Nomination for Methodist Episcopal Society of Tyringham

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-0018 RECEIVED 2280 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service JUL I 8 2000 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NAT. REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions.

Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic nameMETHODIST EPISCOPAL SOCIETY OF TYRINGHAM other names/site number_Union Church and parsonage (preferred) 2. Location street & number128-130 Main Road _ not for publication city or town_TYRINGHAM state_MASSACHUSETTS code_MA county_BERKSHIRE code _ vicinity 003 _ zip code 01264 3. State/Federal Agency Certification dit 0.rhDonona Signature of certifying official/Title Judith B/McDonough, Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Officer State or Federal agency and bureau Dato 7/6/2000 In my opinion, the property - meets - does not meet the National Register criteria.

(- See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Judith B. McDonough, Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Officer Date State or Federal agency and bureau 1. Natena ae kana rocortieation. - determined eligible for the J See continuation shee J determined not eligible for the National Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): ignature of the Keepe ratuik Andu Date, of Action 8/30/00 UNION CHURCH AND PARSONAGE Name of Property 5.

Classification Oneck as many bores as appy xprivate - public-local - public-State _ public-Federal (Check only one box) xbuilding(s) _ district _ site _ structure _ object BERKSHIRE,MA County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing 2 1 _building sites structures objects Total Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) N/A 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) RELIGION: religious facility RELIGION: church-related residence SOCIAL: meeting hall 1 2 2 Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register N/A Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) RELIGION: religious facility RELIGION: church-related residence SOCIAL: meeting hall 7.

Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) MID CENTURY: Greek Revival Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation_STONE: marble walls_WOOD: weatherboard roofASPHALT other Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) See continuation sheets. MPS Form 10-900-4 5-80 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OM8 Approvel No. 1024-0018 Section number - Page - Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA Description: This National Register nomination consists of three buildings (one non-contributing, a barn) and one object (non-contributing, a church sign).

The buildings are the Union Church (MHC: TYR- 67), the parsonage next door (MHC: TYR-54), a carriage barn behind the parsonage, and one object, a wooden sign in front of the church. The property is located at 128 and 130 Main Road, Tyringham. Setting: The property is located on a hill west of Main Road, just south of the center of Tyringham, a small community in southern Berkshire county. It consists of legal parcels, the church property and the parsonage property to the southeast (Photo #3). The church faces northeast over a maple shaded lawn which slopes down to the Main Road (Photo #1). Church Road runs close to the southeast side of the building (Photo #2). The parsonage lies southeast of the church.

Between the two is Church Road which turns to the south behind the church and parallels Main Road to the east a short distance to the crossroads of Main Road and Jerusalem Road which joins Main Road from the southwest less than a quarter mile to the northeast of the church. Both the front facades of the church and parsonage face northeast on Main Road. The church is set back from the road on a rise approximately 130 feet while the parsonage, much closer to the road, is set back approximately 40 feet. The front yard of the church contains two old sugar maple trees to the southeast of the front yard and two younger sugar maple trees to the northeast of the front yard closer to the road. The church sign is located west of the younger sugar maples off-set to the northeast of the front of the church building (Photo #7).

The church is close to the adjacent residential property at 3 Church Road and is visually separated by bushes and a garage which faces southwest on Church Road. Between the church and parsonage is a dirt portion of Church Road. The area between the two buildings is devoid of plantings. Behind the church is a gravel parking area assessable to Church Road. Behind the parsonage is the carriage barn. The southeast boundary of the parsonage property has some high untrimmed bushes. The front yard of the parsonage is narrow and the current road cut sites the parsonage considerably above the road. There are three sugar maples in the front yard, so that a face-on view of the front façade of the parsonage is impossible to see, except as one walks up to the front door.

To the southwest behind both properties is Church Road, across which lie open fields and a view of mountains and hills west beyond Tyringham valley. This area immediately behind the parcels is open and treeless. A split rail fence on the west side of Church Road surrounds a meadow which was recently purchased as an addition and future expansion of the town cemetery (Photo # 3), which (continued) p05F 10-900-1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Aaprovel Na. 1024-0018 7 2 Section number . Page. Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA is not part of this nomination. The old cemetery lies southwest of the property on the west side of Church Road two feet southwest of the church. Northwest of the church looms the Tyringham Cobble, the scenic centerpiece of the village.

The pastoral setting of the Union Church is inextricably linked to the visual experience within the building. The sanctuary is lit by eight massive double hung windows. The views through these windows are virtually unchanged since the 1840s and include glimpses of houses that predate or are contemporary with the church. The Greek Revival house at 3 Church Road was the home of Enos Northrup who sold the land on which the church was built, and #5 Church Road is said to have been built with materials salvaged from the earlier church which stood a mile further south on the Main Road. Exterior Features of the church: Rectangular in plan and measuring 38' by 57,' the church stands on a high dressed-marble foundation. One curious stone on the north facade appears to have been taken or made for another building.

