READFIELD — The Union Meeting House has survived wars, famines and now, the coronavirus pandemic, said historian Marius Peladeau.
Situated on Church Road in Readfield, the Union Meeting House has stood the test of time, Peladeau told an audience of around 20 on Saturday morning. The building was presented with a historical marker from the Readfield Historical Society. The unveiling is part of the town’s Heritage Days Celebration, which continues through the weekend.
The Union Meeting House in Readfield is one of two places left in Maine to have stencil-glass windows. The building gained a sign Saturday morning from the Readfield Historical Society. Emily Duggan/Kennebec Journal
The Union Meeting House was the second of six stops on Dale Potter-Clark’s historical sign unveiling tour that took place around town. Potter-Clark is the secretary of the Readfield Historical Society and calls the sign project her “brain child.”
“We don’t know how many signs we will put up, it depends on the money, but we are just having fun doing it,” Potter-Clark told the audience. “The best thing is getting people out and interested in the history of their houses and their backyards.”
But before the sign was unveiled, Peladeau spoke on the history of the Union Meeting House. The meeting hall was built in 1828 for Protestant denomination faiths, he explained.
After the Civil War, in 1866, the building was renovated by Hubert Lovejoy who completely changed the interior of the church to an Italianate aesthetic, leaving the classic white steeple behind. Lovejoy hired Charles Schumacher, an artist from Portland, to hand paint the inside of the church, creating what looks like a three-dimensional effect on the walls.
The three-dimensional effect from Schumacher’s work is so impressive Potter-Clark did not know until she was an adult it was a painting and not a structure attached to wall. The Union Meeting House is the only standing building in the state to still have Schumacher’s complete art on the wall, according to Peladeau, and it is the second oldest brick church in Maine.
“Imagine if Rembrandt had created 100 paintings and only one survived,” said Peladeau as an example.
Peladeau pointed out the 100-year-old stain-glass windows and the stencil-glass windows. The Union Meeting House is one of two churches left in the state to have the stenciled windows, which Peladeau said is “very rare” and is created in a similar way as to how a child would make a stencil in school. The Union Meeting House was added to the National Register of Historic Places mainly for the art on the inside of the building.
Peladeau has spent a number of years researching the Union Meeting House and even wrote a book on it. The Union Meeting House was used as a church until the 1950s, but now currently stands as a place for meetings, events and weddings.
After the sign unveiling at the Union Meeting House, Potter-Clark was off to the Old Fairgrounds, where two more Readfield Historical Society signs would be unveiled.
Potter-Clark said the signage project started in 2012 and if the program had the money, there would be around 50 historical markers around town. She offers walking tours around town to educate people on the history, if they are interested. She said each week features a different place.
Money is raised through sponsorships, individual donations and from a percentage of the “house circa” signs, which the town has around 80 of, she said. The six signs unveiled Saturday will be placed at Readfield Library, three at the Old Fairgrounds, one at the Upper Fairgrounds Trail and then the one at the Union Meeting House.
The three signs at the Old Fairgrounds are for three different events: the Readfield Artillery Coalition militia musters in 1812, the Kennebec County Agricultural Fair held there through 1856 to 1932, and for the Readfield Grange Fair and the evolution to the ball field there now. The sign will have dates from 1948 to 2021.
The Union Meeting House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. The Union Meeting House’s next project is undergoing renovations to the clock tower of the building, which blew away in the early 1900s. According to the building’s website, the cost is expected to be $620,000 over three years. Because the building is on the National Register of Historic Places in addition to Readfield’s, there is a certain criteria it has to meet.
“You wouldn’t paint the Statue of Liberty pink,” said Peladeau of the project set to be completed in 2022. Peladeau said those interested in taking a tour of the building can call, or attend one on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m.
Heritage Days will culminate with a movie night Sunday at dusk.
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