North Adams, Massachusetts
Masonic Temple

Johnson-Goodwin-Olney organ

The organ existed in North Adams until 1872, when the North Adams Methodist 
decided to replace their existing building.  The North Adams church had the 
S. S. Hamill organ, listed on the database, installed in their new building, 
which was dedicated in 1873. The Hamill organ is the one that was replaced 
by Hutchings in North Adams in 1893. I found a newspaper reference, from 1872, 
which stated that the church in North Adams donated their stained glass 
windows to the Adams church. They had to empty the building quickly, as the 
new building was being built on the site of the old one. Although not mentioned, 
perhaps they also gave them the organ, which could have been rebuilt when the 
new Adams Methodist building was erected in 1894-1895.

The organ is unplayable, as the blower has been disconnected from the organ. (To 
give more room in the kitchen!)   The Masons have had several offers for the organ, 
but have rejected them because it would cost more to cover the hole in the wall 
than what they would receive for the organ.

While it may contain much of the Johnson organ, the stop names are very unusual, 
and not from Johnson.  The original open wood flute (perhaps Melodia) has had 
little wood wedges placed on the mouths, so as to give the opposite effect from 
the inverted mouths.  The display facade is a rather bizarre arrangement dating 
from the rebuild, and does not resemble Johnson's work either. The original Swell 
mostly went to tenor F. In the rebuild, pipes were added outside the swell box in 
odd places so that most of the stops, including the 2' played full compass.

Quoting from a June, 1967 publication "Existing Tracker Organs Berkshire County 
(Massachusetts) and Vicinity" by G. Daniel Marshall:

"The case of the organ is made up entirely of rather grotesque dummy pipes, in a 
great variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, reminding the viewer more of a 
merry-go-round, than a church instrument. The pedals incline toward the 'toothpick' 
variety, but are not spaced abnormally close together.  The balanced Swell shoe at 
one time operated 'backwards' (i.e. the pedal was depressed all the way to close 
the shutters, rather than to open them), but has by means of a crude additional 
mechanical mechanism been reversed so that it now operates in the conventional manner." 

This organ so little resembles anything of Johnson, that I wonder if it should be 
called a Johnson organ. 

[On line update from Lawrence Bishop. July, 2005]