Weybridge Town Hall is located on Quaker Village Road in northern

Weybridge, Vermont Weybridge is a town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic charact ...

. It was built in 1847, originally serving as the Wesleyan Methodist Church before becoming the town's first and only town hall in 1893. A fine example of Greek Revival architecture, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1996.

Description and history

Weybridge Town Hall stands on the west side of Quaker Village Road in a dispersed village setting in northern Weybridge, arrayed mainly on the east bank of Otter Creek. It is a single-story wood-frame structure with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. The roof is capped by a tower that rises from a low flushboarded square base to a six-sided louvered belfry to an ogee-shaped dome. The main facade has paneled corner pilasters rising to an entablature and a fully pedimented gable with sunburst planking. The interior retains significant Greek Revival woodwork, as well as original bench pews and early 20th-century light fixtures. with The building was built in 1847 following the split of the local Methodist congregation over the matter of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. The abolitionist faction had withdrawn from the original congregation established in 1798, and built this church. Its builders clearly drew inspiration from the published works of Asher Benjamin: a number of its exterior and interior details are clearly drawn from plates in his pattern books. The Methodist congregations reunited after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, but declined in size, and in 1893 leased the building to the town for use as its town hall. It is the town's first town hall, and continues to serve in that capacity, in addition to hosting community events. The building originally housed the town's library in its basement, until 1911 when the adjacent Cotton Free Library was built. The building underwent significant restoration in the 1990s.

References

{{Authority control Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Churches completed in 1847 19th-century Methodist church buildings in the United States Buildings and structures in Weybridge, Vermont Churches in Addison County, Vermont 1847 establishments in Vermont 1893 establishments in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Addison County, Vermont Town halls in Vermont

Description and history

See also

References