THE MEETING
HOUSE
The First Meeting House Society was convened in 1832 for the purpose
of "constructing an edifice for Orthodox worship". The society raised
the funds and oversaw the construction of the post and beam brick-clad house of
worship, completed in 1833.
In 1871, dissention in the church
forced the sale of the structure to
the town and it became a graded school. (Historic photographs of graduating
classes hang in the present entry hall). The conversion from a church to a
school was undertaken by Boston architect Thomas Silloway who designed the
Quechee Congregational Church, the Windsor County Courthouse on the Green in
Woodstock, and the current (1859) Vermont State House in Montpelier.
Silloway's changes include
relocating the entry doors on the side of the building, the placing of
Italianate brackets on the eaves, adding a cupola with a bell cast in Troy, New
York, and exchanging the etched church windows for double hung, and divided the
24' high sanctuary into two floors, with classrooms on the 1st floor and a 12'
high gymnasium ups
The gym held dances, basketball games, roller skating parties, town meetings and plays. In the 1960s when the second floor held theatrical events put on by the Green Mountain Guild Players, Bess Armstrong and Meryl Streep acted in this building.
Currently the historic brick
Meeting House has the restoration workshop on the first floor. The upper portion
of the building has been converted into a uniquely designed and furnished
2-story town house apartment occupied by the proprietor. It has been the subject
of various news articles as well as recently filmed for a segment for
HGTV.
Visitors are welcome to watch our skilled artisans at work.
Please contact us for your special projects !