Historic Plaster Restoration

Braintree Hill  Meetinghouse Background
The Braintree Historical Society, a 501(c)3 private non-profit organization, owns and operates the historic Braintree Hill Meetinghouse. This remarkably well-preserved 1845, Greek Revival church and meetinghouse, situated atop the central ridge line in Braintree, Vermont served for many years as the center of activity in this rural farming town. Today, it functions as a spectacular venue for weddings, family reunions, community gatherings, concerts and much more. The Historical Society maintains a rich cultural museum in the building's basement that features 18th and early 20th century objects ranging from the day-to-day to the extraordinary.

Plaster Restoration Needed
This year, the Historical Society is raising money to have the building's historic interior horse-hair plaster work professionally stabilized and restored. This will allow the long term future functionality of this magnificent space that has persevered for over 150 years. Over the years, the plaster has begun to delamenate from the wooden lathe. This has created numerous cracks and fissures, especially in the meetinghouse's ceiling.

Some sections of plaster have come loose completely and fallen to the pews below, creating a hazardous situation. 

The process of re-attaching the loose sections of plaster is slow and takes professional knowledge of historic methods and materials. For this reason, the Braintree Historical Society has contracted with S A Fishburn Inc  from Danville, Vermont to carry out this important work. Sally Fishburn and her staff have decades of experience working on Vermont's historic buildings, specializing in plaster stabilization and restoration. 


Help Us in Our Mission
This work is time consuming and costly. The Braintree Historical Society is seeking donations to help cover the costs of this crucial project.

Your donations will make it possible to reopen the Meetinghouse to the public in 2022.

With the COVID-19 pandemic coming to a close we are anxious to welcome our friends and neighbors back inside - but we need to complete this stabilization work first. Please help us make this possible.  




Thank you for your support, 
The Braintree Historical Society
Jackson Evans, Larry Burns, Janice Thresher, Jane Belcher, Julia Haupt, Richard Bowen, James Vincent, Gene Bianco

PS: If you wish to pay by check, you may mail one, payable to "Braintree Historical Society" to:

Braintree Historical Society
c/o Janice Thresher, Treasurer
273 Woodchuck Hollow Road
West Braintree, Vermont 05669