What’s the connection between the Old Town Hall and the Washington National Cathedral? A 19thcentury English architect by the name of Henry Vaughan, according to preservation consultant Lisa Mausolf.

Mausolf was hired by Salem’s Historic District Commission earlier this year to research the meetinghouse turned town hall turned museum built in 1738 when the community was still part of Massachusetts. She discovered that Vaughan – who also worked on the National Cathedral – was commissioned by local philanthropist and millionaire Edward Searles to renovate the building in 1899.

That came as news to Beverly Glynn, commission chairman and museum curator.

“I didn’t know the details. We knew about Searles donating the time and money,” she said. “It was a very pleasant surprise.”

Planning Director Ross Moldoff had a similar reaction to the news. A Salem resident, Moldoff knew the Old Town Hall for what it was, an old town hall, and not much more.

“I knew nothing about it. I knew that it was a historic building, but I didn’t know anything about the details,” said Moldoff, who worked with Glynn in finding a consultant to help with research.

“We had no idea about the Searles connection. It’s a name that’s familiar around here for people who are interested in historic buildings, but we didn’t know about his connection.”

Little more is known about Vaughan other than his work with Searles in the surrounding communities and his reputation as a respectable architect specializing in gothic revival buildings, Mausolf said. After 25 years as an architectural historian, Mausolf said she was blown away after her first step inside the Old Town Hall.

“The second floor is really the most fascinating part. You get a sense of almost a medieval English hall,” she said. “You have these beams that don’t fit with the New England style meetinghouse building.”

But Glynn always knew the building was special. For three years, she worked with Moldoff and Community Development Director Bill Scott to put the local landmark on the State Register of Historic Places, always unsuccessful.

At last March’s Town Meeting Glynn asked voters to fund an outside consultant to help.

The move paid off, Glynn said. Earlier this month, she presented selectmen with a certificate from the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources cementing the Old Town Hall’s place in history.

The building was one of three added to the registry in September, making it eligible for grant money, according to State Survey Coordinator Mary Kate Ryan.

The Old Town Hall could also be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, but Glynn has her eyes set on elevating a few other local buildings, including Hose House No. 2, the old cemetery and School House No. 5, to the state’s registry. And there’s more work to be done on the Old Town Hall, she said.

“We have a layer of protection for that building. It’s 270 years old, and everything is changing. Maybe we can get some grants to do improvements and keep up on that building,” Glynn said. “It’s like having Salem’s attic with all of the peoples memories housed in one place, and each week we collect more from residents ... We’re still looking for old pictures of the town and its residents.”