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A colonial meeting house was a meeting house used by communities in colonial New England. Built using tax money, the colonial meeting house was the focal point of the community where the town's residents could discuss local issues, conduct religious worship, and engage in town business.
The origin of the "town meeting" form of government can be traced to meeting houses of the colonies.[ citation needed ]
The meeting houses that survive today were generally built in the second half of the 18th century. Most were almost square, with a steep pitched roof running east to west. There were usually three doors: The one in the center of the long south wall was called the "Door of Honor," and was used by the minister and his family, and honored out-of-town guests. The other doors were located in the middle of the east and west walls, and were used by women and men, respectively. A balcony (called a "gallery") was usually built on the east, south, and west walls, and a high pulpit was located on the north wall.
Following the separation of church and state, some towns architecturally separated the building's religious and governmental functions by constructing a floor at the balcony level, and using the first floor for town business, and the second floor for church.
Most of these buildings that are still standing have been renovated several times to meet the needs of their owners and the style of the time. In the early 19th century, for example, there was a demand for churches that had one entrance on a short end of the building, a long aisle to a pulpit on the other short end, and slip pews instead of box pews.
The colonial meeting house was the central focus of every New England town, and was usually the largest building in the town. They were simple buildings with no statues, decorations, stained glass, or crosses on the walls. Box pews were provided for families, and single men and women (and slaves) usually sat in the balconies. Large windows were located at both the ground floor and gallery levels. It was a status symbol to have much glass in the windows, as the glass was expensive and had to be imported from England. A pulpit window, between the levels of the ground floor and gallery windows, was usually located in the center of the north wall. This window is one of the hallmarks of a colonial meeting house.
As it took considerable effort to build a new post-and-beam end wall, the need for additional space was often met by cutting the building in half, separating the front and back halves, and filling in space between them. At this time it was also common to build steeples over the entrances, either incorporated into the building or as part of an entrance porch that was added to the building's end. Many of the typical white New England churches started out as a colonial meeting house.
The Harrington Meeting House is a historic colonial meeting house at 278 Harrington Road in Bristol, Maine. Built in 1772 and moved to its present site in 1775, it is one of the town's original three meeting houses. It contains a small museum of old photographs, clothing, and books. The adjoining cemetery has gravestones of historical interest. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Harrington Meetinghouse in 1970.
The Old Ship Church is a Puritan church built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts. It is the only surviving 17th-century Puritan meetinghouse in the United States. Its congregation, gathered in 1635 and officially known as First Parish in Hingham, occupies the oldest church building in continuous ecclesiastical use in the country. On October 9, 1960, it was designated a National Historic Landmark, and on November 15, 1966, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries.
The Round Church, also known as the Old Round Church, is a historic church on Round Church Road in Richmond, Vermont. Built in 1812–1813, it is an extraordinarily rare, well-preserved example of a sixteen-sided meeting house, likely the only remaining example of its kind in North America; the only other known definitively sixteen-sided building in the Northeastern United States is Union College's Nott Memorial. It was built to serve as the meeting place for the town as well as five Protestant congregations. Today, it is maintained by the Richmond Historical Society and is open to the public during the summer and early fall. It is also available for weddings and other events. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996 for the rarity of its form and its exceptional state of preservation.
The Rockingham Meeting House, also known as Old North Meeting House and First Church in Rockingham, is a historic civic and religious building on Meeting House Road in Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The Meeting House was built between 1787 and 1801 and was originally used for both Congregational church meetings as well as civic and governmental meetings. Church services ceased in 1839 but town meetings continued to be held in it until 1869. It was restored in 1906 and has been preserved.
Great Friends Meeting House is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) built in 1699 in Newport, Rhode Island. The meeting house, which is part of the Newport Historic District, is currently open as a museum owned by the Newport Historical Society.