It is set upside down and bears the inscription "built by John Hulet." The ridge of the pitched roof rises 40 feet from grade, and the square tiered tower stands 70 feet tall. The front northeast facade is clad with flush flat boards inside a four columned lonic portico (Photo #1). This portico is approached by side steps of granite from Church Road which were rebuilt in 1999 replacing rough granite steps in 1968, and by another set of granite steps from the front lawn, also installed in 1968 as replacements of the original front steps. The wide central doorway is framed by massive ante or pilasters and a huge entablature decorated with bands of egg and dart molding. The broad four-foot wide front door has three vertical panels set within a larger frontispiece composed of ten panels in two tiers. This, in turn, is framed by two antes and an entablature.

On all sides of the building, the deep entablature is decorated with å band of dentils (Photo #5). At the corners are broad ante. The front and rear pediments repeat the detailing and proportions of the dentilled entablature. The three sides, other than the front facade, are clad in weatherboard. On the lateral sides of the building are four huge double-hung, windows with 25 over 25 clear glass lights (Photo #8). The square tower is in two stages with a pair of Doric columns in antis on each facade. Louvered panels are located between the columns at the lower level. Atop the tower a low parapet is decorated with fretwork. The original acroteria atop the tower are mostly missing, but are stored for future reinstallation. Interior features of the church: The floor plan consists of a narrow vestibule with two doors leading into the sanctuary.

At the (continued) MPS Forme 10-900e 9-40 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 3 Section number -_ Page. OM18 Approvel Na. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA north corner of the vestibule is a closet door containing choir robes. It functions as a closet today. At one time, it contained a stairway leading upstairs to the balcony above, long since blocked off. The main floor and the basement do not communicate by interior stairs, so that it is necessary to leave through the front portico in order to enter the basement through wooden covered shelters located on each side of the building toward the front. The sanctuary has two side aisles flanked by rows of angled box pews along the walls, and straight-facing boxed pews in the center (Photo #6).

The pulpit area and the choir and front area was originally raised about 10 inches above the floor of the sanctuary. Now, in the west corner near the pulpit on the original raised flooring, the choir pews face southeast toward the pulpit and not northeast toward the seated congregation. The corresponding pews in the opposite south corner have been removed, as well as the raised floor. This area is now occupied by a grand piano. The upper walls are plaster with a wainscot of broad horizontal beaded flush boards below the window sills. The vast windows, four on the lateral northwest and southeast sides of the building, have fluted trim. Around the raised pulpit, installed in 1954 together with three Gothic chairs behind the pulpit, is a balustrade with pedestals at the corners.

Behind the pulpit on the southwest rear wall are two ante supporting an entablature similar to that of the front door, a dominant feature of the southwest wall of the sanctuary. The dossal, or red curtain, behind the pulpit on the southwest wall was donated to the church and installed in 1955. Floorboards in the sanctuary are wide and vary from around 10 inches to 15 inches. The aisles are carpeted in red carpet over wide pine floorboards. The boxed pews, originally stained dark, have been painted white, except for the scrolled trim at the backrests. The central chandelier, which hangs from the ceiling in the sanctuary, is a two-tier, twelve-arm silver-plated fixture designed by Rambusch Decorating Company of New York, installed in 1971. Turn-of-the-century photos show the interior cluttered by stovepipes which have been long since removed.

The ceiling has been clad with acoustic tile, within the last 30 years. An enclosed stairway leads from the entrance vestibule upstairs to the balcony. The bell in the tower was cast by the Clinton Meneely Foundry in Troy, NY and is dated 1880. The basement is a utilitarian space lighted by above-grade foundation windows which align with the large windows in the sanctuary above. The basement floor is concrete with vinyl tiles, and walls are painted plaster or concrete, the ceiling is acoustical tile with metal overhead heating (continued) MPS Form 10-800-e 1-00 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Section number - Page - Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA ducts.

Most of the basement area consists of a large meeting room interrupted by five metal posts supporting the floor of the sanctuary above. A kitchen is located at the southeast rear of the building and a small furnace room is at the southwest read of the building. The kitchen has wooden cupboards and modern appliances. Alterations to the church: Church records appear to have been kept in different members' houses and most of them are lost, according to the Church Clerk. Consequently, it is difficult to date many of the alterations with accuracy. Altogether, the alterations have been few and have not unduly marred the appearance or historic fabric of the building, nor its present functions. Essentially, the alterations, taken together, are minimal and not intrusive or very visible from the road. They do not detract from the architectural significance of the church building.

On the exterior, until recently four-fluted fan-shaped flat acroteria located on the center of our sides of the tower, and four 90-degree corner acroteria originally located at each corner atop the tower, crowned its top. The restoration of these acroteria is a goal of the church and they are safely stored in the barn behind the parsonage. The only modern alterations on the exterior are two basement entrances on the southeast and northwest facades, which have been there as long as anyone alive remembers. They are in poor condition and appear to have been constructed possibly early in the twentieth century in the first decade or two. Physical evidence from the building does not suggest that an interior stairway or access from the sanctuary to the basement ever existed. It does not today.

The front stairs leading down from the porch were installed in 1968 when side stairs to the southeast of the porch were also installed. The southeast stairs were replaced in 1999 and are of cut granite. Also, the original foundation of the front portico of the church has applied wooden sheathing below the porch floor and handicapped rails and metal balustrade. The wooden deck of the portico has recently been replaced. The exterior of the church has two shed slightly gabled wooden entrances on the northwest and southeast sides of the basement which cover half-flights of concrete stairs leading to the basement. Construction is poorly done and these covered entrances, half above grade, are necessary to shelter the basement entrances. The date of these structures is not mentioned in the existing church records, but they appear to date from the 1920s or 1930s.

