CHURCH STEEPLE RESCUE

The First Congregational Church of East Machias has a unique opportunity to be saved. A national television production company wants to film its restoration this summer if money can be raised to cover the costs of repairs. The filming of this television show could

attract significant attention to the community and this project. The missing ingredient is funding for the restoration. The fundraising timeline is very short, and the community restoration group is urgently seeking financial support. The budget is approximately $250,000, and 1/3 of that sum is already near at hand if the balance can be secured. We hope to raise $55,000 by this GoFundMe effort because that will get us over the all-important halfway point.

 

 

The church was recently named to Maine Preservation Society’s 2022 List of Maine’s Most Endangered Buildings. “Today it is among the most critically threatened architectural resources in the State of Maine,” said Tara Kelly, executive director of Maine Preservation. “Structural damage to steeple timbers have resulted in a dangerous level of instability
and if immediate action is not taken it will soon be beyond repair.” (https://www.mainepreservation.org/most-endangered)

 

Steeple restoration expert, Belden Morse of Steeple People, Inc. in Jonesboro, stated: “This work needed on the East Machias church is critical, and the condition of the building has become dangerous, this project should be addressed as soon as possible.” This restoration effort has been accelerated by the commitment of a major television production company to film a one-hour special on this technically challenging repair that will appear on a major cable network in 52 million homes and a streaming platform available in over 400 million

homes worldwide. The community group and the television production company have agreed to move forward if adequate funds for the restoration can be secured by February 14, 2022. This show will have millions of views.

 

About the Church:

A very early part of the Abolitionist movement: This historically important church, built-in 1836 under the leadership of Thomas Treadwell Stone, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Constructed in the Carpenter Gothic style with elaborate decoration and spire, the church raises above the core of the town’s National Register Historic District. It was here that T. T. Stone, pastor of the First Congregational Church of East Machias, abolitionist and transcendentalist first gave his famous sermon “The Martyr of Freedom” in which he denounced slavery and condemned the killing of his friend and fellow-abolitionist Elijah P. Lovejoy on November 30, 1837 (The MRTYR OF Freedom, a Discourse delivered at East Machias, November 30, and at Machias, December 7, 1837).

 

A precious pipe organ: The church houses a magnificent Geo. Stevens of Cambridge organ which arrived by sail in the late 1860s. Stevens was an exceptional craftsman who built over 800 instruments in New England between 1820 and 1890 (https://pipeorgandatabase.org/builder/6023). These highly-regarded instruments were reviewed in the Boston Musical Gazette on June 15, 1849, “In purity and richness of tone, as applicable to the different stops, or to a great variety of combinations, as well as to the whole

power of the instrument, this organ is pronounced by competent judges to be not inferior to any in this vicinity” (https://historicharvard.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/on-historical-societys-stevens-organ-reviving-some-old-research/).

An economically depressed county: Located in Washington County, Maine, this historical building resides in one of the most impoverished counties in the Northeast. In 2019 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 20% of all Washington County residents and 25% of children

were living below the poverty level, as compared to 12% of all U.S. residents and 11% in Maine. Out of 217 counties in the northeast, Washington County, Maine had the 4th highest poverty rate, behind only Bronx County, NY, Forest County, PA, and Philadelphia County, PA. Median household income was reported as roughly $39,000; a full $28,000 less than the U.S., $20,000 less than Maine and the lowest of all counties in the Northeast. The need for repair: Extended periods of economic hardship have placed the First Congregational Church of East Machias in dire need of structural repair. Approximately 40 feet of both 12”x 12” structural upright beams flanking the front entrance and supporting the steeple have rotted, causing dangerous structural problems. Two adjacent 8” x 6” timbers of approximately 20 feet on each side and at least 20 feet of 12’ x 12’ sill supporting the front of the building are in need of urgent repair.

 

A look toward the future: Church trustees and the community restoration group, Friends of First Congregational Church of East Machias, are finalizing an agreement for shared use of the building following the restoration. Community activities will include concerts, other public performances, and meeting space for community groups. Expert contractors for this restoration have already committed to the required work scope, budget, and timeline.

 

The funding is the critical hurdle, and we are part way there.