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200-YEAR-OLD PRESTON MEETINGHOUSE GETS NEW WINDOWS |
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PRESTON — Little by little, the 200-year-old Long Society Meetinghouse in Preston is getting some much-needed attention.
On Thursday, members of the town’s Historical Society were joined by local officials and leaders from the Mohegan Tribe to celebrate the latest improvement: 18 new windows installed as part of efforts to repair and restore the 1817 structure on Long Society Road.
The windows were built to match the historical appearance of the meetinghouse, and even use antique glass of more than 100 years old, historical society member Mark Christensen said. The windows were reproduced by CTOldHouse.com advertiser Gambrel Acres.
Over the last several years, the society has raised money to pay for improvements designed to preserve the meetinghouse and make it more usable in the future.
Grant money and donations are allowing the society to have the work done. The Historical Society received a $14,000 historic preservation grant in 2015 from the 1772 Foundation, as well as money from the nonprofit Preston Community Fund and Jewett City Savings Bank.
The meetinghouse on Long Society Road is one of only about a dozen surviving unaltered Colonial “broad side” meetinghouses.
It was built in 1817 on the site of an earlier meetinghouse, incorporating some elements of the earlier building. Used both as a church and for civic functions, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