The current bell in the belfry tower is a replacement dating from 1880 after the first church bell cracked. (continued) 2535om 108004 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - Page - OMB Aaprovel No. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA On the interior, on the main floor, the stairway in the north corner of the vestibule leading up to the balcony has been closed off, but the door remains and contains robes for the choir. The floor above in the balcony has been patched showing where this stairway once was located. This staircase matched the one on the east side of the vestibule. The upstairs balcony is no longer used during church functions. Most of the original upstairs pews in the balcony area have been removed.

Again, none of these alterations can be dated from the church records. In the sanctuary, the floor has been lowered in the south corner where the grand piano is now located and the pews facing the pulpit have been removed. This is a common alteration in churches of this age. Alterations to the church site are few. Based on historic map evidence, the property included L- shaped wagon sheds behind the church in 1904, which have been removed long ago. Church sign: The church sign (non-contributing) is wooden and supported by two wooden 6" x 6" posts sunk into the ground. The sign is lighted with a floodlight. It is located in front of Union Church and is slightly offset to the north of the church's principal façade. It stands approximately 4 feet tall. The sign is in fair condition and may date from approximately 25-30 years ago.

It is too recent to be a contributing object in this nomination. It is framed in flat lumber and has a broken pediment for the top horizontal frame. It has a broken pediment top above a glass-enclosed front with signage posted behind the glass. The Parsonage: Southeast of the church building across Church Road stands the parsonage perched above the Main Road, which it faces. Built ca.1842-1844 for a private citizen, this one-and-a-half story weatherboard dwelling is built in Greek Revival style, now somewhat obscured by a later bracketed porch added after 1893, according to a historic photograph in Picturesque Berkshire. The house is front gabled. The front facade consists of three bays with an off-center trabiated doorway flanked by sidelights and fluted pilasters. Wide plain pilasters delineate the corners of the front façade.

On the lateral sides of the house under the eaves are three rectangular triple-light windows to a side which punctuate the wide plain wooden frieze. In the fully-pedimented front gable of the house above the porch roof is a horizontal attic light decorated with a rectilinear pattern of muntins, typical of many attic windows in the town. A one story side-gabled kitchen (continued) Mso 10200a United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 7 6 Section number Page OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA ell on the south side is a later addition, possibly ca. the 1920s or 1930s. Church records do not exist by which to date this wing addition. It is set back from the front façade of the house some 15 feet. Unlike the main portion of the house, this wing has no basement.

At the southeast end of the wing is a newer kitchen and a picture window, neither of which is visible or intrusive from Main Road. The barn behind the parsonage: Behind the parsonage to the west stands a one and a half story frame barn. It is non-contributing in this nomination because it has lost most of its historic fabric (Photo #9). While this building is in excellent condition, very little of the historic architectural fabric remains. This barn is shown vaguely in an 1893 photograph in the book Picturesque Berkshire. The photograph is difficult to make out, but this barn might have been approximately a third larger with a sloping roof toward the parsonage, which does not exist today. This barn is today a small carriage barn with new shiplap siding, new windows and doors, and new garage doors punched through the wall on the northeast side facing the parsonage.

Today, this barn has been fitted out with new overhead plastic corrugated white garage doors on the northeast side of the barn which face the rear of the parsonage. On the interior, the attic with knee-walls have been sheet rocked upstairs and made into a room with an exterior pressure-treated wooden stairway on the southeast side of the barn leading to an upstairs door. The interior of the ground floor of barn is post and beam with replacement posts, suggesting that only some 50% of the original framing of the original barn remains. All of these alterations were made to the barn in 1978. The arrangement of the ground level indicates that this barn at one time accommodated stalls for two horses, hay storage, and probably a carriage. This outbuilding is indicated on a 1904 map, as well as in the 1893 photograph.

Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the church property, it is possible that sites are present. Four sites have been recorded in the general area (within one mile). Environmental characteristics for the area include several locational criteria (slope, soil drainage, proximity to wetlands) that are favorable indicators for many types of prehistoric sites. The nominated property includes well drained, level to moderately sloping topography on a hill west of Main Road. Hop Brook lies along the eastern side of the road. The entire town of Tyringham lies with the Housatonic River drainage. Given the above information, known patterns of prehistoric settlement in the region, the size of the nominated parcel (1.2 acres) and impacts from historic (continued) UNION CHURCH AND PARSONAGE Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) x A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. _B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. xC Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. _D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: x A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. _B removed from its original location.

_C a birthplace or grave. _D a cemetery. _E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. _F a commemorative property. _G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) BERKSHIRE, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) ARCHITECTURE RELIGION POLITICS/GOVERNMENT Period of Significance 1844-1950 Significant Dates 1844, 1848-1907, Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder Porter, Carter & Crittenden (builders) 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 x State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested =Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency _ previously determined eligible by the National - Local government Register University _ designated a National Historic Landmark * Otheer _ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository: # Union Church in Tyringham _ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # psfom 10-000m United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Aaprovel Na. 1024-0018 7/8 7/1 Section number - Page.

Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA period land use, a moderate potential exists for the recovery of prehistoric resources on the property. There is a high potential for the recovery of historic archaeological resources on the nominated property. Structural evidence may survive from an "L" shaped wagon shed originally located behind the church. That structure, which is no longer extant, is shown on local maps as late as 1904. Structural evidence could also exist from other outbuildings including earlier barns associated with both the church and parsonage. Archaeological evidence from occupational related features (trash pits, privies, wells) should also exist associated with both the church and parsonage.

(end) SIGNIFICANCE: Statement of Significance: Tyringham Union Church, constructed in 1844, is an outstanding example of the Greek Revival style, as well as a well-preserved example of its style and type in Berkshire County. Together with its Greek Revival style parsonage, ca. 1842-44, and associated barn, next door to the church, this set of buildings reflects Tyringham's religious, social, and political development during the 19t century. This collection of buildings and one object are eligible under National Register criteria A and C on a local level. Under criterion A, it is a significant early public building in town dating from 1844 which played a major role in the religious, social and political life of Tyringham. It was the setting for all town meetings between 1848 and 1907, which a town hall was finally built.

The church building is eligible on a regional level under National Register criterion C. Regionally, it is the premiere architectural example among three surviving Methodist Episcopal church buildings in Berkshire County representing the Greek Revival style, the other two being the small Greek Revival temple-style Methodist Episcopal Church building in West Stockbridge, built in 1838 (MHC C-#47) and entered on the National Register in 1999 as the West Stockbridge Grange, and the 1844 Greek Revival style Methodist Church in Sheffield-- Village of Ashley Falls. The Tyringham church and the Ashley Falls church were both built in 1844 at the time of the great religious revival of 1843-1844 and are the last two of three remnants of this early revival which represent Methodism in Berkshire County.

(continued) ppsFom 10200-a United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 2 Section number - Page. OMB Approvel Na. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA The area surrounding the church has potential for a National Register Historic District in the future. This potential district would include many of the buildings which comprise Tyringham center today, including the town hall, library and post office, the old Tyringham Center School, and many fine residences, most dating to the Federal period. Tyringham history: Tyringham was first settled in 1739 and originally included the area encompassed to day by the towns of Tyringham and Monterey. The earliest settlers built and farmed in what became known as South Tyringham, now Monterey.

In 1762, Deacon Thomas Orton built a log house on Hop Brook, becoming the first settler in the northern part of town at what is now Tyringham center. A sizeable Shaker community settled in Tyringham in 1792. From a population of 326 in 1765, Tyringham reached a peak in number of residents in 1800, settled back to 1,443 in 1820, and consisted of only 780 by 1850. The drop in population is attributable to two causes: the coming of the railroad to the Town of Lee, bypassing Tyringham and causing several manufacturers to move to Lee, and the loss to the south part of Tyringham and subsequent incorporation into the town of Monterey in 1847. The creation of Monterey cost Tyringham approximately half of its population and half of its land area. Since 1900, Tyringham's population has varied only slightly from around 380 in the past century.

In its first century and continuing to the past 50 years, the economy of Tyringham was largely agricultural, with livestock, cows, and sheep thriving on its meadows around the valley in which the town is located. In addition, waterpower was harnessed and several mills sprang up. One was a paper mill, run partly by water power and partly by steam, which manufactured fine writing paper. Run by two partners, Platner and Smith, this company began in the mid-1830s, and by 1855 employed 60 people. Another business was owned by George West, who had a mill for manufacturing wallpaper. But undoubtedly the most famous business in Tyringham was the Stedman rake business. Around 1900, Tyringham became known as a summer resort for the famous and near famous in politics, art, and literature.

Richard Watson Gilder, editor of the Century Magazine (formerly Scribners) was counted among its summer residents in at the turn of the century. He attracted such notable visitors to Tyringham as actor Joseph Jefferson, naturalist John Burrough, sculptors Daniel Chester French and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, pianist Ossip Gabrilowitch, artist Cecelia (continued) MPS Form 10-900-e (5-89 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number _ 8. Page - OMB Approvel Na. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA Beaux, and authors Henry James and Mark Twain. Samuel Clemens, whose nom de plume was Mark Twain, and his two daughters summered at Tyringham during this period because he valued its remoteness.

Robb de Peyster Tytus, a noted Egyptian scholar, built a vast estate on over 600 acres and a large house known as Ashintully, which has burned down. Sculptor Henry Hudson Kitson built a fanciful cottage on Main Road north of the Union Church and the town's center. Kitson is known for having sculpted the Pilgrim Maiden at Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Minute Man statue at Lexington, the Continental Soldier at Newburg, and the Coolidge Portrait- Relief at South Mountain in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Built during the peak years of 19th century prosperity in Tyringham, the Methodist Episcopal Union Church was, at the same time, a child of the early 1840s revival in Methodism in Hampshire County.

