Great Barrington — When The Berkshire Edge visited the historic former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church recently, the building’s interior looked the same as it has over the past few years: wooden boards on the floor of the former church’s main room, plaster falling from the roof in some places, paint chipping away from some of its walls, and the smell of mold emitting through some parts of the building.
It has been nearly 10 years since the church, located at 9 Elm Court, shut down, and it has been six years since the nonprofit organization Clinton Church Restoration, now known as The Du Bois Freedom Center, purchased the building with the intent of remaking it into a historical center.
Despite the former church’s present appearance, and despite some setbacks due to the pandemic, organization project manager Eugenie Sills remains an optimist. “This building was the home of a congregation that made a way out of ‘no way,’” Sills told The Berkshire Edge. “There’s been a lot of work and support for this project. We’re going to continue this work and steward it along until we have completed it.”
Throughout its existence, the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church was a center of Black life in the area and was an influence on W.E.B. Du Bois.
In June 2022, the church was redesignated as the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy. The intent of the Center, once the restoration is completed, is to pay homage to Great Barrington native Du Bois and celebrate the heritage of the Black communities in Berkshire County.
As described on the organization’s website, once opened, the Center “… will return the historic church to the center of public life. As a vital, new public entity, it will serve as a visitor center, an interpretive venue, a hub for African-American heritage sites throughout the region, a community meeting space, and a cultural gathering spot offering contemporary programs and performances that will pay homage to Black scholar, author, and Great Barrington native Du Bois and will celebrate the heritage of Berkshire County’s Black communities.”
However, while the plans for the Du Bois Freedom Center have been on the table for years, Sills said that the organization has hit multiple bumps in the road in the duration of the project. “The pandemic was a setback for us, but, just as critically, there was the discovery of more structural damage than had been originally anticipated when we started the initial phase of construction in fall 2019,” Sills said. “During that fall, we thought we were only going to replace the roof. However, when the contractors opened up the south side of the building to start the project, they discovered that there was a lot more damage to the building than had been anticipated. We had to spend months having the structural engineers come in and create temporary shoring to the building.”
Sills said that, due to the unexpected structural damage, the organization had to get a new cost estimate for the project. “Some of the rafters in the ceiling had not even been sistered together,” Sills said. “Some of the rafters were not even going all the way down to the top plate of the roof. It was very bad. We also had to rebuild an entire wall and the back corner of the parsonage.”
But now, after some time of working on the first phase of the building’s reconstruction, the organization is ready to start on what is being called Phase 1B of construction work. The organization recently put out an invitation to bid on the work, which will include re-roofing with wood cedar shingles, asbestos and mold remediation, structural stabilization, and repair work to floors, walls, and the roofs of the building. The organization will be accepting bids on the project until November 3.
“Simultaneously to what we’re doing now, we have been working on the design for the build-out portion of the restoration,” Sills said. “Our architectural team, which is headed by Clark & Green Inc. of Great Barrington, has not only created the design work for the project phase we just put out the bid, but also for the rest of the project, which includes reconstructing the basement, a new foundation for the building, and a new drainage system. Then, the company will be working closely with the exhibition design team that is developing the actual exhibits and their content, to develop the exhibits that are fabricated and installed in the building.”
Sills said that the project itself would be completed within three to five years. “I hope it is sooner, but I have been saying three to five years for a while,” Sills said. “It will all depend on fundraising. I will say with more confidence that I do think we will complete the design work for the building in early 2024.”
Sills said that work on the project will proceed forward and that it will all depend on fundraising by the organization. “I would estimate it would take $5 million to complete the capital building project,” Sills said. “We may have to continue the construction parts of the project in phases if we don’t have all of that funding.”
During Sills’s interview with The Berkshire Edge, she re-emphasized that members of the organization are dedicated to finishing the project. “Du Bois, who was one of the greatest intellectuals of his time, was born and raised in Great Barrington,” Sills said. “This was the town and community that shaped him, and this church was the first Black institution that he knew of in his life. Those who knew Du Bois know that he went on to become a great institution builder, including when he co-founded the NAACP. We have an opportunity to tell his story here at this former church.”
For more information about The Du Bois Freedom Center, visit its website.
