NPS Grant Proves Essential to Restoring an Historic Black Church in the Upper Housatonic Valley

The Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, which opened in 1887, in Great Barrington, MA.

Courtesy of Clinton Church Restoration

The National Park Service’s State, Tribal, Local, Plans & Grants Division recently announced African American Civil Rights grant awards this summer. Of the 53 grants announced, two National Heritage Areas in Region 1 (Northeast) will be the recipients of these funds.

W.E.B. Du Bois, circa 1907

Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst

The Essex National Heritage Commission, the managing entity for Essex National Heritage Area in northeastern Massachusetts, will receive $50,000 for their historical research and educational programming titled The African American Experience in Essex National Heritage Area*. The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area (UPHV) has been awarded almost $500,000 for the restoration and stabilization of the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church in Great Barrington, MA.

The grant to UPHV, which the Heritage Area will provide directly to the Clinton Church Restoration project, will be used to continue second-phase work on structural stabilization and repair work on this important historic building.

The Clinton Church long served as a center of Black culture in southwestern Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut since its opening in 1887. W.E.B. Du Bois, born in Great Barrington, MA in 1868, was a member of the church in his youth and attended services there. In 2014 after many years of a declining congregation, and increasing amount of structural problems with the building, the church was officially closed.

Conservation consultant inspecting the foundation of the church in Fall 2020.

Courtesy of Clinton Church Restoration

National Park Service grants for Clinton Church Restoration over the years included a $50,000 interpretation grant last year from NPS. “Once again, we are pleased that we could help this important cultural and historic institution,” said Bolognani. “We are thrilled to be a part of its revival in the life of our community, and to be instrumental in telling its story.”

Based on the preservation priorities and treatment recommendations laid out in a 2018 Historic Structure Report, work to install a new fire-retardant cedar shingle roof began in late 2019. As often happens, during construction, extensive structural damage was uncovered on the building’s south side, requiring repairs to the foundation and rafters, and rebuilding of the south wall. Urgent repairs were completed in spring 2021 and a waterproof under-roof was installed on the entire building before the cedar shingles could be ordered.

Architect and structural engineering team discuss rebuilding the south wall of the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church sanctuary in Fall 2020.

Courtesy of Clinton Church Restoration

Sill repair on the south side of the church parsonage, March 2021.

Courtesy of Clinton Church Restoration.

Many projects still need to be completed before the building is ready for interior restoration. Additional stabilization work, connecting to the local water and sewer systems, and carrying out mold and asbestos remediation are all projects at the top of the list.

Once the building’s frame is structurally sound, it will be raised 12-18 inches to make the historically significant basement into a functional, code-compliant space. Foundation repair, a new slab and under-slab drainage, and site improvements to ameliorate water intrusion will be undertaken. Not until all of that is done will the contractors install cedar wood shingles on the entire roof.

Upon completion of this Phase I work, the building will be ready for the interior renovations and “build out” for its adaptive reuse as a visitor center. The Clinton Church Restoration organization intends to create an African American heritage site and cultural center, dedicated to educating the public about the life and legacy of civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois and the Berkshires’ rich African American history.

Bolognani added, “the value of this preservation project cannot be overstated. The Clinton Church remains a critical piece of the history of African Americans in the Upper Housatonic Valley, and its future adaptation as a cultural, educational and visitor center remains pivotal to the larger regional program of interpretation of Black history.”

You can learn more about the history of the Clinton Church Restoration from our past coverage of the project in Season 1 of the NHA Podcast (2017) and in our 2019 NHA Blog post.

*Read more about The African American Experience in Essex National Heritage Area on our past NHA Blog post.

Installation of outdoor interpretive display at the church in May 2021.

Courtesy of Clinton Church Restoration.

Rebuilding the south wall of the church in March 2021.

Courtesy of Clinton Church Restoration