{"nrhp_refnum":"92000999","name":"Society of the Congregational Church of Great Barrington","other_names":["First Congregational Church of Great Barrington"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"241 and 251 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Great Barrington","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.19524162500005,"lon":-73.36089718999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-08-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Romanesque limestone and dolomite church complex at 241 and 251 Main Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, comprising the 1883 church and parish hall, an attached 1884 manse, a carriage house and a stone mounting block.","why_significant":"The complex is a cohesive example of late nineteenth-century Romanesque architecture, with English Revival influence in the manse and carriage house. It houses a major 1883 Hilborne Roosevelt organ and remains highly intact. It also represents the long history of a congregation founded in 1743 and tied to the town's development.","narrative":"This church complex stands on a 1.25-acre site on Main Street in downtown Great Barrington. It includes the 1883 Congregational church, designed by W.C. Brocklesby, a former chapel now used as a parish hall, and a manse and carriage house of 1884 by Peabody & Stearns of Boston. All are built of local limestone and blue dolomite with slate roofs. The church has a 116-foot corner tower, round-arched openings, brownstone trim and a rose window. Inside, it retains original woodwork, stained glass by W. J. McPherson of Boston, and a large 1883 organ by Hilborne L. Roosevelt in a case designed by G.A. Audsley. The manse blends Romanesque massing with English Revival details. The congregation was gathered in 1743 and counted Samuel Hopkins, a nationally known theologian, as its first settled pastor. The present buildings replaced a church of 1859 that burned in 1882, and they reuse some of its stone. Few significant alterations have occurred, so the group remains a cohesive example of its period.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"W.C. Brocklesby (church); Peabody & Stearns of Boston (manse and carriage house)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Church, parish hall and manse remain in religious use, with very few significant alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.30466-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/7942/63794236/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/92000999.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000999/759e1be152-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000999/759e1be152-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"Jerry Dougherty","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GreatBarringtonMA_CongregationalChurch.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerry Dougherty</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GreatBarringtonMA_CongregationalChurch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794236","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_the_Congregational_Church_of_Great_Barrington","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7552698"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/society-of-the-congregational-church-of-great-barrington-92000999/"}