To the editor:
I am advocating support for Great Barrington’s Community Preservation Committee recommendation to fund the repair of a historic building, the Manse of the First Congregational Church of Great Barrington. This, Article 19, will be voted on at the upcoming Annual Town Meeting (Monday, June 7). The building is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places and with Great Barrington’s Historical Commission. The church complex is a center for many community activities and has a long history of community outreach.
As a former Chair of the Great Barrington Historical Association, I am knowledgeable of the historical significance, even tangentially, of our buildings, especially those located at the center of town. The Manse was donated by the widow of Mark Hopkins, cofounder of the Central Pacific (later known as the Southern Pacific) Railroad, which linked the East to the West. Central Pacific Railroad company is best known for having built part of the first American transcontinental rail line that linked the west to the east in Promontory, Utah, in 1869.
The donation was made in memory of Mark Hopkins’ great grandfather, The Reverend Samuel Hopkins, who was the first settled minister (1743-1769). Built with locally quarried limestone and overseen by one of the most famous architectural firms of the time, Peabody and Stearns, the Manse introduced an element of urban culture to the downtown area. Unfortunately, like other buildings of this period, the limestone is unstable and requires significant repair.
Please join me in voting “YES” on Article 19.
Barbara Syer
Great Barrington
