Wilton’s First Unitarian Congregational Church has been added to the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, joining more than 900 properties in New Hampshire with the recognition.
“We’re very proud of the building. There haven’t been many changes to the church since it was built,” said David Potter, president of the Historical Society. He noted how even the tin ceiling of the 1861 church has been retained.
The church was dedicated on Jan. 10, 1861, for religious services in Wilton’s original municipal center, a portion of the original town common established in 1749.
“Before it burned down in December of 1859, the Second Town Meeting House was located here,” Potter said of the site. “It’s claimed the fire was caused by a burning candle.”
Potter credited Carolyn Roy with recommending the First Unitarian Congregational be nominated for the register, and May Williams for conducting research and helping submit paperwork to the federal government.
Having a building added to the National Register of Historic Places can help build pride in the history of a community and its environment, and helps identify properties early in the planning process for federally funded projects. “Historic districts can be centers of heritage tourism that spur economic vitality,” according to the state.
Being listed on the National Register doesn’t put any restrictions on a property or necessarily preserve a building forever. Although the listing recognizes a property’s historic significance, it doesn’t require the owner to allow public access nor does it restrict the rights of a private property owner to use, develop or sell the building.
According to the National Park Service, which oversees the program under National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, a property is eligible for the National Register based on historical events associated with the location, patterns of an area’s development or association with the life of an important person. Other criteria include the building form, style, engineering or artistic technique involved in the construction or development.
Structurally, the church has much in common with rural New Hampshire churches built in the 1860s and ’70s. It incorporates Greek Revival and Gothic Revival architecture. The church boasts a symmetrical facade with a pedimented primary entrance located at the center of the church’s gable end.
The church also sports a two-tiered bell tower — although there is no bell — and a composite window. A Gothic-arched frame encases the window and is accompanied by an additional quatrefoil window found within a circular enclosure atop the arch. The bell tower is covered with clapboards with narrow corner boards. An octagonal wooden spire capped by a weathervane and a ball finial sit atop the belfry.
State Department of Natural and Cultural Resources information officer Shelly Angers said Greek Revival was the dominant style of American architecture between 1830 and the Civil War.
In 1924, a one-and-a-half-story wing was added to the rear of the building to house the Sunday school.
Potter explained that the prominent organ pipes inside the church are “strictly decorative,” with the organ keys and pedals connected to a series of pivoting arms hidden from view.
One change made to the church involved the elimination of four stove pipes — one in each corner of the structure — in favor of a modern heating system.
“Now we just use central air,” Potter said, although the cold temperatures at present mean services are held in the Red House (built in 1800) across the street.
The church is used for weekly services and functions as a concert hall and workshop venue for Andy’s Playhouse.
Potter said that as a Unitarian Universalist Church, all are welcome. “We believe in God, but we’re not a trinity-based church,” he said. “At the church, we treat everyone equally and believe everyone has their worth.”