This page began as Save the Maple Grove. Here is the original description. "This great home - which for decades has attracted visitors and business from near and far - is now threatened with demolition to make way for a proposed Dollar General store. With inadequate historic preservation ordinances in place, legal options may be very limited. So the goal now:
- Delay or defend against Dollar Gener
al's proposal to demolish the site
Then:
- Identify a new owner, who will commit to preserving the property intact, or
- Open a dialog with both the town and Dollar General, to facilitate relocation of the home to a suitable site. Please keep this a positive, constructive page - not just a forum to bash Dollar General. You may do so on your own page. Bringing new "support" retail into town can have benefits - but we simply cannot afford the irreplaceable historic costs - losing a "destination" landmark site - in this case. Thank you for your support!"
We lost. The building became a Dollar General and many have felt very deflated ever since. But some great things have happened:
1. The Planning and Zoning Commission has created a Historic Overlay District in "The Hollow," which is the town's current registered historic district.
2. A Historic Advisory Commission was implemented in 2016 by the Town's Selectmen. But, there is still so much more to do to educate the public, raise funds to help with preservation projects, and apply for grants. If you love Stafford, please join us!
