Beautiful old church with a touch more historical relevance than one might think…read more
First things first. This is a beautiful old church, not terribly large or overly ornate, but it's really pretty just from a visual standpoint. To say it's "picturesque" would be an astute characterization. It was built between 1805-1806 in the Federalist style and is apparently one of only a select number of similarly-styled church buildings to survive to this day from the area- at least, that's what I was told by a church member during a tour of the building while visiting friends who live in Massachusetts.
The building, which originally served as a meetinghouse for the village, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1980's. While the congregation apparently dates back to 1769, the current church building wasn't erected until 1805-1806, replacing the old village meetinghouse, which was built by the early 1770's. To this day, the church hosts regular worship services for the community, as well as funerals, weddings, baptisms, etc. The site even plays host to the annual Lenox Craft Fair every summer. Apparently, the craft fair is a pretty big town event nowadays and people come from all over to attend. My friends that live nearby even pick up Christmas gifts a few months ahead of the holidays that they find at this shindig.
I think the building, although not a typically ornate, large chapel, is lovely. I especially liked how well-preserved and maintained the building is, particularly the beautiful Palladian window- a hallmark of the building's architectural style- that sits above the church doors.
As for historical significance, the town's first cemetery, located behind the church, marks the graves of several prominent Revolutionary War figures, including Major Azariah Egleston. I was also told by a church historian during a tour here that the original building, a meetinghouse later torn down to make way for the current chapel, served as a "safe house" for several key meetings during the Revolutionary War. I don't know if all that is 100% true, but that's what I was told and the local historian seemed to know their stuff.
If you're in the area and want to visit the church/cemetery, the site seems pretty open to guests and tourists and other curiosity seekers. Otherwise, it's an interesting location to take a few photos and learn a bit more about local history.