In addition to the Union Church in Tyringham, the other two oldest Methodist Episcopal churches in Berkshire County are the 1838 West Stockbridge church building (MHC: C-#47), listed on the National Register in 1998, and the 1844 Methodist Church in Sheffield - Village of Ashley Falls-erected in 1844. Together with the Tyringham church building, all three are designed in Greek Revival style, reflecting not only this architectural style in its greatest national ascendancy and popularity, but also corresponding to a resurgence in religious interest, during the great religious revival of 1843 and 1844. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Tyringham church has played a central role in the religious, social and political life of the village.

Predating the town hall by over sixty years, the church structure provided communal space for a variety of town meetings and social functions aside from regular worship services. Tyringham town meetings began to be held in the basement of the church on March 31, 1848, and continued to be held there until 1907 when a former mill was converted to use as the present Town Hall. The basement room in the church has also been used for over 150 years for church suppers, mid-winter church services, Sunday School classes, and other community events. Local church significance: Union Church was the fourth of the five church structures built within the bounds of what is now the Town of Tyringham, and the only one in town left standing today. The first church was located about one hundred and fifty yards southwest of the present church, approximately in the middle of the cemetery.

Begun in 1779, it was used alternately by Congregational, Baptist, and Methodist preachers. The second church building was a small, plain structure measuring 26' by (continued) pp55o 10-900-4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - 8 Page - 4 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA 36' and erected by the Reformed Methodists in 1826, and demolished in 1844. It was located on the north side of Main Road east of the road to Monterey. The third church was a Baptist Church, built in 1844on the northeast side of Main Road north of the current Town Hall. This Baptist Church burned on Thanksgiving Day, 1873. The Union Church, the subject of this nomination, was also built by the Reformed Methodists in 1844 and replaced their first church building.

The Baptists built a second church, Tyringham's fifth and last church, when theirs burned in 1873. This 1874 structure has also been torn down, leaving the Union Church the only one presently in the town. Tyringham's church is part of this body of notable landmarks, but it was not built without years of struggle and preparation. The first Methodist services in Tyringham were conducted at irregular intervals by circuit riders. According, to an undated note in a church record book from the 1870s, "bush meetings" were held on" land adjoining Mr. H. Clark's farm.". This was probably Hiram Clark's place, later J. L. Breckenridge's and now the Garners' at the east end of Church Road at number 16. The famous preacher, Jesse Lee, is said to have spoken to rapt gatherings here.

The old Congregationalist meeting house beside the cemetery was used from time to time by the growing Methodist and Baptist congregations, but in 1825 the Methodist undertook to build their own church. The first building stood a mile away from the present one on Nathan Rowley's land on the southern fringes of town at a spot commemorated by a marker today. In 1825, thirty-two Methodist families, including the Hales, Millers, Garfields, Clarks, Sweets, Rowleys, Heaths, and others, raised around $600 in cash and pledges of materials and labor to build their first meeting house. In less than twenty years, this structure became inadequate for the growing congregation which, beginning in 1840, was served by a regular clergyman after years of occasional preachers. Tyringham was a thriving community of rake and paper makers, and the Methodists were ready to build an impressive structure.

Because of the transition in the town and the impending split off of Monterey, the Methodist proprietors chose not to rebuild on their remote site, but bought a strategically-located parcel central to the "Hop Brook" section of town. The new church building was oriented toward the "new county road", known today as Main Road, which by-passed the more meandering older road which followed the ridge past the cemetery behind the present church. The Methodists purchased a half acre of land from Enos Northrup, an aging Congregationalist farmer who lived next door at present-day 3 Church Road. Northrup sold a portion of his house lot for the new church.

Two years earlier, he had sold another small parcel to Benjamin Johnson, who built the house which would become the present (continued) p05fom 102001 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 5 Section number - Page. OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA Methodist parsonage. The deed of May 13, 1844 between Northrup and the proprietors of the "Methodist Episcopal Meeting House" stipulates that the proprietors were obligated to construct "a good and substantial fence" between the church and Northrop's house. This provision has not been followed in living memory and perhaps was not enforced after the old Congregationalist's death. When Northrup died in 1850 his Methodist son-in-law, Dr. John Wilson, became head of the household.

Wilson apparently altered the commodious Northrup family house in the prevailing Greek Revival style and hosted the church's annual "donation visits" to raise funds for the clergyman. The meeting house building committee consisted of Hiram Clark, John Sweet, Fred Cone and Heman Cargill. According to two local sources the builder was named Porter or the firm Porter, Carter, and Crittenden. The names Porter and Carter are not local and do not appear in either the 1840 or 1850 Tyringham census. The Crittendens were a prominent Methodist family who moved to Tyringham in the late 1830s from Wethersfield, Connecticut. The Baptists also built a church in town that same year of 1844. Unfortunately, it burned on Thanksgiving Day, 1873, and no photos of this first Baptist church exist, so it is not known whether it was designed in Greek Revival style as well.

With the construction of the church, the Methodist ascendancy in mid-nineteenth century Tyringham was accepted. In 1849 the proprietors of the old Congregational Society, including the elderly Enos Northrup, deeded the land where the Congregational Church stood to the Methodists. This site is now part of the cemetery and is marked by a stone. The first clergymen appear to have been relatively short term and were not housed in church- owned accommodations. The one-and-a-half story Greek Revival dwelling now known as the parsonage, actually predates the church, and its early history was apparently separate. The house was constructed by Benjamin F. Johnson, a Methodist Society trustee and sometime rake maker. He bought the land for $100 from Enos Northrup in 1842. By 1844 the deed between Northrup and the Methodists implies that Johnson had built the house.

