Unitarian Universalist Church of Northern Berkshire, North Adams. Records,1829-1997.
Overview
Records of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Northern Berkshire, North Adams. They include adminitrative and financial records; club and association records; and clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks. The records span 1829-1997.
Dates
- Creation: 1829-1997.
Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Extent
7 boxesThis collection consists of meeting minutes of the executive board, the church council, and the fellowship board; constitutions and by-laws; membership records; building and maintenance records; and birth, marriage and death records. The collection also contains records of church organizations such as the Ladies Aid Society, the Social Club, Universalist Comrades, and the Sunday School Association; as well as newsletters, brochures documenting anniversaries and special events, photographs of the church and church members, and a history of the church written in 1937. Oversized financial records are arranged in box 7.
Biographical / Historical
The First Universalist Society of North Adams was officially organized in 1842. Rev. Hiram Torrey served as its first settled minister until 1844. A meeting house for the congregation was constructed on State Street in 1852 which served the society for forty years. In 1892 the Society voted to build a new church, and the cornerstone for this Romanesque style building was laid on September 2, 1892. In 1928, during the pastorate of the Rev. Mary Andrews Conner, the First Universalist Society of North Adams and the First Universalist Church merged into one organization known as the First Universalist Church of North Adams. After the 1961 merger of Unitarian and Universalist churches, it became known as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Northern Berkshire (this name change occurred c. 1966). On January 1, 1977 it became a fellowship, and acquired a new stone and brick building on State Street in North Adams. Due to financial difficulties and failing membership, the church closed c. 1994.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series I. Administrative, legal, and financial records
- Series II. Societies, clubs, and associations
- Series III. Anniversaries, special events, news clippings and photographs
General note
The number after the slash in each entry in the following list indicates the box number, and the number in parentheses is the folder number.
- Title
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Northern Berkshire, North Adams. Records, 1829-1997: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00681
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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