Stephen C. Earle

Goodnow Memorial Library, Princeton // 1883

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Perched on a hill at the northern boundary of its town common, the Goodnow Memorial Library in Princeton, Massachusetts, is one of the state’s finest and best-preserved libraries. The building was largely funded by wealthy businessman and benefactor, Edward Augustus Goodnow (1810-1905), who deeded the land and building to the town for use as a public library and schoolhouse. The building was constructed in memory of his two of his four wives and only son. The building was completed in 1883 and designed by Worcester architect, Stephen C. Earle (who would also design the Princeton Town Hall/Bagg Hall, funded by Goodnow a year later). The terms of the gift by Goodnow stipulated that the building would serve jointly as library and public school until the library required additional space. The school remained here until the Princeton Center School opened in 1906, since that time, the Goodnow Memorial building has been used exclusively as a public library. The handsome Richardsonian Romanesque style building has walls of of pink Milford granite with rough-faced Longmeadow brownstone trim. The building features a prominent clocktower with its face in polychromatic masonry. The building is one of the finest of its type in New England, and has been lovingly preserved by the community for well over a century.

Bagg Hall – Princeton Town Hall // 1884

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Rising from the northwestern corner of the town common, Bagg Hall is the red-brick centerpiece of Princeton, Massachusetts, and it has shaped civic life in the village for well over a century. Funding for the structure came from wealthy businessman, Edward A. Goodnow. Born in Princeton, Edward Augustus Goodnow (1810-1905) was a storekeeper and manufacturer of shoes in Princeton before moving to Worcester where he made his fortune. He became the President of the First National Bank of Worcester and oversaw immense growth for the institution. Goodnow married four times in his 94 years of life, with his first two wives, Hariett Bagg and Mary Bagg (sisters) dying at just 28 years old and 31 years old respectively. In his later years of life, Edward began spending his fortune on charitable causes, including inveting in his hometown which lacked a proper Town Hall or Library. He donated funds for the Goodnow Memorial Library and in 1884, he funded Bagg Hall as the new Town Hall in Princeton, namedbagg in honor of the lives of his first two wives and his son, Henry, all of whom died prematurely. Mr. Goodnow hired Worcester architect, Stephen C. Earle, to design the building which resulted in this handsome brick structure in the fashionable Romanesque Revival style. The only stipulation was that the old Congregational Church was in the way. The solution: Goodnow paid to have the church moved from its site to the eastern edge of the town common. The Bagg Hall building is notable for its strong arched entrance beneath the gable, rounded corner tower with conical roof, and trimming in brownstone and terracotta accents. Today, the building is home of the town’s administrative offices and was restored by 2020.

St. John’s Episcopal Church // 1868

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The St. John’s Episcopal Church in North Adams, MA was established in 1855 by Rev. William Tatlock and Stephen Higginson Tyng Jr. while both were studying at nearby Williams College. A church was built in 1858, but deteriorated quickly, and the congregation gathered funding to erect this large edifice. Architect Stephen C. Earle, a leading architect in Central and Western Massachusetts, designed the Gothic church constructed out of large stone blocks quarried nearby. The church continued to grow over the next decades, and it was added onto as the immigrant community boomed in town following North Adams’ industrial growth. In 1893, the adjoining Parish House was constructed of the same stone as the main church, also designed by Earle. In the 20th century, membership shrunk due to decreasing population, and in 2011, the parishes of St. John’s Episcopal Church in North Adams and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Adams merged to form the All Saints’ Episcopal Church.