About 10 interested people gathered at the St. Croix Island International Historic Site's visitor center for an open house on the afternoon of November 19 to share comments about the fate of the site's historic McGlashan‑Nickerson House. The National Park Service (NPS) is in the process of conducting a draft Environmental Assessment of the house and is seeking public comment on its three different proposals with a deadline for comment of Friday, November 30. The draft EA evaluates three alternatives for the historic house: no action; removal and relocation; or documentation and demolition.
     Robbinston resident Ken Ross had a number of ideas, in particular expanding the mission of the St. Croix site from beyond the island to encompass the granite and plaster works history. He suggested that the large ground-floor space of the house could be used for interpretive exhibits about the industry, and in addition walking and hiking trails could be built to engage a wider tourism market.
     The house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1883 by George McGlashan, who came from New York City to join others in the creation of the Maine Red Granite Co., incorporated in 1876. The house is one of a number of buildings that once reflected a prosperous time in Red Beach. While most of the quarrying infrastructure has long been gone, at one time the cove was lined with quarry‑related buildings, including plaster mills, polishing works and the quarry itself, which was located high above the cove. The owners of the quarry were at the open house, and at the suggestion of hiking trails to the site they indicated that two bridges would be needed for access.
     NPS Deputy Superintendent Michael Madell was on hand to answer the question of expanding the park's mission. It would take congressional action, he explained, to change the mission and then it would involve appropriations and other committees to come up with funding mechanisms for operations. He listed costs that included expanded staffing, utilities, educational resources, trail building and maintenance, and the big ticket item, the maintenance of the house itself. "There are some challenges," he noted.
     Maine Preservation, a Portland‑based nonprofit that works around the state to preserve historically significant properties, had issued a press release stating its dismay at the possibility of demolition of the house and charging that the National Park Service had abdicated its mission to maintain the property. St. Croix Park Site Manager Meg Scheid explains that she has learned that Maine Preservation had been involved with NPS in discussing the fate of the house but that she had not been included in the initial discussions. After researching the nonprofit's statement that it had been offering help since 2016 and learning more about the organization's involvement, she explains that if the house had gone through the private sale route and been taken over by the General Services Administration, the entity that disposes of such properties, Maine Preservation would have come in during the process of conveyance.
     The opportunity for Maine Preservation to take part in the conveyance process passed by when the NPS started the process of a developing a planning foundation document, used by NPS to assess park resources and provide guidance over a specific time frame. Scheid explains, "It was our superintendent who said, 'Let's look at the fundamental resources and values' of the St. Croix site. In the end we were measuring that with the legislative mission and the resources available." NPS made the proposed determination that it is the land that is of most value and significance to the park's mission, not the house. Thus it has proposed dismissing the option to sell the house and its land as a way to preserve the property.
     Scheid explains that through the creation of the foundation document, which was published in 2017, Maine Preservation was involved in the programmatic agreement on the disposition plan for the house. However, she acknowledges, "We probably should have given an early call to them" as a courtesy about the proposed alternative fate of demolition. She adds that NPS welcomes all comments, including Maine Preservation's. "They've made their position clear by their listing" of the house in its annual Most Endangered Historic Places in Maine, she adds.
     During the open house Calais Mayor Billy Howard said, "It's a shame to demolish it just because the park doesn't want to give up the land."
     Scheid stressed that public comments are desired, including the suggestion that the NPS circle back to the process preceding the draft EA when private sale of the house and land were up for consideration.
     The draft EA and instructions for how to comment online are available at <http://parkplanning.nps.gov/SACRHouse> and by clicking "Open for Comment." Paper copies are available weekdays at Acadia National Park, the St. Croix Island International Historic Site Ranger Station, the Calais Free Library and the Peavey Memorial Library in Eastport.