Old Colony Historical Society

Originally constructed as Bristol Academy in 1852, the Old Colony Historical Society building was designed by renowned American architect Richard Upjohn. The building’s location on Church Green in downtown Taunton demonstrates the importance of the academy in the mid-19th century, as well as its significance today as an anchor in Taunton’s historic architectural context. Purchased by the Society in 1926, the building has remained relatively untouched and retains a great deal of architectural integrity.


Old Colony Historical Society on the night of the dedication, April 20, 2006.


Master Plan, 2003
Our relationship with Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton began in 2003 with development of a master plan. The master plan included a comprehensive conditions assessment and programming, as well as a code and zoning analysis. A selected schematic design with cost estimates for preservation and improvements provided the groundwork for following phases.

Grantwriting Assistance, 2004
Using the scope of work identified in the master plan, the Society applied for a Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund grant from Massachusetts Historical Commission in 2004. We assisted them in preparation of a successful application resulting in the award of a $100,000 matching grant to fund exterior preservation and accessibility improvements.

Exterior Preservation and Accessibility Improvements, 2005-06
Work began in late 2005 on exterior preservation and accessibility improvements. A significant portion of the project was the construction of a sensitively-designed accessible entry plaza and sloped walkway at the front entrance. The materials continue the palette of the existing building: plaza walls and cap continue the fieldstone and tooled brownstone of the building's foundation walls and water table. The design creates a 17' x 16' entry plaza with commemorative brick pavers at the north end of the west facade and a sloped walkway at the south end. The historic granite steps with brownstone cheekwalls were relocated five feet in front of their original location. Exterior preservation included wood repair at the cornice, selective repointing, weathervane restoration, and replacing the worn membrane roof and asphalt shingles. A Society member generously recreated the historic finial over the front entrance, documented in historic photographs but removed prior to the 1926 purchase of the building.

An entry plaza (left) provides gathering space, while the sloped walkway (right) allows access to the building through the historic front doors.


A guest at the dedication ceremony gazes at the commemorative brick entry plaza.

Interior rehabilitation included the transformation of two long, narrow inaccessible restrooms into two accessible restrooms and a new director's office. One inch-high concrete thresholds were ground down and inaccessible doors widened and given new hardware to create an accessible path. Interior spaces were repainted using colors documented in a paint analysis, and historic elements found in the original and 1926 construction -- beadboard, molding profiles, and light fixtures style -- were reused or reproduced in the new construction.