Newman Congregational Church

Last updated

Newman Congregational Church
Newman Congregational Church 2025.jpg
Location100 Newman Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island
Coordinates 41°50′28″N71°21′3″W / 41.84111°N 71.35083°W / 41.84111; -71.35083
Built1810
MPS East Providence MRA
NRHP reference No. 80000003
Added to NRHPNovember 28, 1980

Newman Congregational Church is a United Church of Christ congregation in East Providence, Rhode Island. The church is a two-story wood-frame structure on a high brick basement. It was built in 1810 for a congregation that was gathered in 1643. Newman Church is the oldest Congregationalist organization in Rhode Island. [1] Historically located at the center of the Old Rehoboth "Ring of The Green," the church today is located between the historic Newman Cemetery and Carpenter, Lakeside, and Springvale Cemeteries. [2]

Contents

Newman Church features in the 2022 Disney film Hocus Pocus 2. [3]

History

The Newman Congregational Church was established by the Rev. Samuel Newman (1602–1663) of Weymouth, Massachusetts. In 1641, he and members of his congregation purchased a tract of land from Pokanoket leader Massasoit Ousamequin located east of Providence, Rhode Island and the Seekonk River. [4] Newman named the new town Rehoboth, and soon afterwards he formed his congregation there. [5]

In 1812, the town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, was divided in two, and the church location was assigned to the new town of Seekonk. In 1862, the western part of the town of Seekonk became part of the state of Rhode Island and received the name East Providence. [5] Therefore, Newman Church has existed in three towns, two states, and multiple countries, without ever having moved.

Senior Ministers

There have been twenty-two senior ministers of Newman Church since its founding:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic Resources of East Providence, Rhode Island (PDF pages 29-30)" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
  2. ↑ "Ring of the Green". East Providence Historical Society. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  3. ↑ Beck, Lia (26 July 2023). "FYI, You Can Totally Visit Some of the 'Hocus Pocus' Filming Locations". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  4. ↑ Weed, David. "Ring of the Green and settlement in the 17th Century". The Historical Marker Database. Bill Pfingsten. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Newman Congregational Church Records". Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division. Retrieved 25 February 2020.


Flag of Rhode Island.svg Church.svg

This article about a church or other Christian place of worship in Rhode Island is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

ReformationsdenkmalGenf1.jpg

This article about a Reformed church building is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.