Major renovations done to 1840s building in Lancaster

LANCASTER, N.H. (AP) - Major structural renovations have been done to a historic building that dates back to the 1840s in northern New Hampshire.

The Parker J. Noyes Building on Lancaster’s Main Street was named for the former head of a company that invented machinery to sugarcoat pills. Crews have done demolition and renovation work on the 11,000 square-foot building to create space for apartments and businesses.

“Like most renovation projects, we found some surprises,” said Julie Renaud Evans, program director for the Northern Forest Center, which owns the building. “We discovered some old fire damage in the rafters and determined we needed a full foundation under the back end of the building.”

The date of the fire is unknown, but it charred beams on the second floor; some reinforcements were needed. Workers also hustled to put in a new foundation before it got too cold after it was discovered the old one wasn’t stable enough.

The Northern Forest Center bought the building in 2018 as part of its Community Investment work in Lancaster. The building was named to the state Register of Historic Places at the end of that year.