All the Bridge Street stores moved there. What seems to have been ignored in this process is Waitsfield’s historic character. What we now have is the heart of a town that is essentially a series of parking lots surrounded by strip-mall-style structures. No one is winning urban design awards for this process, despite the fact that we have many nationally recognized architects and designers in this Valley. The best we can hope for is some sort of recognition in the annals of rural sprawl.
TEST OF TIME
As for the Wait House, it needs to be historically preserved. It is the one aspect of the town’s development that has stood the test of time. It should be further utilized for educational and community service functions. As such, it could be developed as a major tourist attraction and destination with some income potential. It also needs to continue housing historical items that continue to be donated. History has not stopped. The collections continue to grow. We need to preserve both the house, the barns and the artifacts.
As for the organizations currently in the Wait House, they need room to expand. The chamber found a more appropriate location at the intersection of 17/100. Similarly, the nearby empty structures should be explored for their office potential. There are empty barns in town that could be adapted, there is an empty bank building in Irasville; there is talk of closing a couple of Valley schools. All of these are viable options to explore for efficient modern office space.
I suggest the select board plan accordingly and minimize its landlord functions. While it might be tempting to play the role of a deal-making real estate magnate, it only works if your heart and soul and expertise are in the right place. Ignoring historic preservation has its costs, financially and culturally. In the future, let’s not have to ask, ‘What were they thinking?’
Laskowski lives in Waitsfield
