Parish tries to restore 1773 church

Holds open house to push for town meeting funds

By Owen Boss

HUBBARDSTON — Marking the beginning of restoration work and opening the building’s doors to the community in advance of Tuesday’s Annual Town Meeting, the First Parish Unitarian Church Friday held its “On the Common Projects” open house. The Community Preservation Committee is seeking town approval to use more than $72,000 of its funds for repairs to the church at town meeting, funds which would augment a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Historic Commission and $18,000 in church funds for a total cost of $130,000. Work on phase one of the church’s planned repairs — which focuses on the steeple — began Tuesday, with workers from contractor Murray Bros. Construction arriving on scene. Phase two — which would focus on repainting the walls of the main structure, as well as roof and chimney repairs — is contingent on the preservation funds being approved. John Harden, the town Historic Commission’s representative to the preservation committee, said his group strongly endorses the church’s effort. “There really isn’t another building in town that, if you were scoring these proposals, would score as high as this building,” he said, noting that the church project was one of three the committee chose from a field of six applications. Along with the Hubbardston Public Library, Mr. Harden said the church — which was built in 1773, served as the town’s original meeting house and underwent previous renovations in 1842 and 1868 — is one of the two buildings “that really jump out at you when you pass through” the town. Using preservation funds for the project is acceptable and has precedent, he said, and the church meets all the necessary criteria. He noted that the church is a “highly publicly-used building and a highly publicly-visible building,” and said its preservation would serve the entire community. Carol DiNinno, a preservation planner with the state historical commission, echoed Mr. Harden’s sentiment. She called the building “the epitomy of the white, New England church overlooking a small town common,” and said her agency holds such buildings in the same regard as it does town halls and other historic structures. Phil Warbasse, an architect with Chenot& Associates, called the church “a jewel” that remains structurally sound and largely preserved in its original form. The town clock in the steeple, he said, is “one of a kind,” hand-built in Worcester around 1807. The church bell is also unique, he said, a “Paul Revere bell” made in 1833 by a former apprentice of the famous patriot. Jason Murray of Murray Bros. said his company feels the steeple is in good condition, and said the second phase is ready to proceed based on the funding. “It’s a very fun project for us, and we’re very excited,” he said. “It’s definitely worth persuing the preservation of this building.” Mr. Harden also spoke about the other two projects recommended by the preservation committee, with include repairs to the town clock and flagpole and the restoration and mapping of the Parish Cemetery. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 6/2/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 130)