Peacham Congregational Church and Peacham Children’s Center: 2022 Preservation Award

All across Vermont, church buildings stand empty or underutilized. At the same time, the need for affordable childcare is present and on the rise. In the Northeast Kingdom town of Peacham, residents have found a way to address both issues at once.

The 1806 Olde Meeting House of the Peacham Congregational Church is a visual icon in the heart of Peacham, and one of the most photographed buildings in New England. The building hosts Town Meeting, school concerts, cultural performances and more, as is also home to the Congregational Church. The iconic structure is universally cherished in the community.

Still, just a few years ago, the Church – ever mindful of how to best serve the community – was looking for a way forward during a period of transition within the Church, and faced a challenging financial outlook.

In the spring of 2019, the Peacham Children’s Center, Inc. approached the church with the idea of housing the Center permanently on the ground floor of the historic Church. Though the costs of making the space viable for a child care center looked to be substantial, it was less than the other options investigated by the Center. After considerable discussion, the Church congregation voted to move forward with this joint venture.

Fundraising and construction began.

The work consisted of encapsulating the crawl space under the church to heat the rooms adequately, installing two new bathrooms, putting in a new heating and ventilation system, creating a new septic connection for the church, creating a new entryway for the Children’s Center, and painting and other cosmetic work in the classrooms.

The new Childcare Center space opened in October 2021.

Everyone has gained from the cooperative efforts of the church and childcare center. Though some renovations were directed at meeting the specific needs of the smallest citizens during Center hours, investments in bathrooms, insulation, heat, egress and septic improve the usability of the Meetinghouse for all sorts of events, at all hours. The continuing investments in the historic features of the building also make the child care venue particularly attractive and interesting to families from around Peacham.

The increased use and partnership have stimulated exploration of and planning for future building improvements: energy efficiency, safety, a community accessible meeting space, ADA compliance access to all levels, and more extensive restoration of the historic features of the building, including planning for stabilization and repairs of the steeple.

Creative thinking, good partnerships, and the hard work of the Peacham Congregational Church and the Peacham Children’s Center have helped both organizations better accomplish their respective missions. In the process, the Meetinghouse itself is starting to be known as a central resource for everyone, in and around Peacham – today and in the future.

Preservation Award to the Peacham Congregational Church and the Peacham Children’s Center