Hooksett's Stone House gets a reprieve

Josie Albertson-Grove, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

May 7—Nearly a year after a developer announced plans to tear down a Hooksett home known as the Stone House, the developer has backed out and granted the house another reprieve.

The house at 1253 Hooksett Road was built in 1930 by Alfred Hebert, the son of French-Canadian parents who worked in the textile mills.

Hebert, a truck driver, built the home with with stones gathered from walls and fieldstone foundations in the Martin's Corner neighborhood.

The house is eligible for listing on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places, according to Hooksett Heritage Commission spokesperson Kathie Northrup.

The current owner, Raymond Houle, has long tried to sell. Houle found a buyer last year, a developer who planned to tear down the house to build a self-storage facility.

But now, the developer decided against tearing the house down to build a storage facility, said Realtor T.J. Potter of Potter Realty at Keller Williams. Construction costs have skyrocketed since last summer, when the project was approved.

"Nobody's around to work, and everything we need to build is wicked expensive," Potter said Thursday.

The plan to tear down the house to build a storage facility attracted vocal opposition last year, with an online petition garnering more than 7,000 signatures. Dozens of residents attended meetings in summer 2020 to ask the developer to preserve the house, and ask the town to intervene.

Preservation advocates also briefly considered trying to move the house, but were discouraged by the $300,000 cost.

Northrup said she thought the house wasn't the only thing that stirred up feelings.

"I think it might have been a combination of the house being demolished, and the people also didn't want another storage facility in Hooksett," Northrup said.

The house and nearly seven acres are now listed for sale again — for $675,000.

Northrup and other preservation advocates said they hope a buyer with a plan to incorporate the house into a new business can be found.

"The Heritage Commission is hoping the next proposal is one that includes retention of the house," Northrup said.

Potter agreed. "If we can find a buyer who wants to save the Stone House, we would love that," he said.