In 1845 Johnson sold the house on its 80' wide strip of land for $700. Although the house had a succession of private owners until 1901, it seems to have begun to be used as a parsonage during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The 1858 map shows it occupied by a J. Reardon. The Beers map of 1876 indicates this house as a "parsonage" to the church next door. In 1903 Cynthia Heath, wife of Francis Heath of Monterey, sold the house to the Trustees of the Methodist Society, whose members were Charles H. Hale, George W. Garfield, and George Gibson. The house has served as the parsonage continuously since 1903. (continued) psfomm 10-0004 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - Page - OMB Approvel Na.

1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA The survival of Tyringham's two churches became an issue in the second decade of the twentieth century. A first attempt at a so-called federation in 1912 failed under the Methodist leadership of The Rev. H. G. Wells. But in 1919 The Rev. Harold Gould, a Congregationalist, succeeded in uniting the congregation in a Union Church. Under The Rev. David W. Kerr, the property was legally transferred in 1926 from the N.Y. Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to the Union Church in Tyringham. From 1961 to 1975, under The Rev. Franklin Couch, the church joined the United Church of Christ, but since that time it has been affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches.

Architectural Significance: Built by the firm of Porter, Carter, and Crittenden, builders, at a cost of $6,000, the Tyringham Union Church is the finest example of Greek Revival ecclesiastical architecture in Berkshire County. The designers of the church were well-versed in the Greek Revival style idiom. The design for Tyringham church appears to have been taken from two or three noted 19t century Builders manuals including The American Builders Companion (1827) by Asher Benjamin, the Modern Builders' Guide (1833) by Minard Lafever, and Lafever's Beauties of Modern Architecture published in 1835, especially plate 22 entitled "ante and entablature" and plate 24 entitled "ante, entablature and details," in the latter book.

The architectural antecedents of this fine Greek Revival structure are found not in Berkshire County, but rather in northwestern Connecticut, possibly indicating the Connecticut influence on the area of southwestern Massachusetts where Tyringham is located. At least two surviving Connecticut Congregational churches in Colebrook Center (1842) and Barkhamsted Center (1844-45) are remarkably similar in design to the Tyringham church. However the porticos of both these churches have more austere Doric columns rather than Tyringham's rich fluted Ionic ones. Also the front pediments are undecorated and the two stage square towers terminate with a parapet but no eye-catching acroteria.

Writing in 1944 in his great work The Greek Revival in America, Talbot Hamlin lauds "the firm design" and "appropriate detail" of Connecticut's Greek Revival churches from "the simplest ones - mere small gabled rectangles, perhaps with panelled pilasters at the corners and a square belfry - as well as the richest and most complex." Certainly the Greek Revival style left its mark on many Tyringham houses in this period.

A number of these Greek Revival-style houses in Tyringham were owned by Methodists involved in the church's construction, perhaps a testament not only to the national popularity of the Greek Revival style, but testament to the influence the architecture of Union Church had on the humbler (continued) MPS Forme 10-9004 9-86 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number _ 8 - Page - OM8 Aaproval Na. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA and more profane village architecture. New pilasters were applied to front facades, handsome doorways with transoms and sidelights and other wood trim gave Grecian gravity to the older more attenuated Colonial and Federal style houses in the valley.

A number of houses in town are said to have been altered by the church builders, Porter, Carter and Crittenden, themselves. These include Hickory Farm (59 Main Road), the Slater House (189 Main Road), the Garner House (16 Church Road), and the Rambusch House (207 Main Road). Members of the Methodist Church building committee owned several of these houses. The reuse of a foundation stone bearing the name "John Hulet" refers to a leading Lee builder of an earlier generation. Hulet is credited with Lee's Congregational Church of 1800 and Lenox's Church-on-the-Hill of 1805 (with Benjamin Goodrich). The stone set upside down in north foundation of the 1844 Tyringham Church may have come from one of the earlier church structures in town. Archaeological Significance: Since patterns of prehistoric occupation in Tyringham are poorly understood, any surviving sites could be significant.

Prehistoric sites in this area have the potential to contribute information towards a better understanding of Native American settlement and subsistence patterns in the Berkshire uplands of Western Massachusetts and locally in the Tyringham Valley. These sites also have the potential to contribute information that documents the importance of the Housatonic River drainage basin to Native peoples in the area and their socio/political/economic relationship with other Native groups to the south in the Connecticut area, to the west towards the Hudson River drainage in New York and eastward to the Connecticut River locale. Historic archaeological resources described above have the potential to provide detailed information on the lives of individual residents of Tyringham and the community during the 19th and early 20* centuries.

Archaeological resources may also provide additional information on the location and function of outbuildings associated with both the Church and parsonage. Additional historical research combined with archaeological survey and testing can document the locations and functions of outbuildings associated with both the Church and parsonage. Potential archaeological resources associated with the "L" shaped wagon sheds originally located behind the Church may contribute information relating to transportation technologies in the 19t century and the extent to which these facilities were provided for the Church parishioners. Outbuilding (continued) MPS Forme 10-900e 18-00 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 Section number - Page OM8 Aaproval No.

