LIVERMORE – Norma Boothby broke down in tears Tuesday when she saw the two-story, 17-room Norlands mansion still standing. A fire had destroyed an attached 100-foot-long, three-story barn and farmer’s cottage at the living history center Monday night, but trustees plan to rebuild them.
“It is a miracle,” Boothby said, as assistant fire Chief Andrew Berry put his arm around her for comfort.
Boothby had volunteered at Norlands for 25 years and still does some programs portraying “school marm” Eunice Chenery.
“I’ve been going through my mind – all the kids, laughter and learning that all took place,” she said. “It’s a miracle,” she repeated, that the mansion and other buildings were saved.
Thousands of schoolchildren and college students have gone through Norlands, she said, learning what it was like to live as rural 18th and 19th century residents. The live-ins were held in the farmer’s cottage at the nonprofit museum.
Norlands was a gift of the Israel and Martha Washburn family, one of the region’s original settlers. Their seven sons went on to serve as state and national political and military leaders and headed a railroad and founded the Gold Medal Flour Co.
Langhorne Washburn of Virginia is the only living descendant born at Norlands.
“I was born in the French room,” Washburn said, when reached at home.
His grandfather was the late Sen. William Drew Washburn, one of seven Washburn sons.
“I think it is a tragic situation. We should look forward to rebuilding. … Thank God Norlands didn’t burn. I would like to commend (the firefighters) on their efficiency,” Washburn said.
The Italianate style mansion with its mansard roof was built in 1867 to replace the Washburns’ Cape Cod-style house that burned during renovations that same year, Norlands trustee Nancey Drinkwine said. Israel spent the last years of his life in the ornate home, cared for by his son Samuel and visited by his other six sons and three daughters and their children for extended periods, Drinkwine said.
“We are going to rebuild the buildings that were lost,” Norlands trustee President Kathleen Beauregard said. “We don’t have a plan yet. We’re just strategizing on how we’re going to keep the building safe,” what we’re going to do with the debris as well as trying to find a way to use the volunteers who come forth.
“Firefighters did a phenomenal job to save some, precious, precious property,” Beauregard said.
An air of shock still hung over Norlands as people stopped by Tuesday to check on the place. There were lots of tears, but people were already starting to look on the bright side.
Volunteer Joan Thompson of Livermore carried buckets of feed to the cattle in the field.
She arrived at the fire Monday night and observed many Livermore Falls High School students pitching in to help.
“My first response was ‘Oh My God.’ It was a gut-wrenching feeling that I thought I was going to vomit,” Thompson said when she first found out about it.
“The community pulled together last night and that reminds me of what Norlands is all about,” she said. “It is the spirit that makes Norlands, Norlands, not the artifacts, not the buildings.”
Robin Moore of East Livermore had stayed over with caretaker Donna Reed, who lived on site. They had brought cots downstairs to sleep on and were in bed talking when the alarm went off.
“We couldn’t see smoke,” Moore said.
Reed went down to check the chimney and Moore checked other places.
Moore then remembered a heat lamp was left on in the barn for the 18 piglets born Monday. They checked there and that was where the fire started.
“It was pretty devastating,” Moore said. “We were shocked. We were up all night.”
Volunteer coordinator and operating Director Nancey Drinkwine’s eyes welled up as she looked over the artifacts that had been moved from the mansion during the fire.
As Drinkwine looked at each piece, she gave information on it; knew exactly what room it had been in. She picked up a copy of letter from Maine Gov. Israel Washburn Jr., rallying troops to support President Abraham Lincoln’s Civil War efforts in 1862. The only item that was not able to be removed from the first floor was the rosewood piano.
“If they had the piano here, I would have cried,” Drinkwine said. “This belongs to everyone and thank-you everyone for caring about us and please continue.”
Billie Gammon, founder of Norlands, who had a dream and made it come true, said “I put it like this: We’ve lost the barn and the farmer’s cottage but we still have the mansion, the library, the school, the church and the office … You never saw as helpful display of community support.” She credited the firefighters and volunteers for helping save the national treasure.
She received calls from two Washburn descendants Tuesday.
“They are grateful. I am mighty grateful to all those helping hands,” Gammon said.
Ideas were already going through her head how things needed to be done, including calling in experts to check on the conservation of artifacts.
How to help
Washburn-Norlands Living History Center needs donations of plywood, a demolition Dumpster, labor, hay, money, and other items.
To donate, call 897-4366 and leave a message if no one answers. Mail may be sent to: 290 Norlands Road, Livermore, ME 04253. Operating Director Nancey Drinkwine may be reached by cell at 740-0777, or by e-mail at vlnorlands@megalink.net. Within 24 hours, updates will be posted on the Norlands Web site about what’s going on at the property. That site is www.norland.org.
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