The core of the Bolton Museum – an 1890 wood frame church building – is expected to be fully restored and available for year-round use by spring, 2028, officials from the Town of Bolton and the museum have confirmed.
A $53,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts announced on June 2 by Governor Kathy Hochul is among the latest positive developments propelling the project forward.
According to Nina Oldenquist, the project’s architect, the grant will fund the design and construction documents necessary to advance the entire $802,180 capital project.
Officials from the museum and the town – which owns the building and which has leased it to the museum board since the 1970s – say their plan is to install heating and cooling systems in the former church, which remains unheated and uninsulated, historically a severe limitation to its utility.
The renovation will also include insulation upgrades, improved lighting, accessibility improvements, a new fire exit and interior finishes.
“The original sanctuary gallery has been closed for more than 10 years,” said Museum board chair Henry Caldwell. “Residents and longtime visitors have felt its absence and have expressed in no uncertain terms their wish to see it re-open.”
Caldwell said the restored sanctuary will have room for office space for a museum administrator and the town’s official historian as well as for a library and archives.
In 2016, a new wing was completed, enabling the museum to present temporary exhibitions across a wide spectrum of subjects, themes and media.
The new wing will remain a venue for changing exhibitions while the sanctuary gallery will house permanent exhibits exploring and explicating the history of the town of Bolton and its place on Lake George and in the southern Adirondacks, said Henry Caldwell.
According to Lisa H. Hall, the museum’s vice-president, the permanent exhibits will not merely display artifacts that have been collected over the years “but tell the story of the community in as compelling a way as possible.”
An expanded year-round facility will also enable the museum to present more public programs throughout the year, not just in summer, Caldwell added.
More than 6,100 people visited the current exhibition in the new wing in 2025, nearly double its 2024 attendance.
According to Bolton Supervisor Ron Conover, the renovation represents the latest phase of a long-term effort to rehabilitate the historic building. The museum completed a new roof in 2022 and asbestos abatement in 2023, following recommendations from engineering and preservation studies conducted in 2019 and 2020. Updated feasibility studies and schematic designs were completed earlier this year.
Architect Nina Oldenquist said the terms of the $53,000 grant will be finalized within the next few weeks.
In announcing the grant, New York State officials emphasized the numerous economic, civic and social impacts of culture and the arts.
“When the arts flourish, communities follow — bringing energy, creating jobs, expanding accessibility and increasing tourism,” said Erika Mallin, the executive director of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).
