Town of Accomack asks school board to transfer Bailey’s Hall for restoration and community use

Sean Boutet, interim mayor of the Town of Accomack, used the public‑comment period on Aug. 5 to request that the Accomack County School Board consider transferring ownership of Bailey’s Hall, a historic structure behind the division’s Courthouse Street building.

“Majority of it is a storage facility at this point,” Boutet said after touring the facility with school staff. He told the board the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and that the town intends to pursue historic‑preservation grants to restore it to community‑center use. “We would like to see that structure maintained, [as a] community center,” Boutet said.

Boutet said the town lacks indoor community facilities and that restoring Bailey’s Hall would provide meeting and gathering space for residents. He described much of the building’s contents as outdated and underused and said the town would seek grant funding and other creative financing to cover the restoration costs. No formal request, application or timeline for transferring ownership was submitted at the meeting, and board members did not take action during the public‑comment period.

The board did not announce any follow-up steps publicly at the meeting. The request was presented for the board’s consideration and to “plant the seed,” Boutet said, rather than as a formal proposal accompanied by documents or a timetable.