RURAL COMMUNITY BUILDINGS. 7 
meeting place; and second, the fact that an important piece of 
private property, which in times past had been a tavern of low 
repute, was about to be converted again into a cheap lodging house, 
The property in question was a fine old three-story colonial mansion, 
built on land formerly the property of John Hancock, in the heart of 
the town adjacent to the town hall, the library, and the principal 
church. 
In May, 1914, a group of local leaders, including representatives of 
the Congregational Men's Club, the Baptist Men's Club, the Village 
Improvement Association, the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion, the Boy Scouts, the Tuesday Afternoon Club, and the Fifteen 
Club, met and formed a temporary organization under the name of the 
Holden Community House Association. 
They issued a circular which gave the object of the association; 
recited the fact that the Boy Scouts, the Camp Fire Girls, and the 
Grand Army of the Republic were in immediate need of a meeting 
place; gave the detailed plan, with items of expense, for the purchase 
and reconstruction of the old mansion as a community house; stated 
the amount of money which would be needed and the proposed 
method of raising it; and closed with a request for immediate subscrip- 
tions for shares of stock. 
After the initial work was accomplished, the temporary organiza- 
tion developed into a corporation chartered under the laws of Massa- 
chusetts as a real estate handling corporation " to acquire, hold, man- 
age, develop, improve, lease, mortgage, buy, or sell real estate." 
The specific aim of the people who sponsored this building was to 
provide a house which, without particular consideration for class, 
party, or creed, would serve community needs and provide — 
1. An assembly place for the various social organizations of the 
community. A count made at the initial meeting showed 22 organi- 
zations which might be expected to use the building. 
2. A place where the people might gather for recreation through 
games, reading, banquets, and other forms of social relaxation. 
The cost of the building was as follows : 
Three-fourths acre site and building, including furniture $3, 500 
Sale of outbuildings for 500 
Outlay after sales of outbuildings 3, 000 
Renovations, consisting of new floors, decorating, painting, etc., 
electric light, and steam heat installations, and lavatories 2, 000 
Total cost 5,000 
Since the purchase of the building a piano has been bought for $225, 
while various gifts of furniture have been received. 
The house is of brick, three stories in height, and of colonial type of 
architecture. It is painted a colonial buff on the outside, with white 
trimmings. Care was taken during repairs to retain the fireplaces in 
