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899 NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-0018 RECEIVED 2280 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service JUL 19 1950 Waive Comment Peviod National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NAT. REGISTER OF HIS NATIONAL PARX 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 anyitem 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 name_Congregational Church of West Stockbridge other names/site number_West Stockbridge Congregational Church 2. Location street & number 45 Main Street N/A not for publication city or town_West Stockbridge N/A vicinity state_Massachusetts codeMA _ county_Berkshire _ code_003zip code_01266 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended,I hereby certify that this f nomination - request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.
In my opinion, the property L-meets does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant - nationally - statewide [ locally. (O See continuation sheet for additional comments.) uditz Signature of certifying Nonong 7/18/96 official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion,the property [meets does not meet the National Register criteria.(See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification I, hereby certify that this property is: V entered in the National Register - See continuation sheet. - determined eligible for the National Register - See continuation sheet.
- determined not eligible for the National Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): non t Bell Cason Entered in the Notional Register Date of Action 7.30.96 Congregational Church of West Stockbridge Name of Property 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) X private - public-local _ public-State - public-Federal Berkshire County, Massachusetts County and State Category of Property (Check only one box) X building(s) _ district _ site _ structure _ object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing 1 Name of related multiple property listing - (Enter "N/A" if property is not part ofa multiple property listing.) N/A 6.
Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) RELIGION / religious facility buildings sites structures objects Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 0 Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) RELIGION / religious facility 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) LATE VICTORIAN / Stick/Eastlake Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation_STONE / marble walls_WOOD / weatherboard, shingle roof ASPHALT other Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) See attached NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - 1 Page - OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Congregational Church of West Stockbridge West Stockbridge (Berkshire County) Massachusetts DESCRIPTION The CongregationalChurch of West Stockbridge is located on the east side of Main Street (Route 102) in the village of West Stockbridge in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Main Street, which runs north/south, is the commercial and institutional spine of the village. Just behind the buildings on the west side of Main Street, running parallel to the street, is the Williams River, which can be glimpsed from the low hill on which the church stands. The Congregational Church is located at the village's southern edge, where Main Street terminates at a fork in the road.
The western spur of the fork, known as Old Great Barrington Road, leads south toward Interchange 2 on the Massachusetts Turnpike and, south of the turnpike, toward the town of Great Barrington; the eastern spur is the continuation of Route 102 and leads in a southeasterly direction toward the town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Extending east from the southern terminus of Main Street (where the road forks) is a village road known as South Street. The area immediately surrounding the Congregational Church of West Stockbridge is primarily residential in character. Most of the nearby buildings, like many buildings throughout the village, date to the second and third quarters of the nineteenth century. The church occupies a 0.35-acre L-shaped parcel with frontage on both Main and South streets.
The church is set back approximately sixty feet east of Main Street and seventy-five feet north of South Street. An asphalt-paved driveway begins at the southwest corner of the parcel, extends past the front of the church, then turns and runs along the north facade toward the rear of the building. Along the northern edge of the parcel the land slopes sharply down several feet toward the adjacent empty lot. Similarly, along the western edge of the parcel the land slopes sharply up several feet as it rises from Main Street, then assumes a gentler slope. The overall manner in which the land rises gently west to east across the parcel can be read in the church's foundation, several inches more of which are exposed at the front than at the rear of the building.
The vacant parcel bordering the church on the north is the former site of the Village Grammar School (known in earlier years as "the Academy"), which was demolished in the early twentieth century. Bordering this parcel on the north is a two-story wood-frame former carriage house built in the 1840s with Italianate detailing. For many years this house was owned by the Congregational Church of West Stockbridge and served as the pastor's residence. The house was subsequently divided into apartments and is no longer associated with the church. The house is not included in the present National Register nomination. Facing Main Street, in the yard in front of the church, stands a painted wood sign, approximately 4' high by 6 wide, that announces the name of the church and its pastor and the schedule for services.
In the same yard, near the southwest corner of the church, stands a mature balsam fir tree. A row of five maple trees runs parallel to Main Street between the street and the church's paved driveway. Plantings in the yard north of the church include several hardwood trees and white pine. Near the church's rear entrance (at the southeast corner of the building) stands a white birch tree.
The design of the Congregational Church of West Stockbridge incorporates many elements of the (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - Page - OMB Approval No.1024-0018 Congregational Church of West Stockbridge West Stockbridge (Berkshire County) Massachusetts Stick Style, which was a popular architectural style, especially in the northeastern United States, in the two decades leading up to the church's construction in 1882.
