The Antrim Historical Society hosted an open house at the historic “Brown Church” on Sunday, June 14, to share the group’s plans for the building and to update the community on their progress so far.
After years of legal limbo due to a contested tax lien, the building was recently deeded to AHS by the town.
Built in 1904, the brown, shingle-style church at 100 Main Street in Antrim was originally the Woodbury Methodist Episcopal Church. The church has housed different congregations over the decades, most recently, the Antrim Church of Christ, which purchased the building from the Christian Science church.
The event began with the ringing of the church’s bell to welcome the community back to the building. Nancy Knowles of Antrim spontaneously sang “Stopping by Woods,” a song written by Richard Winslow of Antrim, inspired by the poetry of Robert Frost, to demonstrate the acoustics in the space.
Neal Brown, archivist of Antrim Historical Society, spoke about the society’s plans for the space. AHS, which is currently housed on the second floor of Antrim’s Tuttle Library, plans to completely restore the former church for use as a community center, a museum, and Antrim’s historic archives. The group also hopes to use the building for concerts, theater, and other community events.
AHS has already replaced the roof of the building, along with repairing water damage to the interior.
“The roof was our first priority,” AHS president Bill Nichols stated.
At Sunday’s event, members of AHS led tours of the church, including the main sanctuary, which has rare curved pews, the vestry, and the former minister’s office. Tours of the basement were not permitted as the steps are still not safe.
For more information about the Brown Church project and the Antrim Historical Society go to antrimnh.org/antrim-historical-society/slideshows/antrim-historical-museum or find them on Facebook.
