CHESTERVILLE — The town Heritage Society celebrated a milestone Saturday, Oct. 20, with an open house at its new headquarters in the old fire station at the town’s center.

Approximately 50 people attended the morning event, at which artifacts were displayed and the society’s sign, visible to traffic passing on Zion’s Hill Road, was unveiled. Marilyn and Malcolm Turner, longtime supporters of the Heritage Society, pulled the cord to free the sign.

Visitors were impressed not only with the significant progress made in refurbishing the former fire station building, but with the extensive collection of locally relevant historical documents and artifacts the Society has collected since its establishment in 1988.

The building was offered to the group by the town of Chesterville in 2005 after a new fire station was constructed in 2000. Since then, the organization has worked to raise funds for major repairs needed to make the building sound.

After receiving construction estimates that were out of reach for a small nonprofit, the group took on the repairs without a contractor. Working solely with volunteers, and with the aid of discounts from Hammond Lumber, donations of various kinds, and the skills of the members, the building has been made suitable for housing the society’s collection. Jim Harris, a scaffolding assembly foreman by trade, supervised the majority of the construction, investing more than 600 hours of his time to complete the work.

The building will be used for monthly meetings during the warmer months of the year, but will be closed this winter due to its lack of a heating system. Starting in the spring, hours for viewing the collection will be announced.

For information on the Chesterville Heritage Society or how to donate items to the collection, call Linda Harris at 778-2863.