Among the church's features that are characteristic of the Stick Style are the steeply pitched gable roof with cross gables; decorative trusswork in the apex of the gables; wooden wall cladding interrupted by horizontal and vertical boards (stickwork) arranged in patterns and faintly reminiscent of the exposed structural members of medieval half-timbered houses; wood cladding (clapboards and shingles) arranged in patterns within the spaces created by the stickwork; overhanging eaves supported by decorative brackets; and the church's square tower with its steep pyramidal roof. The church rises from a foundation of locally quarried stone (mostly marble). The foundation originally belonged to a Congregational church designed in the Greek Revival style that was built on the site in 1843 and was destroyed by fire in 1881. The church is cruciform in plan.
The largest gable block, which rises two and a half stories, is approximately 53' by 35', with its principal axis running north/south. Projecting eastward from this block is a one-and-a-half-story gable block with an approximate footprint of 43' by 8'. A two-story gable block that originally housed a lecture room and currently serves as the church's office projects westward from the center of the main gable block on the church's principal facade. This projecting gable block, which is approximately 22' wide and extends approximately 22' west of the main gable block, is framed by two smaller, one-story blocks (14' wide by 11' deep) that form the entrances to the church. The roof slopes of all five gable blocks are clad with asphalt shingles, as is the roof of the open-work tower that surmounts the two-story gable block.
These asphalt shingles are not original fabric but, rather, replace the wood shingles that originally clad the church's roof surfaces. While the Stick Style was most commonly employed in the late nineteenth century in the design of domestic architecture, the Congregational Church of West Stockbridge attests to the style's appropriateness also for small-scale institutional buildings. Even with its tall tower, the church does not overwhelm its residential neighbors. Perhaps the architectural features that most definitively set the building apart - and also reveal its ecclesiastical nature - are the window and door openings, many of which rise to pointed or gothic arches. The church's west, north, and south facades feature large composite windows that are arranged in arch configurations, and arched or pentagonal transoms surmount many of the building's other windows.
Virtually all of the church's window sash feature colored glass and distinctive muntin patterns ("cathedral borders"). For example, windows that are described below as "cathedral four-over-four" consist of (1) a top sash with four large lites bordered along the top and the sides with small lites of colored glass and (2) a bottom sash with four large lites bordered along the sides with small lites of colored glass. In general, dark-colored glass, with contrasting (pale or bright) corner blocks, characterizes the cathedral borders. Except in a few places where plain transparent replacement glass has been installed (presumably due to breakage of the original glass), the large lites of the "cathedral four-over-four" windows throughout the church contain enameled glass boasting a decorative diamond-and-fleur-de-lis pattern. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Congregational Church of West Stockbridge West Stockbridge (Berkshire County) Massachusetts Section number Page . The builders of the Congregational Church of West Stockbridge embraced the Stick Style's penchant for multitextured wall surfaces by incorporating into the church's design several different types of exterior wood cladding as well as a wide variety of wood ornament and decorative trim. A piece of horizontal stickwork extends along the church's principal (west, north, and south) facades at a level approximately 4' above the building's sill/foundation and establishes an essential datum.
(All of the church's first-floor windows rise from this level, their sills intersecting the horizontal stickwork.) The 4'-deep band below this piece of stickwork is clad (except beneath the church's arched composite windows, as noted below) with diagonal wood boards. Above this horizontal stickwork but below the gable peaks the church's exterior walls are clad with horizontal clapboards. The gable peaks are clad with wood shingles in various shapes arranged in alternating bands. West facade: The church's west (principal) facade, facing Main Street, is symmetrically arranged. Only the narrow red-brick chimney rising through the south slope of the roof of the projecting two-story gable block, which has no counterpart on the roof's north slope, disrupts the symmetry of the composition. At the center of the west facade is a large, arched tripartite window.
Each of the three rectangular openings in this composite window contains double-hung four-over-four cathedral-bordered sash surmounted by a transom. The two-lite cathedral-bordered transom over the middle opening takes the form of a pointed arch, while the flanking transoms (also with two large lites and cathedral borders) are squat pentagons. Together the three windows create the impression of a shallow pointed arch-the shape registered in the molded wood trim above the window. The composite window's sill projects beyond the plane of the facade and rests on a modillion band. Beneath the composite window the 4'-deep band of diagonal-board cladding is interrupted by three stickwork arches; the interior of each arch contains wood shingles. In the gable above the composite window the cladding consists of alternating bands of wood shingles of various shapes.
