Starksboro Village Meeting House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Starksboro Village Meeting House
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Starksboro Village Meeting House, February 2011
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | VT 116, Starksboro, Vermont |
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| Area | 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) |
| Built | 1838 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002768 |
| Added to NRHP | November 07, 1985 |
The Starksboro Village Meeting House is a really old and special building in Starksboro, Vermont. You can find it right in the middle of the village on Vermont Route 116. This building was built way back in 1838. It was a team effort! Three different church groups and the town itself worked together to build it. It's a great example of a building style called Gothic Revival. Because it's so important, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. This means it's recognized as a historic treasure!
About the Meeting House
The Starksboro Village Meeting House is in the heart of Starksboro Village. It sits on the west side of Vermont Route 116. This building is made of wood and has one main floor. It has a pointed roof and its outside walls are covered with wooden boards. The building also has a tall stone base.
What It Looks Like
Look up, and you'll see a two-part bell tower on top of the roof. It has pointy decorations called pinnacles at the very top. The front of the building is balanced, with two tall, arched windows on each side of the main door. The main door itself has a pointy window above it. There's also a smaller arched window higher up in the roof's triangle part. The entrance has simple decorations that look like an old Greek style.
Inside, you first enter a small hallway. This leads into the main room, which was used for church services. The walls are smooth plaster with simple wooden panels at the bottom. A special lamp, powered by kerosene, hangs in the middle of this room. The basement of the building was once one big space for town meetings. It has now been divided into two rooms. But many of its original features are still there.
Its History
Before this building was constructed, people in Starksboro held their town meetings in the village schoolhouse. Three different church groups met in people's homes. These were the Methodist, Free Will Baptist, and Christian churches.
In 1838, these three church groups and the town decided to build this meeting house together. The building was finished in 1840. Later, in 1868, the Free Will Baptists built their own church. The Christian church group became very small and eventually stopped meeting. This left the Methodists as the only church using the building.
The town of Starksboro moved its offices to a new town hall in 1910. After that, the Methodists joined with the Free Will Baptists. They started using the Free Will Baptists' larger church building. The Starksboro Village Meeting House was then used less often. It was sometimes used for community events and services. Since 1957, a group called the Starksboro Village Meeting House Society has taken care of the building.
See also
