Rockingham Meetinghouse | |
Location | Off VT 103, Rockingham, Vermont |
---|---|
Coordinates | 43°11′16″N72°29′12.8″W / 43.18778°N 72.486889°W |
Area | 4.4 acres (18,000 m2) [1] |
Built | 1787-1801 |
Architect | General John Fuller |
Part of | Rockingham Village Historic District (ID07001346) |
NRHP reference No. | 79000232 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | September 10, 1979 [2] |
Designated NHL | May 16, 2000 [3] |
Designated CP | January 4, 2008 |
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. [4] It was restored in 1906 and has been preserved.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000 as an exceptionally well-preserved "second period" colonial-style meeting house. [1] The building, owned by the town, is available for weddings and other events under rules established by the town. [5]
The Rockingham Meeting House is set on the north side of Meeting House Road, on a parcel of land about 4 acres (1.6 ha) in size that it shares with the town's original burial ground, whose oldest marked graves date to 1776. Meeting House Road is the location of Rockingham's original town center, laid out after the French and Indian War ended in 1763, with the overall victory of Great Britain against France in the Seven Years' War.
The building is a large two-story timber-frame structure, with a side-gable roof, clapboard siding, and a granite foundation. The main (south-facing) facade is five bays wide, with a symmetrical but slightly irregular placement of windows around the center entry. The main entrance is flanked by pilasters and topped by an entablature and triangular pediment. Enclosed two-story gable-roofed stairwell ells extend from the each side of the building, with a similarly decorated south-facing entrance. The main entrance opens into a central hallway, through a floor filled with box pews to the pulpit area, which features the original sounding board. The second-floor gallery, which wraps around three sides of the building, is also lined with box pews. The elevated pulpit area is 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, and is accessed by stairs on its left side. The pulpit is one of the few unoriginal elements of the building having been restored in 1906. The only other significant alterations have been to replace windows. [1]
The town of Rockingham was first settled by primarily Anglo-American colonists after the French and Indian War ended in 1763. Discussion about the construction of a meeting house began in 1771, and culminated in the construction of a building at this site in 1774. That building remained in use until the construction of the current one, which was approved by the town meeting in 1787. Documentation is unclear about when the building was completed: the first recorded town meeting was held in this building in 1792, at which time it was not complete. The town in that year approved use of the building by local Christian congregations for services. [1]
Over the ensuing years, the various church congregations built their own buildings. The original Congregational group ended its services here in 1838, as people's religious affiliations changed. The building continued to be used for town meetings until a new town hall was constructed in Bellows Falls in 1869. The original pulpit was removed about 1850, and most of the original benches lining the pulpit area were removed. Although the building was vacant for many years, its exterior was maintained. The interior was subjected to vandalism and the theft of artifacts, including door hardware and hand-cut nails. [1]
After being unused for many years, the building was restored by the town in 1906. The first Old Home Day and Pilgrimage to the Meeting House was held in August 1907. It narrowly escaped the fire which burned much of the adjacent Rockingham Village on April 14, 1908. [6] [7] A Meeting House Association was formed in 1911 through the efforts of Professor Franklin Hooper, director of the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute. Hooper was the great-great-grandson of one of the original members of the First Church of Rockingham at its organization in 1773. [8]
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000. It is an extremely well-preserved example of a "second period" colonial meeting house, in which the principal entrance was on the long wall. Its setting is still reminiscent of how it would have appeared at the time of its construction. Its landmark designation includes the building, cemetery, and receiving tomb. [1] [3]
Rockingham is a town along the Connecticut River in Windham County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,832. Rockingham includes the incorporated villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River, as well as a large rural area west of Interstate 91.
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Bellows Falls station is an Amtrak intercity rail station located in the Bellows Falls village of Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The station is served by the single daily round trip of the Washington, D.C.–St. Albans Vermonter. It has a single side platform adjacent to the single track of the New England Central Railroad mainline.
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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.
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The United Church of Christ in Keene is a historic Congregational church at 23 Central Square in Keene, New Hampshire, United States. First built in 1786, and then moved and restyled in the 19th century, it is a prominent visual and architectural landmark in downtown Keene. The church and its adjacent parish house were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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 Fremont Meeting House is a historic meeting house at 464 Main Street in Fremont, New Hampshire. Built in 1800, it is a well-preserved example of a Federal-period meeting house, and is the only surviving example in the state with two porches, a once-common variant of the building type. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
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 Unitarian Church is a historic American church on Exeter Road in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. Built in 1838, it is a rare example of an in antes Greek Revival temple front in the state, and is distinguished by the presence of Victorian trompe-l'œil panels and ribbing on its interior walls. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is presently used for services in the summertime.
The First Congregational Church and Meetinghouse, also known as the Church of Christ and the Townshend Church, is a historic church at 34 Common Road in Townshend, Vermont. Built in 1790 and restyled in 1840, it is one of the oldest church buildings in continuous use in the state. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002; the congregation was established in 1777, and is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
The Guilford Center Meeting House, formerly the Guilford Center Universalist Church, is a historic building on Guilford Center Road in Guilford, Vermont. Built in 1837, it is a well-preserved example of transitional Greek Revival architecture. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It is now owned by the local historical society as a community meeting and event space.
The Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel is a historic chapel, located in the Oak Hill Cemetery off Pleasant Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Built about 1885, it is one of a small number of 19th-century cemetery chapels in the state, and is the most modestly decorated of those, with vernacular Gothic Revival elements. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The Swanton Christian Church, formerly the First Congregational Church of Swanton, Old Brick Meetinghouse, and New Wine Christian Fellowship is a historic church in the village of Swanton, Vermont. Built in 1823 and remodeled in 1869, it is a prominent landmark in the village, and a fine local example of Italianate styling on a Federal period building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Holland Congregational Church is a historic church on Gore Road in Holland, Vermont. Built in 1844, it is a prominent local example of Greek Revival architecture, and is the town's only surviving 19th-century public building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
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The Rockingham Village Historic District encompasses the traditional village center of the town of Rockingham, Vermont. Settled in the 18th century, the district, located mainly on Meeting House Road off Vermont Route 103, includes a variety of 18th and 19th-century houses, and has been little altered since a fire in 1908. It notably includes the 18th-century National Historic Landmark Rockingham Meeting House. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
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