High Mountain Hall

About

Our mission is to provide a location in the heart of our community in which people gather for health, fitness and celebration.

Story

From its beginning as a church, High Mountain Hall has had an active, richly diverse, function in the town of Camden. Built in 1848 on a hill overlooking town and facing the harbor, the church housed first the Unitarian Universalist and then the Episcopal Church. In 1924, when St. Thomas Episcopal Church finished their new structure on Chestnut Street, the building was sold to a collective of farmers. The farmers used the facility to receive, store and mix grains, which they then bagged and bought back as custom feed mixes for their livestock and poultry. A small grocery store was added during the depression, and also a gas station, as cars became more common. Variations of this mixed use continued for the next eighty years, ending with the sale of the building in September, 2007.

The extensive renovation that followed the sale, revealed a building with elegant lines. Gas tanks were removed; old siding, false fronts, and random windows were replaced with the intent of returning to the classic beauty of the original Greek revival design. The twenty-six posts which held up the second floor were replaced with steel I-beams and four posts. The furnace room became a grand stair hall and the grain storage area became the 2000 square foot Hall. Outside, much of the asphalt which had surrounded the building was replaced with grass, gardens and gravel pathways.

Today the historical building at 5 Mountain Street is taking its place in the community in a new way. As a renewed focal point in town, the old church has become more visible, with all the original lines enhanced. As a gathering place, the Hall has found new life as a center for yoga, dance, and fitness classes.