Peters House to get $200,000 grant

The beleagured Peters House has received some much-needed assistance from the state.

This week, Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced that the town, with the help of state Rep. Pamela Sawyer, R-Bolton, has received a Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant of $200,000.

The structure, once the home of slaves Cesar and Lowis Peters and their family, was acquired by the Town of Hebron in 2004 through an open-space purchase. The surrounding acreage became a recreational facility, which opened this summer, but the house has remained in disuse. Because of the history of the Peters family – Cesar and Lowis were rescued, along with their children, by their Hebron neighbors before slavetraders were able to abduct them out of state – and because of the architectural feature of the house itself, local historians wanted to see the house preserved.

However, some town officials wanted to sell the house to save taxpayers the expense of restoration. At one point, officials were in negotiations with a potential buyer, but after that fell through, a committee was formed to recommend the best use of the house in the future. Last fall, the committee recommended that the home be retained by the town as a joint museum and municipal offices.

Built in the 1700s, some work had to be done to the house at once, such as replacing broken windows and regrading around the foundation to prevent leaks into the basement. The board of selectmen this spring allocated more funds from other unexpended line items in the budget to prevent the historic home from falling into further disrepair, but the town did not have the money to undertake more long-term renovations, nor the insurance coverage to allow volunteers to work on the house.

Grant funds, including through STEAP, were applied for instead, although the board of selectmen did not agree on whether applications should be submitted on behalf of the Peters House. The deadlines for grant admissions changed this year, and board of selectmen chair Jeffrey Watt applied for the STEAP monies without waiting for the concurrence of the rest of the board, some of whom thought that other town projects were also worthy of grant applications.

The majority of the board, however, agreed, after the fact, to approve the STEAP grant application, which has now been awarded to the town.

Rell said the funding would help make the building, which Hebron designated as a historic property early this year, be a town asset.

“One of the distinct characteristics of Connecticut that makes the state a wonderful place to live is the historic homes that dot our landscape,” Rell said. “This funding will not only help to preserve the historic Peters House in Hebron, it will also provide the town with an opportunity to make it a focal point in community activities.”

The grant funding will be used to make the house into the use recommended by the study committee, bringing it up to code, making it handicapped-accessible and modifying the inside.

Donna McCalla, the chairman of the Hebron Historical Society, a member of the Historic Properties Commission and long-time proponent of preserving the Peters House, has also helped a film be made of the Cesar and Lowis story which will be screened this weekend, said that although the wait was long for a financial boost for the house, the grant award made the wait worthwhile.

“What a wonderful vote of support from the state and Governor Rell on the Peters House,” McCalla said.