About the Frost Center
From historic landmark to community center
Preserving this historic landmark
Restoring the Timothy Frost building is a multi-year community effort. The project has grown from years of study and conversation into a plan for preserving this historic landmark and giving it a new purpose in the revitalized village of Thetford Center.
A center of village life since the 1830s
The desire to preserve and renew the Frost Building springs from its long history serving as a center of village life since the 1830s.
The building was an integral part of the community, tying together the Town Hall, Village Store, the Green, and the one-room schoolhouse, which later became the Thetford Center Community Building.
A building shaped by its community
Over the next 190 years, citizens never stopped seeking ways to improve the Frost structure. As the decades passed, additions included the belfry and clock, pews, and, one by one, the stained-glass windows.
Some donors for these improvements didn’t go to services or even live in Thetford, but cared deeply about the building and its role in the community.
A new chapter
The Methodist Church donated the building to the Town of Thetford in 2019. Since then, the community has sought to honor its history and its role in the town center while finding a new purpose for this iconic structure.
We hope you will join us in honoring the past and helping shape the Frost Center’s future.
Friends of Frost Advisory Group
Helen Carter
Worked for Hewlett-Packard in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Africa from 1990–2012, with responsibility for worldwide, multi-billion-dollar businesses in printing, networking, personal computers, and software.
Held board and management positions with multiple nonprofit organizations, including a federally funded health care system and major regional arts organizations.
Appointed to a City Arts Commission and a Regional Parks & Pathways Commission in Idaho.
Moved to Thetford three years ago, where each morning begins with the thought, “Another Day in Paradise.”
Karen Brown
Registered Architect in New Hampshire.
Member National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).
Employed by Dartmouth College in the Campus Planning Office since 2019, primarily managing the renovation of old buildings.
Born and raised in Chicago.
Hobbies: gardening and yoga.
David Goodrich
Born and raised in Norwich; graduated from Hanover High School in 1973.
Thetford resident since 1986.
Hanover firefighter for 30 years.
Extensive building construction training and practical experience, including rescue from building collapse training.
Many years of excavation experience.
Worked on six building lift and stabilization projects, including one with Messier Building Movers, as well as a building lift and relocation project.
Built his own home, from site work through finish carpentry.
Bob Walker
Former director of three environmental nonprofits.
Community organizer.
Energy consultant.
Past Co-president of Rices Mills Community Association.
Producer of musical events.
Former carpenter.
Retired; lives in Thetford Center.
Enjoys swimming, hiking, biking, skiing, gardening, and traveling with his wife, Debra.
History
The former Timothy Frost Church is a handsome brick structure built from 1836–38 in the Gothic Revival style. The clay for the bricks was harvested from across the road. Parishioners called it the “Meeting House.” It was the place to gather, sing and worship together.
After the church was turned over to the Town of Thetford in 2019, community members began working with the Selectboard and Town Manager to develop a plan to restore the building and give it a new purpose as a center for community engagement and social services.iconic
Learn more about the fascinating history of this landmark building