1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA remains may also be present on property associated with the parsonage. In this instance, outbuildings associated with residential use might contain information related to cottage industries, maintenance or subsistence related activities. Detailed analysis of the contents from occupational related features (trash pits, privies, wells) associated with both the Church and parsonage can also contribute information relating to the activities conducted in both structures and the members of the Tyringham community. The Church, an early public building in the town, played a major role in community activities and may contribute information on the 19th century religious, social and political life in Tyringham.

Detailed analysis of occupational related features can also provide information on the lives of Methodist Episcopalians for whom little information survives. The parsonage, a private residence until the late 19t century, may contribute information relating to individual residents and families in the town and changes that occurred as the property was used as a parsonage. (end) ppsfom 10-800a United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 1 Section number - Page - OMB Aaprovel Na. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA BIBLIOGRAPHY: Beers, J. B. Atlas of Berkshire County. New York: J.B. Beers and Company, 1876. Beers, J. B. and Company. History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts with Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men. New York: J. B. Beers and Co., 1885.

Berkshire County Registry of Deeds, Pittsfield, MA Brewer, Edwin. History of the Town of Tyringham. On file: Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Public Library, Pittsfield, MA. Center for Environmental Studies, Williams College. "Berkshire County Landmarks: An Inventory and Description." Williamstown, Massachusetts, March, 1972. Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Massachusetts 1725-1885. Part 1. Syracuse: Permanent Office, 1885. "Churches" folder, Churches of Berkshire County. In Vertical files: Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Public Library, Pittsfield, MA. Gilder, Cornelia Brooke. "A History of the Dillon House." Unpublished typescript. On file: Tyringham Historical Commission, 1996. Gilder, Cornelia Brooke. Views of the Valley: Tyringham 1749-1989. Hop Brook Community Club, 1989. Hibbard, Rev. Freeborn. "Methodism in Berkshire." In The Berkshire Hills.

1:5, January 2, 1901, p. 53. Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Public Library, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Holland, Josiah Gilbert. History of Western Massachusetts. Vol. 2, Part 3. Springfield: Samuel Bowles and Company, 1855, pp. Howard, Walter D. Sisyphus in the Hayfield. Cobble Press, 1988. Lafever, Minard. The Beauties of Modern Architecture. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1835. (continued) p3fom 10-9004 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 2 Section number - Page. OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA "Life in Tyringham." Berkshire Resort Topics. Vol. 2. No. 12. August 13, 1904. On file: Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Public Library, Pittsfield, MA. Lockwood, Rev. John H. Western Massachusetts A History 1636-1925.

New York and Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1926, pp. 590-592. Macomber, Gerald M., et. al. Archaeological Site Examinations of Seven Prehistoric Sites in Proposed Segment 2X of Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company's Northeast Settlement Project-Phase 2 in Lee and Tyringham, Massachusetts. OPA report #106. On file: Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston. Macomber, Gerald M., et. al. Intensive Archaeological Survey of Five Proposed Pipelines for Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company's Northeast Settlement Expansion Project in Massachusetts. OPA report #103. On file: Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston. McLean, Alexander. Letter in the collection of Tyringham Historical Commission. Methodist Church Record Book. Tyringham Historical Commission. Myers, Eloise. Tyringham: A Hinterland Settlement. Hinterland Press, 1989.

Personal Communication: Cornelia Brooke Gilder, Church Clerk, Union Church of Tyringham. Picturesque Berkshire, Part 2, South. Springfield, Mass.: W. F. Adams Company, 1893. Scott, John A. "Tyringham, Old and New." Published for the dedication of the Tyringham library, August 7-13, 1905. State Register form for the First Congregational Church of Barkhamsted. On file: Connecticut Historical Commission, Hartford, Connecticut. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project. The Berkshire Hills. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1939. (end) UNION CHURCH AND PARSONAGE Name of Property BERKSHIRE, MA County, State 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property 1.2 acres UTM References See continuation sheet. (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) '2one 648280 4678200 Easting Northing Easting Northing 3.

Zone Easting "Zone Easting _ See continuation sheet Northing Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11. Form Prepared By name/title_Norene Roberts, historical consultant, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC organization_Massachusetts Historical Commission _date_July 2000 street & number_220 Morrissey Boulevard _ telephone 617-727-8470 city or town_Boston state _MA _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Maps A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property.

Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Completethis item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name Union Church in Tyringham, c/o Cornelia Brooke Gilder, Clerk street & number 128 Main Road telephone 413-243-9848 city or town_Tyringham state MA Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).

Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.0. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. 1055o 102004 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number -10 Page - OMB Approvel Na.

1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: The boundary of the nominated property is shown as lots 3-38-0 (church property) and 3-39- (parsonage property) on the Tyringham Assessor's maps, sheet 6.3. The nominated property is described in deeds filed with the Central Berkshire Registry of Deeds in Pittsfield Book 112, page 435 (parsonage property) and Book 176, page 323 (church property). VERBAL BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATION: The church, church sign, parsonage, and barn are situated on the properties whose boundaries include the legal descriptions historically associated with the nominated properties. These include the parcel, historically deeded to the church in 1844 for the church structure and sign, and the parcel deeded in 1903 for the parsonage and carriage barn.

