Beauty and Community in Perpetuity.
A volunteer organization dedicated since 1906 to preserving and celebrating the historical and natural environment, and the community of Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire.
About JCVIS
The Jaffrey Center Village Improvement Society was organized in 1906. In the 1920s, it was instrumental in renovating the Meetinghouse and turning Melville Academy, built in 1833 as a private high school and later a public elementary school, into a museum.
Since its founding in 1906, the JCVIS, also known as the VIS, has bought or been given properties restricted in perpetuity for public use as parks, viewsheds, and open spaces, plus two historic buildings: the Melville Academy and the Horsesheds building. The Horsesheds stand on Jaffrey Town land. The JCVIS currently owns 22.5 acres of open space and holds conservation easements on 35.1 acres owned by local residents.
The Jaffrey Town Meeting established the Jaffrey Historical District Commission in 1969, and in 1970, it designated the neighborhood as the Jaffrey Center Historic District. In 1975, the Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mission
Maintaining the beauty, history and history of this community in perpetuity is the essence of the mission of the Jaffrey Center Village Improvement Society. The VIS is dedicated to:
Maintaining the beautiful views of Mt. Monadnock.
Beautifying a historic neighborhood of 18th and 19th century houses.
Enlivening community life and spirt.
Displaying and teaching the history of the community.
Generations of generous and public-spirited volunteers have striven to fulfill this JCVIS mission.
Beauty You see the beauty of Cutter Park as you drive west into Jaffrey Center, at Rte. 124 and Thorndike Pond Road.
Community VIS members and neighbors sing carols annually around the VIS Christmas tree on the Meetinghouse Common. The carol sing is usually followed by a VIS Christmas dinner, one of several events the VIS holds annually. The VIS encourages electric candles in windows in December.
Perpetuity “A View Forever” of Mt. Monadnock was what prompted Sandi Best and family to give this 6.2 acre parcel on Thorndike Pond Road, about 500 feet north of Melville Academy Museum, to the VS in 2011.
VIS Today
Grounds & Easements
Owns and maintains 22.5 acres on eight properties that provide parks and maintain vistas for residents and visitors, while providing habitats for wildlife. It holds conservation easements on three parcels with 35 acres of private woods and forest near the village. See the map here.
Landscaping
Continues to “ornament” Jaffrey Center through holiday lights and greens, and the running horse street signs.
Museum
Operates Melville Academy Museum, a local history museum open to the public on summer weekends and to school and groups on request. Built in 1833 as a private academy, Melville also served as a public elementary school and was acquired by the VIS in 1920. Learn more here.
Historic Buildings
Works with the Town and other groups to maintain the Meetinghouse, the Horsesheds, Melville and the Old Burying Ground, sites vital to the Jaffrey Historic District’s status on the National Register of Historic Places.
Events
Sponsors community events: Spring and Fall Clean-ups, Christmas Caroling on the Common, December and spring dinners and the July 4th Ice Cream Social. VIS helps produce the July 4th reading of the Declaration of Independence.
History
Melville Academy Museum is a local history museum maintained by the Jaffrey Center Village Improvement Society for the purpose of preserving and displaying more than 700 items that tell stories about living in Jaffrey Center and Jaffrey, the Academy, and the Jaffrey Center Village Improvement Society.
Get Involved
Membership, Volunteer, Visit, Donate