Greenfield Meeting House | |
Location | Forest Rd., Greenfield, New Hampshire |
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Coordinates | 42°57′3″N71°52′21″W / 42.95083°N 71.87250°W Coordinates: 42°57′3″N71°52′21″W / 42.95083°N 71.87250°W |
Area | 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) |
Built | 1795 |
Architect | Hugh Gregg |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 83004090 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 8, 1983 |
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. [1]
The Greenfield Meeting House is located on a rise overlooking the village center of Greenfield, on the north side of Forest Road between Sawmill and Francestown Roads. When originally built, it was roughly square, with a gallery instead of full second floor, and porches at the gable ends that sheltered stairs to the gallery level. The bell tower was added in 1825, and the gallery level was filled out in 1848. In 1867 the building underwent major alterations: it was rotated ninety degrees and raised two feet, a vestibule was built, and the belltower placed atop it. These alterations transformed the previously Federal-style building into one that resembles a more typical Greek Revival structure. A clock manufactured by E. Howard & Co. was installed in the tower in 1895. [2]
The meeting house was built in 1795; its frame and exterior were built by Hugh Gregg, but the joiners of its original interior finishes are not known. The building's evolutionary construction history gives a distinctive window into changes in taste and usage of meeting houses over time. Its initial form was one that was quite common in the surrounding hill towns, and the 1825 addition of a bell tower was a nod to the growing trend towards towers on religious buildings. The 1848 separation of civic and religious areas was the town's solution to state-mandated separation of church and state, and the 1867 reorientation completed the transformation of the building to a more typical 19th-century church appearance. Interior alterations to the religious sanctuary also echoed trends, including the removal of the high pulpit in favor of a reading desk, and the replacement of box pews with bench pews. [2]
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 a rare, well-preserved example of a sixteen-sided meeting house. 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 Weathersfield Center Historic District encompasses a small cluster of buildings and a historic site at the geographic center of the town of Weathersfield, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It includes the town's second church building, the home of its first settled minister, and an early stone animal pound. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Francestown Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house on Route 136 in the center of Francestown, New Hampshire. The white clapboarded building was built c. 1801–03, and rebuilt in 1837, at which time it received its Greek Revival styling. It was used as a church until 1987, and for town meetings until 1833. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It is now managed by a nonprofit as a community resource.
The Canaan Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house on Canaan Street in Canaan, New Hampshire. Built in 1794, with some subsequent alterations, it is a good example of a Federal period meeting house, serving as a center of town civic and religious activity for many years. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and included in the Canaan Street Historic District the following year. The building is still owned by the town, and is available for rent.
The Second Rindge Meetinghouse, Horsesheds and Cemetery is a historic meeting house and cemetery on Old US 202 and Rindge Common in Rindge, New Hampshire. Built in 1796, it is relatively distinctive in New England as one of few such meeting houses where both civic and religious functions are still accommodated, housing both the town offices and a church congregation. The town's first cemetery, established in 1764, lies to the north of the meetinghouse. It is the resting place of many of Rindge's early settlers, and of its American Revolutionary War veterans. Behind the meetinghouse stand a row of horse sheds, the only one of the two rows of them which originally served the meetinghouse. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The First Free Will Baptist Church is a historic church on Granite Road in Ossipee, New Hampshire. The wood-frame white clapboarded building was built in 1856–57, and is a fine little-altered local example of a vernacular Greek Revival country church. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The First Congregational Church of Boscawen is a historic church at 12 High Street in Boscawen, New Hampshire. Built in 1799, the wood-frame church was significantly altered in 1839, when it acquired its present Greek Revival character. It is one of the few surviving meeting houses in New Hampshire that continues to combine religious and municipal functions; it basement space is used for town meetings and elections. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The South Sutton Meeting House is a historic meeting house at 17 Meeting House Hill Road in South Sutton, New Hampshire. The wood-frame building was constructed in 1839, and is a well-preserved example of rural vernacular Greek Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
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 First Baptist Church of Cornish is a historic church at 29 Cornish Stage Road at NH 120 in Cornish Flat, New Hampshire. Built in 1803, it is the town's oldest surviving church building, and is one of the state's oldest surviving Baptist churches. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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 Springfield Town Hall and Howard Memorial Methodist Church, also known as the Springfield Union Meeting House, is a historic civic and religious building on Four Corners Road in Springfield, New Hampshire. Built about 1797 and restyled in 1851, it is a rare surviving example in the state of a meeting house whose functions include both civic and religious uses. It is also a good example of Greek Revival and Gothic architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Allenstown Meeting House is a historic meeting house on Deerfield Road in Allenstown, New Hampshire. Built in 1815, it is New Hampshire's only surviving Federal-style single-story meeting house to serve both religious and civic functions. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2004, and the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in July 2004. It is presently owned and maintained by the town.
The Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common is a historic church at 757 Intervale Road in Bethel, Maine. Built in 1816, this simple wood-frame structure served as a meeting house for both religious and civic purposes, and has been little-altered since 1857, when it was given its present Greek Revival features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
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 New Hampton Town House is a historic meeting house at the junction of Town House Road and Dana Hill Road in New Hampton, New Hampshire. Since 1799, it has served as the community's town hall, and is one of three surviving 18th-century town halls in Belknap County still used for that purpose. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Jones Hall, also known as The Meetinghouse at Marlow Hill or The Christian Church, is a historic church and municipal building on Church Street in Marlow, New Hampshire. Built between 1792 and 1800, it is a rare 18th-century meeting house in New Hampshire, although it has been altered somewhat and moved from its original location; it was said to originally be a near duplicate of the Rockingham Meeting House in Vermont. Construction of the timber frame building was repeatedly delayed due to a shortage of funding. It first served as a combined religious and civic meeting house, with ownership residing with the society of pew owners.
The Brookfield Town Hall is located on New Hampshire Route 109 in the center of Brookfield, New Hampshire. It has served as the rural community's town hall since its construction in 1822–23, and is its only major public meeting space. It underwent a stylistic renovation in 1907–08, giving it a distinctive blend of styles. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The New Ipswich Town Hall is a historic academic and civic building on Main Street in the center village of New Ipswich, New Hampshire. The 1+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure was built in 1817 to serve the dual purpose of providing a town meeting place, and to provide space for a private academy. The building has been little altered since 1869, when it was substantially reconfigured solely for town use. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Washington Common Historic District encompasses a cluster of three civic buildings and the town common in the center of Washington, New Hampshire. The town common began as a 2-acre (0.81 ha) parcel acquired in 1787, and the current town hall followed in 1789. It is a two-story wood-frame building which originally served as both a civic and religious meeting house. The adjacent Gothic Revival Congregational Church was built in 1840. The third structure is the Schoolhouse, a 2+1⁄2-story two-room school built in 1883. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.