(end) pasfo 10-9001 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Union Church and Parsonage Tyringham (Berkshire Co.), MA PHOTOGRAPHS Photographer: Norene Roberts (August 1999)/Cornelia Gilder (May 1998), as noted Negative locations: Roberts (MHC, Boston)/ Gilder (Tyringham) 2. 5. 7. 8. Front façade of church, from front lawn. Facing SW (Roberts photo) SE (right) and SW rear sides. Facing N (Roberts photo) Rear view of church, parsonage and barn. Facing NE (Gilder photo) Parsonage and barn, facing SE. Church Rd. in foreground (Roberts photo) Detail of column and entablature on front portico. Looking E (Gilder photo) Interior, looking SW toward pulpit. (Gilder photo) Church sign on front lawn facing SW.

(Roberts photo) Detail of southernmost window on SE side of building. (Roberts photo) Facing S behind parsonage. (Roberts photo) (end) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME : Methodist Episcopal Society of Tyringham MULTIPLE NAME : STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Berkshire DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 7/18/00 8/16/00 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 7/31/00 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 9/01/00 REFERENCE NUMBER: 00000986 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N OTHER : Y REQUEST: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: PDIL: N PERIOD: N PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: SAMPLE: N SLR DRAFT: Y NATIONAL: N N N COMMENT WAIVER: N ACCEPT RETURN REJECT DATE ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS : Histrically and arditecturally signifiant Greek Perrral style duuch fuilding. RECOM.

/CRATERIA Auept AT.C REVIEWER Vatuik Anduls TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE Nisterian DATE - 8/30/00 DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N Photo #1 union Chuuch proputy- lnion Chuuch in Tyringham 128 Main Road, Tyringham Berkshive County, Massachusetts Photegrapker: Norene A. Roleuts August 23,1999 Negatuve: Mass. Historical Commissim, Boston MA. Front facade of church from front lawn Faeing Southwvest Photo # 2 union Chunch propaty, Union Church in Tyringham. 128 Main Road Berkshive County, MassachuscTs Photogqrapher: Norene A. Robuts August 23,1999 Megatine: Mass. Iistoricul Commissim, Boston MA. SE(right) + Swrear sides, hooking north. Photo #3 Union churk in Tyringham, Tyringham, Berkshire Co., MA Cornelia B. Glder, May 1998, photenrapher Neg: Union Chunl in Tyringham View of rear of churh and parsmage and barn LookingNE.

Photo #4 Union Church property, Union Chunch in Turing ham, parsonane 130 Main Road, Tyringham Berkshive County, Massachusetts Photographer: Novene A. Robuto August 23,1999 Negative: Mass. Historical Commissión, Boston MA. Parsonage tbarn, tacing SE. Church Road in frreground, Photo #5 Union Chuch in Tyrngham, Tyringham MA (Benkshure co) Cornelia B. Glder May 1998 (photographer) neg. Union Churh in Tyvinglam detail dr column and entablature on frent portico Vieu looking EAST CYCEE LE0O Photo #6 Union Churl in Tynngham, Tyvingham, Berkshire Co, MA Cornelia B. Gilder May1998 (photographer) neg: Union Churd in Tyringham -N/y view of interior bokinasw. toward pulpit UNION CHURCH WORSHIP 11 AM * WHATEVER YOU H AVE LEARNED FRON ME. PUT INTO PRACTICE! AND THE GOD OF PEACE VILL BE WITH YOU" CALL 243-9848 EARL GOSS.

PASTOR PLHI -4:9 Photo # 7 Union Church property - Union Church in Turingham, 128 Main Road, Tyringham Berkshire County, Massachusetts Photographer: Morene A. Roberts August 23, 1999 Negative: Mass Historical Commission, Doston MA. Church sign on front lawn facing southwest. Photo #8 Lnion Church property (Union Charch in Turingham) 128 Main Road, Tyring ham Berkshire County, Massachusetts Photographer: Norene A. Roberts August 23, 1999 Negative: Mass. Historiinl Commissim, Boston MA. Detail of sonthernmost window of SE side of bldg. Facing NW Photo #9 Umon Church property- union Chuuch in Tyringham Porsonage born 130 Main Road, Tyringham Berkshive Countu, Massachusetts Photographer i Norene A. Robut August 23,1999 Hegatine: Mass. Historiene commission, Bostm MA.

Vieid: feucing south behind parsmane LAVIRTEgS The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission July 11, 2000 Ms. Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service Mail Stop 2280, Suite 400 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Ms. Shull: CEIVED JUL I 8 2000 NATI STER, HISTORY TON SERVICE Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Union Church, Main Road, Tyringham (Berkshire), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The owners of the property were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30 to 45 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely, Betsy Fredkey Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission enclosure Cc: Clinton Elliott, Chair, Tyringham Historical Commission Norene Roberts, Preservation Consultant Peter Curtin, Chair, Board of Selectmen Donald Puntin. Planning Director Cornelia Brooke Gilder, Clerk, Union Church 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 - (617) 727-8470 www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc