Our Meetinghouse Over the Years
The first meeting of Amherst Universalists took place in the Grand Army Hall which was part of the Palmer Block, located where the Amherst Town Hall is today. On November 5, 1887, 19 people signed the articles of agreement to create The First Universalist Parish of Amherst. Services were held in the Palmer Block until it burned in 1888. Here is a photo of the Palmer Block during that period.
North Pleasant St. was lined with stately elm trees.
In 1891, the parish voted to build a church at its current location on North Pleasant St. The building was erected in 1893 and dedicated on October 12, 1893.
Here is a photo of the meetinghouse from around 1910.
Here is an aerial view of the neighborhood from around 1920. The meetinghouse is hidden by trees on the lower left.
The meetinghouse was renovated in 1923 due to structural faults with decaying wood. The brown shingles that were used were wider than the original 1893 siding shingles.
The 1923 brown shingles were painted a lighter color around 2007.
The addition was constructed in 2013-2014, at which time the shingles on the original part o the building were repainted again to match the addition.
In 2022, the original part of the building was resided to create the current look. The narrower shingles used are closer in design to the original 1893 style. Two layers of older siding which had become badly decayed were removed.