By Pam Johnson, Courier Senior Staff Writer:
At 178 years old, she can’t be blamed for having a little
work done. The scaffolding that began covering the front of the historic First
Congregational Church building last week is expected to remain in place most of
the summer, as workers install a new roof, fix the church chimney, and repaint
its landmark white steeple.
Repainting of the white clapboard building and tall wooden
columns topping its front stairs will be the next step in the church’s
facelift, according to Senior Minister Kendrick L. Norris.
The building at 110
Broad Street was constructed in 1829-30 and is
actually the third building to house Guilford’s First Church,
established in 1643.
The wood steeple undergoes routine maintenance, including
painting, about every five years, said Norris.
“The steeple takes such a beating from the weather,” he
said.
The Hurricane of 1938 destroyed the church’s original
steeple, constructed 108 years earlier. Donations were accumulated quickly and
a new wooden steeple was in place by 1939, according to church history.
In more recent times, other churches, including First
Congregational Church in Branford, have gone on to replace wooden steeples with
aluminum structures coated by enamel.
Norris said Guilford’s First Church
steeple “has to be replaced” and, when the time comes, plans currently call for
installing a new wooden structure at the top of the church building.
“As of right now, there’s some hope that we might be able to
get a preservation grant for the future,” he said.
Costs for routine church building maintenance run between
$40,000 and $60,000 annually, noted Norris.
“We spend an awful lot of money up-keeping this historical
landmark,” he said.