Buckland 1st Congregational Church Sanctuary, Buckland, Mass., circa 1900
Buckland 1st Congregational Church Sanctuary, Buckland, Mass., circa 1900
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Title:
Buckland 1st Congregational Church Sanctuary, Buckland, Mass., circa 1900
Description:
Sanctuary of the First Congregational Church, commonly known as The Mary Lyon Church, located in Buckland, Mass. and established in 1785. In 1793, Col. John Ames led the construction of the church building, which was completed in 1800.Photo was taken from the southwest corner in the rear of the church looking towards the front, the north end of the sanctuary.Photo shows painted box pews, traditional Greek Revival columns at front center, a wide decorated border where the ceiling and walls meet, and a stove pipe coming out of the front wall down to an unseen stove located at the right front, all of which were removed during renovations that took place during the years 1904 to 1908. Photo shows a very bright room. One of the sanctuary's six windows (three on each side) is just barely visible in the front left side of the image. The clear glass windows were replaced with memorial stained glass windows during the 1904-1908 renovations.Kerosene lamps hang from the ceiling, and well worn books, presumably Bibles and hymnals, can be seen in racks on the back of each pew. At the front left are a number of high back chairs in front of a corner cabinet. The cabinet is believed to have been built in August 1888 by George B. Taylor to hold a musical library of volumes that were donated to the church by the family of Buckland native and composer, William F. Sherwin. Behind the center pulpit are chairs of a more ornate nature with carved, upholstered backs and finials. The pulpit, chairs, and corner cabinet are still used in the church as of this writing in March 2010.The photo shows one of two aisles that ran from front to back in the church on either side of the pulpit and center section of box pews. After renovations, the arrangement changed to three aisles, one center aisle with two narrow aisles that run along each of the side walls. The pulpit is now set off to the right about where the stove pipe comes down.
