Use of Baxter land for parking lot questioned

GORHAM – A 2-acre parcel given to the town by the late Gov. Percival Baxter has touched off a commotion among Baxter’s heirs, the town of Gorham and the state.

Baxter, one of the state’s greatest benefactors who died in 1968, gave the plot to the town in 1915 under the condition that it be used as a park.

The town now says it needs the land to build a parking lot for the public library, and last week voted to take it by eminent domain.

Not so fast, say Baxter’s heirs. By violating the condition of the will, the family argues, the town lost its right to the land.

The state, meanwhile, has sent a letter to the town suggesting that it may get involved, a move that would make it difficult – if not impossible – for the town to take the land.

Town officials fear that the dispute could further delay the expansion of the library – named Baxter Library – which was scheduled to begin this past spring.

“This has the potential to be quite a problem,” said Burleigh Loveitt, chairman of the Gorham Town Council. “We have already lost this year, but this can’t go on.”

At issue is the old Baxter family homestead in the center of Gorham, given to the town by Baxter 53 years before his death. The land is adjacent to the pink granite library, also a gift from Baxter, which was built in 1908.

Baxter was a generous man, best remembered for donating 202,000 acres of wilderness to create Baxter State Park. He was governor of Maine from 1921 to 1925.

Everyone agrees that Baxter donated the land in Gorham for use as a park. Over the decades, however, that wish has not been carried out.

The town now wants to build a parking lot on a portion of the land as part of the planned library expansion. Without the land, selectmen say they’ll have to build a new library in a different part of town.

Loveitt says Baxter didn’t object decades ago when a piece of the land was used to build what is now Gorham junior high school. That, he says, is proof that Baxter’s vision of the land wasn’t as narrow as a park.

“Those who knew Gov. Baxter believe his intent was that this be used for public purposes,” not necessarily a park, Loveitt said.

Eric Baxter, the governor’s great-great nephew, agrees that Percival Baxter gave the town permission to use the land for a school, but at the time he also asked that the council recommit to using the rest of the parcel as a park – a commitment that was put in writing in 1939.

Baxter says he doesn’t want to own the land, but he does want to make sure that his relative’s wishes are honored.

“This sets a horrible example for citizens who want to make a gift with some restrictions,” he said.

Further complicating matters is a letter that town officials received last week from Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern. The letter says that an argument could be made that the state of Maine is Baxter’s heir, and not his relatives.

The interpretation confuses the issue even more because the town could take land away from Baxter’s family, but not from the state.

If no one files an appeal of the Town Council’s eminent domain vote in 60 days, the town would take full ownership of the land. If an appeal is filed, the matter would be heard in court.

Eric Baxter said he expects the state to give the town the land, but he hopes with sensitivity to the late governor’s appreciation for public space.

“I hope at the same time the state gets some sort of guarantee that 20 years from now, they don’t pull some stunt like this again,” Baxter said.