NEW SALEM — In 1938, New Salem got a whole lot bigger. It also got some “salvage” that would become its Town Hall.
The flooding and disincorporation of four towns — Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott — to create the Quabbin Reservoir, led to New Salem’s annexation of the Prescott Peninsula. Now, New Salem is the largest municipality by area in all of Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden and Berkshire counties.
But besides the peninsula and a portion of the reservoir — nearly a quarter of the town’s area is now water — New Salem got something else from the sunken towns: the parts necessary to build a new town hall.
New Salem’s Town Hall is one of 10 sites included in the “Massachusetts Most Endangered Historic Resources” 2018 list by Preservation Massachusetts, a statewide nonprofit focused on restoring sites of cultural or historic places.
Built in 1939, “the building was constructed with local materials, as well as materials and furnishings salvaged from the town halls of Enfield, Dana, Prescott and Greenwich. Millington, a village of New Salem, also contributed materials from Moore Hall,” said Preservation Massachusetts Associate Director Erin Kelly in a statement.
Preservation Massachusetts has compiled its list of endangered historic resources since 1993. According to its president, Jim Igoe, the listing serves mainly to raise awareness of historic sites like New Salem’s Town Hall — a discreet memorial for the four drowned towns.
“The New Salem Town Hall seems to have a bit of every lost Quabbin town in it, making it a fitting monument to the history of the Lost Valley,” Igoe said. “The community’s desire to more regularly use the building is very reassuring, but time is of the essence to ensure this important part of community and Massachusetts history remains for years to come.”
According to Igoe, the attention the listing brings to historic sites can lead to funding and restoration for those sites. For instance, the old building of the New Salem Academy was restored following such raised awareness, and Jean Derderian of the New Salem Historical Commission hopes that the same can be done with the Town Hall.
“New Salem welcomes the partnership with Preservation Massachusetts in saving the building for its full use. In a few months, we will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the opening of the New Salem Town Hall,” Derderian said.
“The New Salem Town Hall and Auditorium is a unique and irreplaceable connection to the past, and its restoration for full use will honor the commitment and hard work generations have invested in its creation. Historic preservation is as much about securing the future as protecting the past. The full restoration of the New Salem Town Hall and Auditorium will serve the residents for generations to come,” she added.
The Town Hall is not closed, and is still an important location for events — like a July panel with Democratic candidates for the state’s Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester Senate District seat — but the building is not regularly open.
According to Kelly, the building was in regular use for nearly 60 years, but the cost to bring the building “up to meet modern building code and accessibility requirements have been prohibitive. As a result, the use of the building has declined, and it is not open on a regular basis.”
Igoe said that New Salem residents have made it clear that they would like the building to be open year-round, and that the New Salem Historical Commission and Selectboard have begun planning a project that would preserve the building. He added that a Nov. 7 event in Boston, Believe in Preservation, will serve as a “night of recognition” for those sites on the 2018 list, including the New Salem Town Hall.
The preservation of the Town Hall may still be in its early stages, but, according to Kelly, many of the sites featured on the “Most Endangered Historic Resources” list have been successfully restored in past years.
“Since 1993, the list of most endangered historic resources has become an effective tool for preservationists to focus statewide attention on the condition of individual historic properties and their importance to communities,” Kelly said. “Of the more than 220 historic resources designated as endangered since the list’s inception in 1993, 91 have been classified as saved, 31 have been lost while many more are either progressing or continue to face threats.”
Other locations on Preservation Massachusetts’ 2018 list are Arlington High School in Arlington, Attleboro Switch Tower in Attleboro, JR Alley Brewery in Boston, The Pillars and The Columns in Dennis, Calf Pasture Pump House in Boston, Clinton Church in Great Barrington, GAR Hall in Lynn, historic stone walls throughout Massachusetts and Echo Bridge Railings in Newton and Needham.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.