Falmouth wins Preserve America designation

Falmouth was chosen last month as a Preserve America community, a federal designation that puts communities in a better position to obtain grants for promoting heritage-related tourism.

The designation, according to Board of Selectmen Chair Mary Pat Flynn, was made possible in part by a demolition-delay bylaw that Falmouth enacted in 1994. At that time, Highfield Hall, an enormous Queen Anne-style mansion built in 1878, was in disrepair. Another mansion built on the same property around that time already had been torn down.

Just two days after the demolition-delay bylaw went into effect, the owners of Highfield Hall filed a request to tear down the historic structure. The bylaw, which required a six-month waiting period, “gave us the time to get together and figure out what to do,” said Flynn, who was in her first term as a selectman at the time.

A nonprofit group called Historic Highfield was formed to raise money to save the mansion, and Falmouth eventually obtained the property through what Flynn described as an amicable eminent domain process. A six-year restoration process, which required no money from the town, was completed in 2007, and Highfield Hall is now used for art exhibits, musical performances and other events, including private rentals.

Jay Zavala, president of the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce, said a diverse group of civic organizations worked together in applying for the Preserve America designation. The more groups that are on board when a community applies, Zavala said, the broader the range of grants a city or town is eligible for.

Falmouth is the 20th Massachusetts community to earn Preserve America recognition. The others are Blackstone, Douglas, Gloucester, Grafton, Holyoke, Hopedale, Leicester, Lowell, Mendon, Millbury, Millville, Northbridge, Plymouth, Salem, Springfield, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge and Worcester.