It takes a Village district
First business under new zoning ready to open
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Staff Reporter

(Above) Scott Foster removed the rear wall of 78 Main St. during the renovations to increase the building’s stability, so it could be used to house his insurance business. (Right) the interior of the building also was substantially changed including the removal of old horsehair plaster in the ceiling.

The house at 78 Main St. in Ashburnham is small and unassuming, but it boasts a robust history to which another chapter is being added.

The house has seen many uses over the last 200 years, and is now the first business to operate on Main Street under the new Village Center zoning district.

“I like the town,” said Scott Foster, who will be opening his insurance company at the location. “I like the history. I saw it coming together with the harness shop.

Foster is not new to Ashburnham, he has been renting space for the last 20 years at 33 Main St. for Foster Insurance.

“I wanted a better identity in town,” he explained about his reasons for moving.

The Village Center zoning was designed to encourage more businesses in the Main Street area by allowing some residential homes to become commercial interests.

Courtesy Photo

Foster decided the building, which came up for sale about a year ago, was perfect for his endeavor especially considering the new bylaw.

“Nobody had live in it for about 15 years,” Foster said.

This will not be the first time the house will be used as a business. Town records show it was used as a harness shop in the mid-to-late 1840s by the family that lived at 76 Main St. The house also was a paint store in 1917, according to records.

The building hadn’t been renovated since the 1950s and the construction was simple and basic, Foster said. For the most part the building was structurally sound but needed an upgrade.

All of the windows in the house were replaced, as was the ceiling, which was old horsehair plaster.

The changes to the exterior were focused on the rear wall of the building away from Main Street.

Foster had the general contractor remove the old chimney and woodstove.

As the construction progressed Foster found many things hiding among the walls, including empty Narragansett Beer bottles from the 1950s and a small metal flask that was used in shotguns.

“We could see where the old staircases to the basement were,” he said.

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Caitlyn Kelleher can be reached at (978) 827-3386, ext. 14, or e-mail: editor@ thecommunityjournal.com