Mary, thank you so much for offering this blog for us to air our concerns about issues in Newburyport.

Of deep concern to me is the future of the Wheelwright property at 75 High Street. Most readers may know that since 1888 it has been the home for aged women, through the Society for the Relief of Aged and Indigent Females.

The property was given to this organization by Martha Wheelwright, widow of William Wheelwright. Now, all these years later, the Board of Directors of the Society has decided that they will continue with their mission to help elderly women but they will no longer carry out the mission in the house given to them for this purpose. Maintenance costs have become prohibitive.

Since this group intends to continue the mission of caring for elderly women, they are looking for the most money they can get from the property to enhance their endowment fund, apparently without concern for the overall good of the city of Newburyport, the immediate neighbors of the property or the aesthetic and historic nature of High Street.

My hope is that there can be some concessions made by the Society to forego a certain amount of money in order to retain the nature of the historic property that they were given more than a century ago. I’m sure the Wheelwrights didn’t anticipate the property turning into either a housing development of 6 or 7 houses or, worse yet, a 40-unit 40B housing project (editors note: this number, “40-unit” has now been double checked), both of which are currently possible under Newburyport zoning! Just try to imagine the impact of something like that happening on this beautiful property.

Please air your concerns about the preservation of this property! The time is very short! The members of the Board of Directors need to be aware of their responsibilities. They were given a great gift more than 100 years ago and it would be a terrible thing if they disregarded their responsibility to that property.

Sally R. Chandler, Amesbury

Sally Chandler contributed to the book “Gardens of the New Republic: Fashioning the Landscapes of High Street, Newburyport, Massachusett” (which contains information about the Wheelwright property) The book is available at the Newburyport library and bookstores. It can also be obtained through the website www.historicgardensofnewburyport.org