Modified Meeting House

Text by Laurie LaMountain

Re-use is the only way to prevent long-lasting vacancy or destruction of the historical layer . . . designboom.com

Call it a sign of the times, or adaptive reuse, or creative conversion . . . however you choose to view the current trend of converting churches, schools, and other public building into private residences, it has
created a hybrid form of traditional architecture that is unique and often impressive. Contrary to what some may view as the decline of organized religion, adaptive reuse of churches is often what saves these unique and historic structures from complete demolition. Dwindling rural populations and replacement of dilapidated or outmoded architecture have also contributed to churches closing their doors to their congregations and opening them to private buyers.

Rick DuBrule and Jessica Jones had been searching real estate
Web sites for more than a year when they stumbled on a listing
for the former Sweden Congregational Church. Archives from the Sweden Historical Society note that the church was built between 1818-1823, and was last used for services in 1884. Jessica was immediately intrigued by the prospect of living in an old church and the couple made an appointment to view the property. Despite
unfinished walls, plywood floors and a musty odor upon entering the building for the first time in 2008, Jessica and Rick were taken with the timber-framed interior and high windows and made an offer by the end of that week. Had they seen it as it was when prior owner Robert Vile bought it, they might not have been so eager.

Robert Vile obviously had an eye for potential and a lot of energy and experience with which to restore the former church-cum- town garage to its original stateliness when he agreed to purchase the property in 1973. He didn’t actually take title to it until 1975, after investing two years of materials and hard labor into the building, so it was indeed a leap of faith on his part. It was, in Robert Vile’s words, “a real handyman’s special.”

After falling into a state of disrepair that prevented any prospect of the building being once again used as a house of worship, the town of Sweden opted in the 1930s to employ it as the town garage. By the time Robert Vile first saw it in the ‘70s, large openings had been cut into the front and one side of the building to allow access for the town tractor and truck. The roof leaked, some of the trusses were dry rotted, the siding was hanging off in places, and critters had set up housekeeping inside. Through it all, Robert Vile recognized the beauty of the building and made it his business over more than twenty years to restore it to its former glory while adapting it to current use.

When Jessica and Rick bought the property in 2008, they were given three volumes of photos in which Robert documented his painstaking restoration of the church.
From 1973, when he and his wife acquired the property, until the fall of 1977, Robert Vile completely restored the exterior of the building with windows and doors he
built at his in-home workshop in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. All of the trim, most of the siding, and the roof were replaced, and by January of 1978, an exterior shot
of the building was taken for that year’s Christmas cards.

Weekends, holidays, and vacations were all spent “in church,” although it wasn’t until 1981 that Robert Vile actually slept, or more accurately camped, in the building
he had spent so much time restoring. After completing all but the exterior rear siding, there was the vast interior to address. Living quarters were assigned to the front of the building facing Webber Pond Road, with roughly one-third of the 40’x46’ footprint dedicated to living and kitchen areas on the lower level, and bedrooms and bath in what had been the choir loft above. Framing, flooring, plumbing, heating, electrical, dry wall installation, and construction of a double flue chimney occupied most of the ‘80s. Altar railings he had purchased for $175 from a Lutheran church in Newtown, Connecticut, were raised and installed on the second-floor balcony overlooking the still unfinished great room below.

In his journal, Robert refers to 1990 as “a year of many accomplishments,” with trim work, some finished flooring, closets, stairs, rear wall siding, and the addition of
a breezeway and three-car garage among them. It was also the year he actually made the move to Sweden. The following year saw the completion of pickled pine cabinetry for the kitchen and, unfortunately, the end of Robert Vile’s journals. The meeting house was not complete, but Robert Vile’s life was nearly so. He passed away before seeing his beloved project to completion and is buried beneath his favorite tree across the road in Webber Pond Cemetery.

Following his death, the meeting house went through a succession of owners until Rick and Jessica bought it in 2008. Their first order of business was to remodel and put finishing touches on the “living space.” That done, it was time to take on the much greater task of the unfinished great room. With Rick’s talent for construction and restoration, along with a fearless sheetrock crew, they dramatically transformed the room.

Six inches of spray foam insulation were applied to the unfinished ceiling by Mainely Foam, who had to work within the confines of the exposed timber frame. Wiring, insulating the walls, and sheet rocking were next. Finally, the plywood floor was taken off, a vapor barrier was laid underneath the building, and rigid foam insulation was fitted throughout the floor joists before laying the plywood back down. Hundreds of square-tipped nails were pounded into the finished 1x12” pine floor boards that were laid over the subfloor.

Jessica and Rick have continued Robert’s tradition of borrowing history from other places by adding pre-Civil War stained glass windows salvaged from a church in Malone, New York. A 100-year-old canvas canoe perched among the rafters was a gift to Rick on his birthday from nearby Camp Wigwam.

It is still a congregational space to the extent that Rick and Jessica love to entertain their many friends in the 40’x30’ space, and they have reinforced the floor underneath the 1,000 pound dining room table it took eleven people to move into place. “We love to dance on it,” says Jessica. Whether it’s the table she’s referring to or the floor, one has to wonder what the original parishioners would make of it. It would be nice, albeit unlikely, that they would rejoice.

When it was a church, men and women entered separately through two front doors, and staircases on either side led to the choir loft above. “The best part is that you can actually open up the bedroom doors to the great room and peer below,” adds Jessica. It also provides a “nearer my God to thee” view of the double truss roof system that was hidden behind the arched ceiling until Robert Vile tore it down to expose the frame.

With work on the great room finished and the breezeway turned into a beautifully appointed second guest room, the meetinghouse has completed its transformation from house of worship to simply home. Never ones to rest on their laurels, Jessica has directed her attention to the surroundings grounds and gardens, and has
planted fruit trees in the front and is already hatching plans for spring planting, while Rick is making noises about another restoration project. Having grown up in “handyman’s specials,” I do understand there is in some people a need to restore that which time and people have neglected, and it seems Rick and Jessica may
be of that persuasion. Whatever the future holds for the meeting house, it’s certain it holds the grace of caring people who have passed through its doors before.