The VIS also owns and maintains six properties in Jaffrey Center as parks, open spaces, and wildlife habitats. Centennial Park is the village green on Route 124 between Thorndike Pond Road and the blinking yellow light at Laban Ainsworth. The Swale is the meadow behind the houses at the corner of Route 124 and Thorndike Pond Road. The VIS also helps the town and other organizations maintain the Meetinghouse, built in 1775.

Dates and Hours of Operation: Melville Academy is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays during July and August from 2 to 4, and by special request (Contact: housechair@jcvis.org. There are no fees).

Collection or Exhibit Highlights: Melville Academy has an excellent collection of Hannah Davis Bandboxes, scrapbooks documenting VIS activities, 19th century kitchen and agricultural tools, samplers made by local residents in the early 19th century, the old mailboxes of the Jaffrey Center Post Office (which closed in 1991), and other artifacts relating to life in 19th century Jaffrey Center. The upstairs has been maintained as a schoolroom, with information on Melville Academy. The Academy opened its doors in 1833 and later served as a public school. The school was closed by the town in 1920.

Dues and Membership: Open to all persons interested in preserving the natural beauty and historical structures of Jaffrey Center. Annual dues are $10.

Meetings: Annual meeting held on the third Saturday in July.

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 722, Jaffrey, NH 03452
Contact: Ken Campbell, President. Email: President@jcvis.org