Thomaston museum seeks removal of historic easement on deed to allow practical repairs and energy upgrades

Representative Anne Matlack presented LD 12 64, a resolve that asks the Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to modify the deed that conveyed Montpelier (the General Henry Knox Museum in Thomaston) to the Friends of Montpelier by removing Schedule B, a historic‑place easement. The sponsors and Friends argued the easement was attached after the original legislative conveyance and now constrains routine, safe, energy‑efficient maintenance of a 1929 replica building.

Sponsor and museum testimony: Representative Matlack said the replica mansion (built 1929 as a two‑thirds scale reconstruction and donated to the State in 1965) is not the original Knox estate and that Schedule B’s National‑Park‑Service‑style historic easement requires maintenance approaches that are impractical and expensive. Barry Hodge, chair of the Friends’ board, told the committee the Friends do not intend to sell or subdivide the property. He said the group is expanding educational programming and preparing for the building’s centennial in 2030, but that complying with the easement’s requirements would make necessary repairs and energy upgrades cost‑prohibitive. He noted the State itself previously did work on the porch with modern materials.

Department and legal framing: Committee members asked whether removal of the easement would conflict with the property’s inclusion in the Thomaston Historic District and whether the deed modification was legally feasible; the sponsor and the Friends said the easement was added administratively by Bureau of Parks and Lands after the legislative conveyance and that the State Attorney General previously advised the Bureau could remove the easement, although the Bureau preferred that removal be pursued through the Legislature.

Next steps and context: The committee accepted testimony and public comment without taking action. Proponents requested statutory language extinguishing Schedule B so the Friends can pursue energy upgrades and repairs using materials that replicate historic appearances while improving longevity and protecting museum collections.