Renovations are underway at the former Woolwich Grange Hall that will become the new home of an internationally recognized firm that specializes in the design of state-of-the-art energy systems for pleasure boats.

In mid-August, OceanPlanet Energy, Inc. closed on the purchase of the landmark, wood-framed building that sits on a sharp bend in the road across from Montsweag Flea Market. Built in 1900, it occupies a small lot of less than an acre on Mountain Road and can be seen from Route 1.

“We plan to operate the business on the ground floor,” said Nigel Calder in a telephone interview with Wiscasset Newspaper Friday afternoon. Calder, of Newcastle, is a junior partner in OceanPlanet Energy. He said the company had outgrown its space in a second-floor office at 72 Front St. in Bath and needed larger accommodations.

The exterior renovations now occurring have included replacing the roof which eventually will have solar panels. “We’ll also be installing six-over-six, triple-glaze windows, adding new clapboard siding. We’re also having a new septic system installed,” said Calder.   He said the plan is to keep the building’s historical look while modernizing it and reducing its carbon footprint. The work is under the direction of contractor Chip Hill of West Bath and will take several more months.

The company will forego earlier plans for putting an apartment on the building’s second floor. Calder said for the present the firm will leave the former ballroom and stage pretty much as is. The large room is where the Grange once hosted meetings, dances, plays and lectures.

Woolwich code enforcement officer Bruce Engert said because the building is on an undersized lot and this was a change of use, approval for OceanPlanet Energy’s plan was required from the town’s planning and appeals boards. All the permitting was granted over the summer, he said.

When asked to describe what type of service OceanPlanet Energy provides, Calder said the staff designs marine energy storage and charging networks. The systems provides electrical power to high-end pleasure boats and yachts.

“They can be pretty sophisticated systems. We can also design and make a boat’s electrical system more energy efficient,” he explained. He said the company also sells ion lithium batteries that enable vessels to store a great deal of energy. “Our clientele is from all over the world; at the moment we’re working with one client from China and another from South Africa. Most of our customers are based here in the U.S.”

Bruce Schwab, the company’s senior partner, started OceanPlanet Energy over 10 years ago. Schwab, of Woolwich, is an avid sailor; the company’s website notes that on Feb. 25, 2005, Schwab became the first American to officially finish the Vendee Globe Race, a solo around the world sailing event. He completed his voyage in 109 days and 20 hours.

Calder is a member of the American Boat and Yacht Council Electrical Project Technical Committee. He’s best known for writing the “Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual,” now in its fourth edition. His “Marine Diesel Engines” manual is in its third edition.  He has written over 300 marine-related magazine articles.

The business has six employees including Julia Carleton who holds a USCG Master 500 GRT Oceans and an ABYC Electrical Certification. Carleton also teaches Maine Outward Bound sailing courses. Learn more about the firm at  oceanplanetenergy.com

According to Calder’s research into the building, the land for the Grange was donated in the late 1860s by John Bailey, an earlier Woolwich resident. He said title to the property wasn’t fully cleared up until October 2018 and required an affidavit from an heir of Bailey’s making it clear the land belonged to the Grange. Calder said a Baptist meeting house once stood just beyond the Grange; only its foundation remains.

This reporter’s research reveals the Grange building was erected in 1871; its official name was the Woolwich Grange Patrons of Husbandry #68.

In his 19th century journals, Asa Willard Plumstead refers several times to the Grange at Montsweag; Montsweag then being a small community. For many years Plumstead owned a farm along Chewonki Creek, Wiscasset which is near the Woolwich line. He writes he worked as a clerk at John Purrington’s general store in Montsweag Grange Hall which also served as a post office. Both the store and post office were on the first floor for several years before they were moved to Purrington’s home nearby.

Once the focal point of the community, the Grange hosted dances, bean suppers and community events. In the summer of 1880, Plumstead writes, he attended an evening lecture at Montsweag Grange Hall delivered by Rev. Moses Hull. Rev. Hull had a fairly wide following both as a spiritualist and national leader of the Greenback Party. The Greenbacks, as they were known, and the Grange were far ahead of their time. Both advocated greater rights for farmers, better working conditions for laborers and equal rights for women including granting women the right to vote.