The Harpswell Meetinghouse is a historic colonial meeting house on Maine State Route 123 in Harpswell, Maine. Built in 1757-59 to provide space for both religious services and town meetings, it is a little-altered and well-preserved example of a once-common form, and is the oldest such surviving building in the state of Maine. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
The Universalist Society Meetinghouse is an historic Greek Revival meetinghouse at 3 River Road in Orleans, Massachusetts. Built in 1834, it was the only Universalist church built in Orleans, and is architecturally a well-preserved local example of Greek Revival architecture. The Meeting House is now the home of the Orleans Historical Society and is known as the Meeting House Museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Trinity Church is a historic church in Brooklyn, Connecticut. Completed in 1771 and little altered since, it is the oldest Episcopal church in the state. Its congregation now meets mainly in a newer church at 7 Providence Street in Brooklyn Center, but still uses this building for special events. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in October 1970.
The Unitarian Meetinghouse is a historic church at the junction of Connecticut Routes 169 and 6 in the village center of Brooklyn, Connecticut. Built in 1771, it is one of a small number of pre-Revolutionary church buildings in the state, and distinctive for having a sufficiently complete documentary record to support a complete restoration. It retains a configuration distinctive of that period, with its main entrance on the long side of the building, and the pulpit opposite. The bell tower with steeple is located at one of the short ends, suggestive of the 19th century change to place the entrance there as well. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Long Society Meetinghouse is a historic church building at 45 Long Society Road in Preston, Connecticut. It is one of only about a dozen surviving colonial "broad side" meeting houses, and is the last example surviving in Connecticut that has not been altered from that configuration by the addition of a tower or relocation of its entrance or pulpit. The meeting house was built from 1817 to 1819 on the site of an earlier meetinghouse, incorporating some elements of the earlier building. The meeting house was used both as a church and for civic functions, the reason for its plain, not overtly religious appearance. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The Greenfield Meeting House is a historic meeting house on Forest Road in the center of Greenfield, New Hampshire. The two-story wood-frame building was built in 1795; it is one of a small number of 18th century meeting houses in New Hampshire, and is believed to be the oldest still used for both religious and secular purposes, hosting both church services and town functions. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Danville Meetinghouse is a historic colonial meeting house on North Main Street in Danville, New Hampshire. Construction on the building began in 1755 and was finished in 1760 when Danville petitioned to form a town of its own, separate from Kingston. It is the oldest meetinghouse of original construction and least-altered in New Hampshire, with a remarkably well preserved interior. The building, now maintained by a local nonprofit organization, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Hampstead Meetinghouse, also once known as Hampstead Town Hall, is a historic meeting house at 20 Emerson Avenue in Hampstead, New Hampshire. The core of this dual-purpose structure was begun in 1749, although its interior was not completely finished until about 1768. It is one of a number of fairly well-preserved 18th-century meeting houses in southeastern New Hampshire, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Sandown Old Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house on Fremont Road in Sandown, New Hampshire. Built in 1773, this two-story timber-frame structure is a virtually unaltered late-Colonial civic and religious structure. It is believed to be unique in the state for its level of preservation, both internal and external. The building, now maintained by a nonprofit organization, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in 2011.
The Lempster Meetinghouse, formerly Union Hall, is a historic meeting house and church on Lempster Street in Lempster, New Hampshire. Built in 1794 to serve multiple Christian congregations, it is now a multifunction space owned by the town. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Porter Old Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house on Old Meetinghouse Road in Porter, Maine, United States. Built in 1818-24, it is a well-preserved example of a meeting house in rural Maine, serving as a center of local religious and civic activities. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The Old Brick Church is a historic church building off Vermont Route 35 in Athens, Vermont. Built in 1817, it is a modest Federal style brick structure that served as a church and civic center into the 20th century. Architecturally it represents a transitional period, built with the furnishings of a typical 18th-century New England colonial meeting house, arranged on the long axis as was typical of 19th-century churches. It is now owned by the town, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The First Congregational Church of Litchfield is a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Litchfield, Connecticut, USA, occupying a historic building on the Litchfield green.
The Old Meeting House was constructed in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1696 on Franklin Street. It was the second meeting house to be constructed for what would become the congregationalist church. Portions of the meeting house pews are the largest group of joined interior paneling to survive from any seventeenth century New England Building, which still survive to this day in museums and private homes.
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