The gable features two rectangular window openings at the second-floor level; each opening contains cathedral four-over-four sash. In the space beneath these windows and above the composite window the transition from shingle cladding to clapboards is achieved by flaring out the bottom few rows of shingles, which are underscored by a modillion band. Two much larger decorative wood brackets project out to support the two-story gable block's deep eaves. The otherwise plain and narrow vergeboards blossom into decorative spindlework where they meet these supporting brackets. One of the most striking features of the church's west facade is the decorative trusswork in the apex of the two-story projecting gable, which is echoed in the less elaborate spindlework in the apex of the gable in each entrance block.
Each of the one-story entrance blocks that frame the central projecting two-story gable block on the church's west facade is roofed over in two parts. Adjacent to the two-story block is a narrow strip protected by an extension of the west roof slope of the church's main (two-and-a-half-story) gable block; the remainder of each entrance block is protected by a gable roof with north- and south-facing slopes. The narrow strip of clapboarded wall on the west facade of each entrance block is interrupted by a narrow rectangular window opening that contains cathedral two-over-two sash. The west-facing (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Congregational Church of West Stockbridge West Stockbridge (Berkshire County) Massachusetts Section number - Page .
gable in each entrance block echoes in its details - the spindlework in the apex, the eave-supporting brackets, the flared wall surface and modillion band marking the transition between wood-shingle cladding (in the gable peak) and horizontal clapboards (below)the central two-story block. At each entrance, six wood steps framed by simple wood handrails rise through an opening surmounted by a shallow pointed arch (with molded wood trim) to the doors leading to a vestibule. Each double-leaf entrance features two five-panel wood doors. South facade: The southern facade of the west-facing two-story gable block contains a single window opening with cathedral four-over-four sash, a squat pentagonal two-lite cathedral-bordered transom, and projecting wood trim above the transom. Beneath this opening, interrupting the church's marble foundation, is a rectangular cellar window.
The southern facade of the one-story entrance block contains a single rectangular window opening with cathedral four-over-four sash. This window also has a corresponding cellar window. The principal focus of the church's south elevation is the south facade of the principal (two-and-a-half-story) gable block, which is dominated by a large composite window rising to shallow pointed arch. Eight separate openings comprise this window. The four central openings-two narrow rectangles with double-hung sash, each opening surmounted by a shallower narrow opening with double-hung sash (the top sash assuming the form of a tall pointed arch)-contain stained glass. These memorial windows were the work of Messrs. J. & R. Lamb of New York City.
They were donated at the time of the church's construction in 1882 by members of the Congregational Society of West Stockbridge; one is dedicated to the memory of Nathan Shaw, a former pastor, and the other to the memory of Marcus Truesdell and his daughter. The four openings that frame and complete this composite window consist of two narrow rectangles with cathedral six-over-six sash and, surmounting each of these openings, a shallower narrow opening with double-hung cathedral two-over-four sash (the top sash being pentagonal in shape). The sill of the composite window projects beyond the plane of the facade and rests on a modillion band.
Unlike the tripartite composite window on the church's west facade, this larger four-part composite window rises to invade the shingle-clad portion of the gable, in which (as on the west facade) shingles of various shapes are arranged in alternating bands. The composite window's shallow pointed arch springs from the facade's line of transition from shingle to clapboard cladding, and the modillioned trim above the window is a continuation of the modillion band on which the flared shingles rest. Beneath the composite window the 4'-deep band of diagonal-board cladding is interrupted by three stickwork arches; the interior of each arch contains wood shingles. There are two cellar windows in the south facade of the church's principal gable block; each cellar window is located directly beneath one of the two points from which the central stickwork arch springs.
Two additional, slender window openings frame the composite window on the principal gable block's south facade. Each of these windows is located a few feet in from a corner of the gable block and features cathedral six-over-six sash, a squat pentagonal two-lite cathedral-bordered transom, and projecting wood trim above the transom. As on the west facade, the deep eaves of the gable block are supported on decorative brackets and the otherwise plain and narrow vergeboards blossom into spindlework where they meet these brackets. The south facade of the church's main gable block is conspicuously devoid of the sort of ornate (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - Page - OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Congregational Church of West Stockbridge West Stockbridge (Berkshire County) Massachusetts trusswork that characterizes the principal gable end on the west facade. The south facade of the shallow rear (one-and-a-half-story) gable block is clad entirely with wood clapboards and contains a simple wood door; a wood ramp with a wood handrail leads to this door and provides wheelchair access to the church. North facade: The church's north facade is virtually a mirror image of the south facade, the most notable exception being that the rear gable block has no door and is characterized by a lower roofline on the north The stained-glass memorial windows on the north facade were donated in memory of Matthew Freedley and Sylvestor and Rena Spencer. East facade: The one-and-a-half-story rear gable block has a complex roofline.
