Ed Pentaleri, treasurer of Historic Alna, speaks in favor of the town transferring two historic parcels in Head Tide village during a special town meeting on Thursday, Aug. 28. The property includes a general store and stable that existed during the village’s industrial peak. (Ali Juell photo)
Alna residents unanimously voted to authorize the select board’s transfer of two historic land parcels to the Fund to Support Historic Alna on Thursday, Aug. 28.
Voters decided to accept the gifted properties at Alna’s annual town meeting in March, but another vote was necessary to authorize the property transfer, according to second selectperson Steven Graham.
There were no questions and limited discussion about the transfer of the two parcels located at 45 Head Tide Road, the former home of the Wizard of Odds and Ends shop.
The store specialized in appraisals as well as buying and selling antiques. Richard Plunkett, who owned the store and died in November 2024, left the parcels to the town.
Instead of the town assuming responsibility for the land and its maintenance, Ed Pentaleri, the treasurer of the Fund to Support Historic Alna, said the preservation nonprofit will oversee the properties.
“We don’t have specific plans yet for the buildings,” Pentaleri said during the meeting.
In his will, Plunkett said he wanted the shop building to be rented as a shop and the barn turned into a cultural center or museum showcasing the village of Head Tide’s history.
At its peak, Head Tide was an industrial hub in Lincoln County, according to the National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the village. The Sheepscot River powered a number of factories, including two saw mills and a cloth dressing mill, starting in the mid-18th century.
Activity at the mills declined and each of the factories had burned down by the mid-1900s, but several buildings from Head Tide’s peak remain, including on the Plunkett property.
The two buildings on the gifted parcels were formerly the Jewett General Store and an adjacent stable, which were respectively built in 1884 and 1881.
“The Jewett family played an important role in the history of the Head Tide district and in the town of Alna,” Pentaleri said in an email.
The general store building has lived several lives, according to Pentaleri, including as a pewter tableware store as well as a community gathering space for summer dances and yoga classes.
Following the article’s approval, Pentaleri said Fund to Support Historic Alna will quickly work on developing next steps for the building “consistent with Richard’s wishes and with preserving the historic fabric of the Head Tide district.”
For more information about Fund to Support Historic Alna or the property, email historicalna@gmail.com, go to historicalna.org, or call 315-0070.
The Wizard of Odds and Ends antique store in Alna. Residents voted to authorize the Alna Select Board to transfer ownership of the store and adjacent barn, two historic remnants from the village of Head Tide, to the Fund to Support Historic Alna during a special town meeting Thursday, Aug. 28. (Ali Juell photo)
