By Renee Worthing
Register Reporter
    The former Chadbourne’s Florist house at 660 Main Street in Springvale will soon have a new address.  The house is being moved to Ledgewood Avenue in Sanford to make way for a Dunkin’ Donuts kiosk.
    Sanford-Springvale Historical Society President Harland Eastman said the old house and its generations of occupants have deep roots in Springvale.
     The house was built by Frank J. Chamberlin, a “well-known man who built a number of beautiful homes” in the area during the 1890s and 1900s, he said.
     A number of the “Chamberlin homes” still stand today, including two others in the vicinity of Main Street and Frost Street in Springvale and one on Stiles Avenue.
     “The Chadbourne home is a nicely built house,” Eastman said.
     Eastman said old town records indicate Lester Chadbourne lived in the house in 1907, around the time Chamberlin was building the homes in Springvale. However, he said, the 1907 records were mostly likely a compilation of information obtained the previous year.
     Eastman said Lester was a baker on lower Main Street in 1913, but later raised chickens at the Chadbourne house location.
     Lester had a son name Lloyd who married a woman named Alice and together they had a son named Roger.
     Roger Chadbourne said his mother used to work for Huff Florist in Sanford and when he was a young child his mother and father moved into the Chadbourne house because his grandfather Lester “needed help.”
     In 1948, Lucene “Sammy” Carll, owner and operator of L.H. Carll Funeral Home moved his business from its original location on the corner of Oak Street and Grove Street, to the current location of Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home directly across the street from the Chadbourne’s home.
    “Roger’s mother Alice had a green thumb. For their own pleasure, they had beautiful gardens,” Eastman said. “Sammy (Carll) encouraged her to make flower arrangements for funerals.”
    “My mother had worked for florists and my father liked to grow things,” Roger said. “We got going into it (and it became Chadbourne‘s Florist). There was a small store and a greenhouse. We added on and rebuilt the barn into a store with a greenhouse attached.”
     Roger and his wife Phyllis took over Chadbourne’s Florist when he was in his late 20s, he said. Together they operated the business until 1994 when they sold the business and moved closer to Mousam Lake.
     The current owners of Chadbourne’s Florist recently moved the business to south Sanford, leaving the Chadbourne house empty for the first time since it was built more than 100 years ago.
     Springvale resident and general council for Cafua Management Company, LLC, Attorney Eugene Gaudett, said he has been working with the town of Sanford for a couple of years to build a Dunkin’ Donuts.
     Several issues, from concerns of increased traffic on Main Street to aesthetics, thwarted Gaudette’s efforts to build a Dunkin’ Donuts for the franchisee, headquartered in North Andover, Mass.
    “It has been a long and arduous process to permit that site,” Gaudette said.
     But, in response to feedback from the public and the town, Gaudette said he was determined to accomplish two things- — build a Dunkin’ Donuts for the franchisee he works for and “do the right thing” to preserve the history of the town.
     He said one of his ideas to move the project forward was to relocate the Chadbourne house, although he said the proposal to move the house was not a deciding factor in obtaining the permit to construct Dunkin’ Donuts.
     He said several people expressed interest in purchasing and moving the house, but when they researched the cost to relocate, “they backed out.”
     “I want to do the right thing. I said I would do the best I could to move the house,” he said.
     Having no takers for the house, Gaudette and Cafua Management Company pooled their money to move the house. Gaudette said Cafua Management Company is paying for half the expense.
     He said the house will be moved in three sections to a small lot across from the gazebo at Gowen Park.
     “The house will be turned so it fronts Ledgewood Avenue. It will actually have a Ledgewood address,” Gaudette said.
     Gaudette said the house, which he described as “structurally sound,” will be turned into a mixed-use building, featuring a small business downstairs and possibly apartments upstairs.
     He said the lot on Ledgewood Avenue is not large enough to accommodate the barn.
     The barn, which is attached to the house, will be moved in two sections to Gaudette’s property on Hanson Ridge Road.
     Eastman said he was pleased neither the barn nor the house would be “entirely lost to the community.”
     “I’ll miss seeing the house. I’ve got a few pictures, but I didn’t get enough,” Roger said.
   Gaudette said the greenhouse was disassembled and will be reconstructed in Portsmouth.
     Gaudette said he is pleased the project is now moving forward.
     “It was frustrating (to have the town reject former proposals) because I care about this town,” Gaudette said, noting he is also a member of the Sanford/Springvale Development Corporation. “I know where this town wants to go.”
     He said the 25-foot by 40-foot Dunkin’ Donuts kiosk (drive through only) will fit with the Springvale Village Plan and design guidelines, prepared by Kent Associates Planning & Design last spring.
     The guidelines encourage the use of historic/traditional font on hanging signs (from a post or projecting from the building) or freestanding signs between two posts. He said the sign will be lit from beneath, in accordance with village guidelines.
     Gaudette said the shop will feature a “large green area” and a “bunch of trees” fronting Main Street.
     The Springvale Village Plan suggests the use of lawns, flowers and other greenery, while discouraging paved road frontage areas.
     Additionally, he said the entrance and exit will be on Stiles Avenue rather than Main Street.
     The plan to move the house also fits within the Springvale Village Design guidelines which reads, “Demolition or replacement of a building or structure with architectural, historic or neighborhood significance is strongly discouraged. When such a structure is being considered for demolition or replacement, the Town should make it a priority to negotiate with the owner of the property and with any other parties in an effort to find a means of preserving the property. Such negotiations may include relocation to a new site, recommendation for a historic easement, or inducements to interested third parties to purchase the property for the purpose of preserving it.”
     “It’s really a nice thing that they’re not going to take that building (down),” Stevens said.
     Gaudette said site preparation by Charles A. Plante & Sons as well as financing from Sanford Institute for Savings were good examples of utilizing local businesses.
     “Charlie Plante has done an incredible job and SIS helped,” Gaudette said.
     “Whenever we can save one of these buildings, whether Hawthorne School or the Chadbourne house, it’s a good thing,” Eastman said. “I’m pleased it will be preserved in large part. I do hope it is put back in good condition.”
     Roger said although he will miss seeing his old home in it’s usual location, he is resigned to change.
     “Things change and you can’t do anything about it,” Roger said.
 Gaudette said he anticipates the Dunkin’ Donuts kiosk will open around beginning of year.