The South Williamstown Community Association

About SWCA

The South Williamstown Community Association has existed in various forms for over 100 years as an organization to promote community and to engage in historic preservation and neighborhood building for Williamstown and surrounding locales.

SWCA’s current focus is on community engagement as well as historic preservation and documentation. We sponsor a number of events every year, including a summer barbeque, potluck dinners, spring and fall repair cafes, lectures, breakfast get-togethers, and an annual holiday tree lighting and caroling at the Store at Five Corners. SWCA also circulates a quarterly newsletter. SWCA currently numbers approximately 100 households among its members.  Everyone is welcome to become a member – you don’t need to live in South Williamstown.

By way of historical background, after a period of relative quiet, SWCA became very active starting in 1982, as the community rallied around preserving the historic South Center School, originally a public school.  Since the 1962 closure of the school, the Town maintained the building with a low level of funding designated for basic repairs. During this period, Norman Burdick, who had taught at the South Center School and was a long-time president of SWCA, acted informally as the custodial overseer for the building. However, as the Town ran into tighter budget constraints, a little to no money was designated for the building. In 1981, the heating system failed and the building’s future was in jeopardy. Two community members, John Umlauf and Sherwood Guernsey, spearheaded a campaign to create an endowment to cover the costs of annual repairs for the historic building. The community was interested in the historical significance of the building and its potential use for community meetings, as well as a facility where education could continue at the pre-school level.

This led to the revitalization of the South Williamstown Community Association in 1982, when it was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. From then until 2015, the Association leased the building from the Town and maintained it as “The Little Red School House” and raised both public and private funds to bring the building up to occupancy and safety codes as well as meeting accessibility standards. Approximately $250,000 was raised by SWCA for this purpose. The Williamstown Cooperative Nursery School was the primary occupant until it closed in 2012, due to declining enrollment. The building continued to be used by the Girl Scouts, Alcoholics Anonymous and other community organizations. SWCA collaborated with IS 183 Arts School of the Berkshires, based in Stockbridge, to offer various classes, workshops and summer camps for adults and children during the following two years, but the programs did not produce enough revenue to pay for maintaining the building.

SWCA ended its lease of the Little Red School House from the Town as of June 30, 2015. Shortly thereafter, the Williamstown Historical Museum relocated to the building from a prior location and has since then been offering exhibits and educational programs to the public.

SWCA still plays a very active role in the community and new programs and activities are being added from time to time. We’re always open to suggestions for new initiatives.

New members are always welcome! Download a membership form here.