About Gihon Valley Hall

Since its construction in 1910, the Gihon Valley Hall has been the village hall, a Grange Hall, a meeting space for Civil War vets, an extension of the local school and churches, and an historical society headquarters. Today we're reimagining it as a multi-purpose gathering place for the wider community which can once again be the heart of North Hyde Park village.

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History of

the Hall

Historical notes from Carolyn Jones of the former Hyde Park Historical Society

The Valley Hall Association met for the first time on Oct. 30, 1909. The members purchased the land and began work on the hall in May 1910. Just six months later the hall was complete! On Oct. 28, 1910, they held a dedication with an afternoon program with speakers followed by a Harvest Supper and a dance with The Waterman's Orchestra.

The Association rented the hall to the Gihon Valley Grange, the Junior Order United American Mechanics, and the Daughters of Liberty. The top floor was also used for Grand Army of the Republic meetings of Civil War veterans.

In Dec. 1934, the Association voted to sell the building to the Gihon Valley Grange with the stipulations that the schools and churches in North Hyde Park could use the building for free, and also that if the Grange would disband, the building world revert to the town to be used as a community building.

The Gihon Valley Hall was listed on the Vermont State Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1992 as a contributing resource within the North Hyde Park Historic District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 10, 2022.

Forward

Momentum

After the local Grange chapter dissolved in the 1990's, the Town of Hyde Park and community members have worked to maintain and revitilize the building

Between 2001-2013 the Hyde Park Historical Society made numerous improvements to the building including restoring the historic stage curtain, installing new lights and ceiling fans, repainting, replacing the basement level front wall, building a new porch, walkway and handicap ramp and bathroom.
In 2015 the town sought and was awarded a VTrans Transportation Alternatives Grant to consider improvements along the Route 100 corridor in the N. Hyde Park village area.
N. Hyde Park Village was awarded Village Center Designation status on June 26, 2017.
Town voters appropriated $50,000 to replace the hall’s roof and reinforce the roof structure to secure a path toward restoration. That work was completed in 2019.
Through the Hyde Park and Lamoille County Planning Commissions a state Municipal Planning Grant was awarded to build on the work of the VTrans grant and develop conceptual plans for specific and streetscape level improvements. You can view the report of that work here.

Facility Improvement

Plan

The Gihon Valley Hall committee has developed a phased plan for renovation and building use

PHASE I (2020-2021): Bring the first floor space to life with events and community-led programming, and double its usability by upgrading the electrical and heating systems.

Complete thanks in part to grants from Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Community Foundation.

PHASE II (2021-2023): As the first floor becomes a more functional space, for more months out of the year, we will turn our attention to optimizing the capacity of the first floor by expanding parking, improving heating and insulation for year-round facility use, and investing in other routine maintenance projects.

In progress thanks in part to a Bruhn Grant from Preservation Trust of Vermont.

PHASE III (2023 onwards): Renovate the second floor and install a kitchen. Potential uses of the second floor include additional event rental space; co-working space; a community lending library of books, toys and tools; a community play room with ping-pong, card tables, etc; a permanent display area for Hyde Park Historical Society artifacts.

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