From the gable peak to the level of the eaves of the church's main gable block the roof is steeply pitched; it then assumes a more gradual pitch as it continues on either side. The entire east facade of this projecting gable block is clad with horizontal clapboards and is devoid of stickwork. By contrast, the east facade of the principal gable block features the 4'-deep band of diagonal-board cladding from window-sill level down to the foundation. A cathedral six-over-six window with a two-lite cathedral-bordered pentagonal transom and projecting wood trim interrupts the east facade of the principal gable block at the southeast corner.
Fenestration in the rear facade of the one-and-a-half-story gable block consists of a diamond-shaped stained-glass window just below the gable peak and, at first-floor level, a rectangular cathedral four-over-four window in each of the original shed extensions of the gable block. In 1959, as part of a project that involved the installation of a new furnace, the church's basement was deepened by approximately 18". A new concrete floor and concrete footings below the church's original marble foundation were installed. The result was a full basement in which Sunday school classes and community suppers could be held. The only exterior evidence of this renovation project is at the northeast corner of the church, where an entrance to the basement was created through the construction of a small addition to the original one-and-a-half-story projecting gable block.
This addition simply extends the roofline of the original gable block, and, in so doing, partly obscures an original window opening on the east facade at the northeast corner of the church's principal gable block; the original window surround is still partly visible and the cathedral-bordered two-lite pentagonal transom is intact, but the rectangular opening has been filled in with horizontal clapboards. The church's openwork bell tower rises near the rear of the west-facing two-story gable block. The tower'sbell, which weights 809 pounds and is rung by a rope, was supplied by the Meneely Bell Company of West Troy, New York. The tower itself is square in plan and consists of a steep, four-sided, asphalt-shingled base; decorative trusslike openwork; and a steeply pitched, asphalt-shingled pyramidal roofthat flares slightly where it meets the openwork walls supporting it.
(continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - Page OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Congregational Church of West Stockbridge West Stockbridge (Berkshire County) Massachusetts copper finial: a slender spike rising out of shooting, sprouting, drooping, and unfurling leaves through a three-inch-deep crownlike band. A much less ornate finial graces the roof ridge near the front (west end) of the two-story gable block; recessed to the point where the projecting eaves begin, this finial occupies the same plane as the exterior wall surface of the gable block's west facade. The exterior of the Congregational Church of West Stockbridge was originally painted in three complementary shades of olive green.
Today the church's exterior is painted white; the double-leaf doors of the church's two principal entrances on the west facade are painted red. The interior of the Congregational Church of West Stockbridge retains many of its original finishes and furnishings, including pews, choir loft, wainscoting, and other ornamental trim and woodwork of native chestnut grown in the area. East of the entrance vestibules is the sanctuary, whose visual focus is the speaker's podium and, beyond it, the colorful pipe organ, which occupies the one-and-a-half-story wing east of the sanctuary. The church's pews are arranged amphitheater-style, in concentric arcs, and the floor slopes gently as it approaches the speaker's platform. The pipe organ, installed in 1883, was built by William A.
Johnson of Johnson & Son, Westfield, Massachusetts, and was rebuilt and enlarged in 1975 by Andover Organ Company of Methuen, Massachusetts. The painted pipes, detailed in gold, are made of pine and spruce. Above the organ is the diamond-shaped stained-glass window, which features a transparent globe bearing the motto "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." The church office, formerly the lecture room, in the west-facing gable block framed by the entrance vestibules, is separated from the sanctuary by sliding sash that can be lifted to unite the two rooms. The exposed truss beams in the interior of the church are characteristic of the Stick Style. Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the church property or in the general area (within one mile), it is possible that sites are present.
The physical characteristics of the property-a well-drained, level to moderately sloping terrace within 1,000 feet of the Williams River, a tributary of the Housatonic River drainageindicate locational criteria that are favorable for prehistoric settlement and subsistence activities. In general, however the small size of the parcel (0.35 acres) and church construction indicate a low potential for significant prehistoric survivals. A high potential exists for historic archaeological resources on the property. The existing church was built on the foundation of an earlier (1843) church that burned in 1881. Structural remains may exist from portions of the earlier church that were not incorporated into the existing church. Structural remains may also survive from a privy associated with the earlier church.
Archacological deposits may also survive from the 1881 fire, including building debris from the earlier church. Sheet refuse patterns may exist from activities conducted at the existing and earlier church. (end of Section 7) Congregational Church of West Stockbridge Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance