The meetinghouse on North Main Street, is the second home built for the First Congregational Church of Williamsburg, established in 1771. The congregation constructed the first iteration of this current stately and elegant building in 1836, raising the funds by selling pews. At the time the meetinghouse was only one floor, but it did have a soaring spire. That year, the members moved from the simple house of worship that had been constructed in 1779, up on what is now Village Hill, then known as Meeting House Hill, as the population and center of village life shifted downhill.
The current meetinghouse remains on the land originally purchased in 1835. In 1859, the meetinghouse was elevated, moving the sanctuary to the second floor and a vestry was added underneath. The Ladies Society raised funds to add the beautiful sanctuary chandelier
Then, in 1871, the meetinghouse underwent general repairs, a furnace was installed (a step toward heat for the building), and the church built a small addition to house the church’s original hand-pumped Johnson tracker organ. Steam heat arrived in 1887.
In 1897, Helen E. James and Lyman James proposed an addition to the meetinghouse. The building underwent a transformation, which the congregation referred to as a renewal. The chapel on the second floor with its big tri-part glass window and two parlors underneath were added to the front of the building and changed the façade and entryway. These rooms and the belfry were the gift of Helen E. James. William and Jeannette Nash gave the clock in the tower, and the children of Thomas and Lucinda Nash gave the steeple bell in memory of their parents. The beautiful stained-glass windows added to the sanctuary were given in memory of Luther and Philena Bodman by their children.
The last major change to the meetinghouse came in 1957, when the congregation added an addition off the back that included a modern kitchen, a Church library, a powder room, a boiler room, a minister’s office and 7 Sunday School classrooms. The footprint of the meetinghouse remains the same today.
The 1836 First Congregational Church of Williamsburg Meetinghouse, with its glowing cupola and striking bell reminding townsfolk of the daily passing of time, is an historic beacon in the center of town. Daria D’Arienzo, Meekins Archivist and recent photographer. #throwbackthursday; #tbt.
Posted to Facebook 8/1/2024
