Salem Church To Begin Renovation Paid For By $787K Silver Sale

SALEM, Mass. (AP) -- A centuries-old Salem church that sold its valuable silver collection to fund a renovation plans to start the $1.3 million project in the next few weeks.

Construction at the First Church in Salem, Unitarian, will include an addition with offices, storage rooms for church archives and an elevator to make the building fully accessible for the first time.

The church also is converting an oil-fired furnace to gas.

The Rev. Jeffrey Barz-Snell tells The Salem News the church will reduce its carbon footprint by almost 40 percent.

The church, founded in 1629, made news in 2007 when it sold some of its silver collection to help finance the project.

Included in the auction was a 1670 cup made by Jeremiah Dummer, America's first native-born silversmith. The cup sold for $787,000.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)